Hill Heat

E&E News:

A new U.S. EPA proposal that would govern the underground injection of carbon dioxide by power plants and other industrial pollution sources will be the subject of a House Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing Thursday.

EPA’s proposed rule is aimed at protecting drinking water sources during and after the geologic sequestration process. In carbon capture and sequestration, CO2 is captured from fossil-fuel power plants, industrial facilities or other sources and then compressed. At the sequestration site, CO2 is injected into deep subsurface rock formations via one or more wells.

Legislators have said they look forward to discussing EPA’s proposed amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which would create a new category of injection well under the agency’s existing Underground Injection Control Program and establish new permitting requirements for CO2 injection.

The requirements address well location, construction, testing, monitoring and closure. The goal is to prevent CO2 from migrating into underground water supplies. If the gas infiltrates drinking water, it could push other substances that occur underground naturally, like salt, into the drinking water source.

Talk at the hearing will focus on the proposal and potential environmental effects of carbon sequestration.

This will be the first subcommittee hearing under new Chairman Gene Green (D-Texas), who took over for former Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.).

“A cap-and-trade program to address climate change could lead to the underground injection of carbon dioxide on a massive scale,” Green said last week. “Congress has to make sure the EPA’s carbon sequestration rules protect our sources of drinking water from contamination.”

Ranking member John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) also said he is interested in hearing more about the environmental impacts of carbon sequestration, as well as whether the process is economically viable. “Action should not be taken until we have gathered all the facts and have a complete sense of the issue and its consequences,” Shadegg said.

Stakeholders say Congress also will need to address liability issues surrounding carbon sequestration. Presently, it is unclear who has long-term responsibility for leaks and migration. It also will be important for Congress to address issues of ownership over land where carbon sequestration takes place.

07/24/2008 at 10:00AM

Witnesses

• John Paul Woodley Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
• Brigadier General Michael J. Walsh, Commanding General, U.S. Army Engineer Division, Mississippi Valley

07/23/2008 at 10:00AM

The past three presidents, including President George W. Bush, have successfully used the SPR to reduce oil prices during times of crisis.

Witnesses

• C. Kyle Simpson, Policy Director, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck
• Dr. Joe Romm, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
• James May, President and CEO, Air Transport Association of America (invited)

07/23/2008 at 09:15AM

Witnesses

• Jason Burnett, Former Associate Deputy Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, Head of the Climate Analysis Section, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division
• Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist, Earth System Science Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville

07/22/2008 at 10:00AM

Panel 1

• T. Boone Pickens , Founder and Principal , BP Capital, L.P.

Panel 2

• Gal Luft, Ph.D. , Executive Director , Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
• Geoffrey Anderson , President and Chief Executive Officer , Smart Growth America
• Habib Dagher, Ph.D. , Director , Advanced Structures and Composites Laboratory, University of Maine

07/22/2008 at 09:30AM

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony regarding the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory of all species within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specifically, the hearing will address: (1) How much has been learned up to this point and at what cost? (2) What is left to be done and what is the estimated time and cost to complete the inventory? (3) How has the data been used and are there other ways to use it? (4) What changes, if any, should be made in the program and (5) Should the program be expanded to include other National Parks?

07/21/2008 at 09:30AM

07/15/2008 at 10:00AM

The Optical Society (OSA) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a briefing to learn how solar energy can play a far greater role in meeting energy needs here in the United States and abroad. Solar power is produced through two main technologies: photovoltaic (PV) cells, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, and concentrating solar power (CSP), a utility-scale technology that can be combined with thermal storage to provide electricity even when the sun is not shining.

The United States has the potential to greatly expand the use of this clean and abundant source of energy, while also creating jobs and strengthening energy security. Demonstrating this potential is Germany, whose policies have allowed it to become the world leader in solar energy production in spite of relatively low solar resources (comparable to Alaska’s).

The following experts will discuss current and future technologies, U.S. investments in solar R&D by industry and government, and specific policies that can spur future development and promote the widespread use of solar energy:

• Doug Hall, Technology Director, Glass for Photovoltaic Program, Corning Inc.
• Chuck Kutscher, Principal Engineer and Manager, Buildings & Thermal Systems Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Scott Clavenna, President & CEO, Greentech Media, Inc.
• Fred Sissine, Specialist in Energy Policy, Congressional Research Service
• Rhone Resch, President, Solar Energy Industries Association
• Carol Werner, EESI and Alex Fong, Optronic Laboratories, Inc., Moderators

This briefing is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Angela Stark at [email protected] or 202.416.1443.

OSA is a scientific professional society uniting more than 70,000 professionals from 134 countries, including Nobel Laureates, members of the National Academies of Science and Engineering, and other scientists, engineers, educators, and manufacturers engaged in the science of light, including solar manufacturing and R&D.

07/11/2008 at 10:00AM

n the aftermath of severe storms across America and throughout the world, and with Bertha strengthening to the first hurricane of the season, extreme weather is on the minds of people around the globe. And while storms, floods and droughts have always occurred, science points to our changing climate as having a real effect on the severity and frequency of extreme weather events. Extreme precipitation events have increased over North America over the past 50 years. For the past decade, the West and Southwest regions have experienced drought conditions which are impacting agriculture, and contributing to the wildfire epidemic in the Western United States.

On Thursday, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a hearing examining the links between global warming, extreme weather events, and how these events affect the world now and will in the future.

Witnesses

• Jimmy O. Adegoke, Ph.D, Associate Professor, University of Missouri – Kansas City
• Heather Cooley, Senior Research Associate, Pacific Institute
• Dr. Jay S. Golden, Director, National Center of Excellence, SMART Innovations for Urban Climate & Energy, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University
• Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Bureau of Environmental Planning and Analysis
• Dan Keppen, Executive Director, Family Farm Alliance

07/10/2008 at 01:30PM

As the first hurricane of the season thunders through the Atlantic Ocean this week, Gulf Coast students, along with a U.S. Forest Service expert, will brief Congress on the vulnerability of the Cumberland, Mobile, and Tennessee River Basins and tell their story on how global warming can affect our water, our land, and our lives.

Due to their experience with Hurricane Katrina, these two dozen students from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are taking action to prevent further deterioration of the climate for the sake of their coastal home and their generation which will live through the impacts to come. They will present their own research and perspectives on how their findings will affect the future, and on the needs for strong policy in the government, and a scientifically informed public dialogue on issues related to climate change.

Chairman Edward J. Markey and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming are hosting the students, who were selected for the World Wildlife Fund Allianz Southeast Climate Witness Program based on their academic achievements, their interest in the environment and climate change, and their leadership experience.

Witnesses

• 25 Gulf Coast high school students from WWF Allianz Southeast Climate Witness Program
• Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
• Dr. Steve McNulty, US Forest Service Ginette Hemley, Senior Vice President of Conservation Strategy and Science, World Wildlife Fund
• Rev. Christopher Worthley, Executive Director, Allianz Foundation for North America

07/10/2008 at 10:00AM