Serious

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Friday called on Energy Secretary Steven Chu to broaden the membership of the panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) practice used to develop shale natural gas.

Serious Canadian energy investment and equally focused environmental interests are warily eyeing each other in and around the Uinta Basin in southeastern Utah, where energy developers see an extension of their oil sands plays in Western Canada, and a group called Living Rivers warns of a potential environmental and public health disaster.

Serious Canadian energy investment and equally focused environmental interests are warily eyeing each other in and around the Uinta Basin in southeastern Utah, where energy developers see an extension of their oilsands plays in Western Canada, and a group called Living Rivers warns of a potential environmental and public health disaster.

Washington state regulatory commission staff on Monday filed a complaint against Cascade Natural Gas Co. alleging “serious safety violations” in the operation of the utility’s natural gas distribution system in parts of the state. The Kennewick, WA-based MDU Resources Group utility contends that its system is safe, although it does not dispute the allegations, a company spokesperson told NGI Tuesday.

Serious debate on the Senate climate change bill (S 1733) is expected to begin this week, as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold three hearings on Chairman Barbara Boxer’s “mark” that was issued Friday. The mark is an updated version of the climate change bill that Boxer and Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced in late September (see Daily GPI, Oct. 1).

The latest among several serious proposals for developing the first commercial-scale natural gas storage in the state failed to get help from the Arizona legislature before it adjourned at the beginning of July. A House-passed bill (HB 2352) would have allowed water injection to clear out shallower salt caverns for eventual underground gas storage, but the bill failed to make it to the Senate floor.

Stating that it is now clear that the cyber threat is “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation,” President Obama on Friday said he plans to appoint a new advisor to head the nation’s strategy for securing its digital borders.

Stating that it is now clear that the cyber threat is “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation,” President Obama on Friday said he plans to appoint a new adviser to head the nation’s strategy for securing its digital borders.

The marathon hearings by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week were the “opening round” of serious debate on climate change legislation, with Democrats saying that their bill would create jobs and have minimal adverse impact on energy prices, while Republicans argued otherwise. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) plans to begin marking up the bill this week so that it can be sent to the House floor by the Memorial Day recess. Despite the accelerated pace, some say it’s unlikely that Congress will pass climate change this year.