Trump Takes Assault on Obama Climate Rules on Oil Wells

The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed relaxing Obama-era mandates meant to block rogue methane leaks from oil and gas wells, part of a broader assault on federal regulations designed to combat climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposal takes aim at requirements forcing energy companies to find and stop methane leaks at new and newly modified oil and gas wells, amid industry concerns the mandates are unnecessary and too expensive.

The proposal would lessen the frequency of required inspections to hunt for methane leaks, remove a requirement that professional engineers certify some equipment designs and make it easier for energy companies to deploy emerging technologies to monitor emissions.

The EPA said its changes would save an estimated $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 to 2025 -- or $75 million annually.

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The proposal will now be subject to a public comment period, paving the way for final changes next year. The effort dovetails with a separate Interior Department move to ease Obama administration mandates requiring energy companies keep a better lid on natural gas escaping from wells on public land.


Much more: https://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/17254/trump-takes-assault-on-obama-climate-rules-on-oil-wells/

Sunday roads update: Most roads in southeastern NC impassable

RALEIGH
Think twice before you attempt to drive on any road in southeastern North Carolina.

The storm surge and heavy rain from Hurricane Florence have made roads, streets and highways impassable in that part of the state. And on Saturday, the N.C. Department of Transportation advised that all roads south of U.S. 64 and east of Interstate 73/74 be avoided.

I-73/74 runs vertically from Asheboro to Richmond County, which borders South Carolina. U.S. 64 stretches from Raleigh past Nashville and Tarboro to Plymouth on the coast.

Florence hovered over southeastern North Carolina and South Carolina overnight Saturday, dumping record amounts of rain. In many cases, flooding blocked motorists from some of North Carolina’s key thoroughfares.

To avoid I-95, DOT suggested “an extremely long detour” for southbound drivers: use I-64 West in Virginia to I-81 south, to I-75 south in Tennessee to I-16 East in Georgia back to I-95. DOT suggested the inverse route for northbound drivers.

DOT’s update Saturday night came after it had previously announced road closings on U.S. 70 between Kinston and New Bern; U.S. 17 from New Bern south to the Jones County line; U.S. 421 near the USS North Carolina battleship in Wilmington and U.S. 264 in several areas, including downtown Washington, on both sides of Belhaven and west of Swan Quarter.

Road closures began Thursday near the coast, as the tidal surge overtopped low-lying roads. N.C. 12 is closed on Hatteras Island, and parts of U.S. 70 are shut down between Beaufort and Atlantic, as floodwaters covered the pavement in numerous places, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Many roads and streets in Craven County are also flooded, including East Front Street in New Bern. The Trent River drawbridge is closed, and the ramp from southbound U.S. 17 on to Front Street has collapsed.


Read more (Includes videos): https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article218351395.html#bigNews=related_story

Rains from Florence cause collapse at NC coal ash landfill

Duke Energy said Saturday night that heavy rains from Florence caused a slope to collapse at a coal-ash landfill at a closed power station near the North Carolina coast.

Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said about 2,000 cubic yards (1,530 cubic meters) of ash were displaced at the L. V. Sutton Power Station outside Wilmington and that contaminated runoff likely flowed into the plant’s cooling pond. The company has not yet determined whether the weir that drains the lake was open or if contamination may have flowed into the Cape Fear River. That’s enough ash to roughly fill 180 dump trucks.

Florence slammed into the North Carolina coast as a large hurricane Friday, dumping nearly three feet (1 meter) of rain and swelling the region’s rivers. The resulting flooding forced swift-water rescues and left several people dead.

Sheehan said the company had reported the incident to state and federal regulators “out of an abundance of caution.”

The coal-fired Sutton plant was retired in 2013 and the company has been excavating millions of tons of ash from old waste pits and removing it to safer lined landfills constructed on the property. The gray ash left behind when coal is burned contains toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and mercury.


Read more: https://apnews.com/b4123ca86d5d49d98d67a677f25ea152



FILE - In this June 23, 2014 file photo, the dried-up bed of an inactive coal ash pond is seen at Duke Energy's Sutton plant in Wilmington, N.C. Duke Energy says heavy rains from Florence have caused a slope to collapse at a coal ash landfill at a closed power station near the North Carolina coast. Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said Saturday night, Sept. 15, 2018, that about 2,000 cubic yards of ash have been displaced at the L. V. Sutton Power Station outside Wilmington. (Mike Spencer/The Star-News via AP)

John Kerry on Real Time with Bill Maher - 9/14/18

Google Street View cars will map air pollution in cities worldwide

Air quality sensors are coming to a Google Street View car near you. The tech giant just announced plans to introduce sensors from a San Francisco company called Aclima that test air quality in cities and towns all across the globe.

The Google Street View cars take photographs and incorporate them into Google Maps. Aclima is installing the air quality sensors in Google vehicles based in Mexico City, Houston and Sydney. The sensors will detect amounts of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide wherever the cars go.

The goal is to map out where pollution is becoming a problem and inform users about which areas of towns and cities have the poorest air quality.

A few months ago, Aclima installed some air quality sensors in London to test whether or not they would work with Google’s vehicles. All of the company’s hard work paid off and directly led to the partnership and expansion.

This is not the first time Aclima has worked with Google and its Street View division. In 2015, Aclima helped Google determine the air quality on the company’s campus in California. Aclima has also used the cars to test air quality around the Bay Area

More: https://inhabitat.com/google-street-view-cars-will-map-air-pollution-in-cities-worldwide/

Stephen Colbert - Monologue and Opening - 9/14/18

Cartoon: Which One of You Has Been Undermining My Administration?

Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) - 9/14/18

Seth Meyers - Harry Potter and the Toupee of Doom, the Impossible Slider - Monologue - 9/13/18

The Daily Show: Sen. Amy Klobuchar - The Case Against Brett Kavanaugh & "Nevertheless, We Persisted"