BP Offers $7.8 Billion Settlement To Gulf Spill Litigants

BP will pay $7.8 billion to settle a lawsuit over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill with attorneys representing thousands of individual plaintiffs and businesses on the eve of a major trial in a New Orleans federal court.  BP said it expects to pay the settlement from the money remaining in a $20 billion escrow account it setupduring the spill to resolve individual and business claimswithout going to court. The settlement amount includes $2.3 billion to help resolve economic loss claims related to the gulf seafood industry. The rest of the money is divided into separate portions for economic and medical claims.

The deal is subject to approval by New Orleans District Court Judge Carl Barbier, who issued a statement Friday night that the trial will be postponed again as other parties reassess their strategies in the case. (Wash Post, 3/3/2012)

Lisa Jackson Testifies on Capitol Hill on EPA FY 2013 Budget

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Testimony Before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittees on Energy and Power, Environment and the Economy 2-28-2012

Excerpts

EPA's budget request of $8.344 billion focuses on fulfilling EPA's core mission of protecting public health and the environment, while making the sacrifices and tough decisions that Americans across the country are making every day.

the largest portion – 40% percent of EPA's funding request -- is directed to the State and Tribal Assistance Grants appropriation to support their efforts.

Specifically, this budget proposes that $1.2 billion - nearly 15% of EPA's overall request - be allocated back to the States and tribes, through categorical grants. This includes funding for State and Local Air Quality Management grants, Pollution Control grants and the tribal general assistance program.

The budget also proposes that a combined $2 billion - another 25% of EPA's budget request - also goes directly to the States for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. This funding will help support efficient system wide investments and development of water infrastructure in our communities. We are working collaboratively to identify opportunities to fund green infrastructure - projects that can reduce pollution efficiently and less expensively than traditional grey infrastructure.

FULL STATEMENT

Eastern U.S. Coal Futures Prices Down In Early 2012

The futures price for Central Appalachian coal, which is the main source of bituminous coal in the eastern United States, is down sharply so far in 2012, as coal demand by utilities declines due to a warm winter and low natural gas prices.

The 2012 futures price for Central Appalachian coal declined 11.7% toward the end of February, falling from $69.67 per short ton at the beginning of the year to $61.50 per short ton at the close of trading on February 24 at the New York Mercantile Exchange (see chart above). The average price for January 1, 2012 through February 24, 2012 of $61.69 per short ton for the NYMEX coal futures contract was down 16.3% from the average price of $73.72 per short ton in the same period last year.

The decline in coal prices reflects, in part, the expectation that the drop in the amount of electricity generated by coal will continue. The volume of coal consumed by the U.S. electric power sector is expected to decline by 1.3% during the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, while natural gas use by the power sector is forecast to rise by 12%, according to EIA's February Short-Term Energy Outlook.

In addition, warmer-than-normal temperatures this winter are expected to reduce household demand for electric heat, lowering coal use in the electric power sector. The Short-Term Energy Outlook projects U.S. households that rely primarily on electricity for heating will use on average 5.4% less electric heating this winter compared to last winter, and are forecast to have the lowest winter electric heat demand in ten years.

Lower natural gas prices could be contributing to lower coal prices. Estimated natural gas use for power generation is up about 20% so far in 2012 (January 1-February 24) compared to the same period in 2011 despite fewer heating degree days, according to Bentek Energy, LLC. Increased gas-fired generation may be displacing coal use at electric power plants.  (DOE-EIA)

The White House Recognizes: Dru Ealons

Each year America recognizes the month of February as National African American History Month. America reflects and celebrates the heritage and legacy of African Americans and many of their achievements. The theme for this year’s African American History Month is focusing on, “Black Women in American Culture and History.” In his 2012 proclamation, President Obama says, “During National African American History Month, we pay tribute to the contributions of past generations and reaffirm our commitment to keeping the American dream alive for the next generation.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dru Ealons

Dru Ealons is a Presidential appointee in the Obama Administration. She serves at the Environmental Protection Agency as the Director for the Office of Public Engagement. Dru is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of EPA’s public engagement efforts on behalf of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Prior to joining EPA, in 2010, Dru worked as the director of development for Pathways, a homeless shelter for women and children in Birmingham, Alabama. In this role, she served as the chief fundraising officer, managed Pathway’s board of directors and served as the official spokesperson for the Agency. Dru has also worked as the diversity and community relations executive for Southern Progress Corporation, a magazine and book publishing corporation.

Dru received her undergraduate degree in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and currently resides in Silver Spring, MD with her husband Corey and her young son, Maxwell.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What achievements are you most proud of being a successful black woman?

I’ve received several awards, from being honored by a service organization in Birmingham as Woman of the Year to Ebony magazine’s 30 under 30. Now that I’m well past 30 and I look back over my life, I’m most proud of the woman that I’ve become. My spiritual life throughout my journey, the trials and the triumphs, have shaped me into the woman I am today. So, make no mistake about it, my greatest achievement is from allowing God to be the pilot of my life. To that end, my success comes from above and I’m very proud of that.

There are countless distinguished and notable black women of the past such as, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, and pioneer Harriet Tubman, which historical figure would you say inspired you the most as a black woman?

I think I’m most inspired by Shirley Chisholm. What reigns as a theme of my life’s work stems from her quote “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” This has been a guiding principle of my life and I hope my “dash” represents the sentiment of this quote.

What service do you feel you have to represent the historically prominent black women that have come before you?

Throughout my career, I’ve always chosen opportunities that provided service to the greater good, rather than an opportunity that would serve me best (financial gain, fame, etc.). I believe powerful prominent women that came before me, always sought opportunities that will benefit the well-being of others. They were selfless servant leaders that improved the lives around them. I only hope that my life reflects the same commitment of service to all mankind.

Many black women were pioneers of their time and serve as role models today. Reflecting on your personal journey through life, what advice would you impart on the next generation of black girls for them to be successful and be the next generation of leaders?

I would tell them, you are more than a conqueror. Recognize you are standing on the shoulders of others and they’ve already paved the way. Discover the strength you have within and know that you have the power to be victorious to achieve your goals. And always ask yourself “Is there anything too hard for God?”

During the State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out his blueprint for an America built to last. Explain what you believe is the most important aspect of the President’s address?

The substance of the blueprint is extraordinary. Our President was clear and concise about the direction and vision he has for our great country. But beyond the substance, which is very important, for me it was the tone in which our President delivered the blueprint for an America Built to Last. It was his fight, his determination, his strength and confidence that he cares for us all. It reminded me of the sentiment of his 2004 speech when he said “I believe we have the righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us”. He reminded all of us, that by putting our differences aside, together we have the blueprint for an America Built to Last. Together we will meet the challenges that face us.

EPA GHG Permitting Requirements on Largest Emitters

Proposes Greenhouse Gas Options to Streamline Process to Help State/Local Permitting Authorities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing not to change the greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting thresholds for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Operating Permit programs. Today’s proposal is part of EPA’s common-sense, phased-in approach to GHG permitting under the Clean Air Act. EPA is also proposing steps that would streamline the permitting process for large emitters already covered by the agency’s program, including sources that account for nearly 70 percent of the total GHG pollution from stationary sources.

EPA’s proposal is consistent with its phased-in approach, announced in 2010, to “tailor” the requirements of the Clean Air Act to ensure that industrial facilities and state governments have the tools they need to minimize GHG emissions and that only the largest emitters need permits.

After consultation with states and evaluating the process, EPA believes that the current approach is working well, and that state permitting authorities are currently managing PSD permitting requests. Therefore, EPA has proposed not to include additional, smaller sources in the permitting program at this time.

EPAs GHG permitting program follows the same Clean Air Act process that states and industry have followed for decades to help ensure that new or modified facilities are meeting requirements to protect air quality and public health from harmful pollutants. As of December 1, 2011, EPA and state permitting authorities have issued 18 PSD permits addressing GHG emissions. These permits have required new facilities, and existing facilities that have chosen to make major modifications, to implement energy efficiency measures to reduce their GHG emissions.

The GHG Tailoring Rule would continue to address a group of six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The PSD permitting program protects air quality and allows economic growth by requiring facilities that trigger PSD to limit GHG emissions in a cost effective way. An operating permit lists all of a facility’s Clean Air Act emissions control requirements and ensures adequate monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting. The operating permit program allows an opportunity for public involvement and to improve compliance.

Under the approach maintained in this proposal, new facilities with GHG emissions of at least 100,000 tons per year (tpy) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) continue to be required to obtain PSD permits. Existing facilities that emit 100,000 tpy of CO2e and make changes increasing the GHG emissions by at least 75,000 tpy CO2e, must also obtain PSD permits. Facilities that must obtain a PSD permit, to include other regulated pollutants, must also address GHG emission increases of 75,000 tpy or more of CO2e. New and existing sources with GHG emissions above 100,000 tpy CO2e must also obtain operating permits.

EPA will accept comments on this proposal for 45 days after it is published in the Federal Register. A public hearing will be held on March 20, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia to listen to public comment about the proposal.  (EPA)

More information

Center Supports Obama's "All Of The Above" Energy Strategy

Excerpts

We’re taking every possible action to develop, safely, a near hundred-year supply of natural gas in this country -- something that experts believe will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. We supported the first new nuclear power plant in three decades. Our cooperation with the private sector has positioned this country to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries that will power the next generation of American cars -- that use less oil; maybe don't use any oil at all.

And after three decades of inaction, we put in place the toughest fuel economy standards in history for our cars and pickup trucks -– and the first standards ever for heavy-duty trucks. And because we did this, our cars will average nearly 55 miles per gallon by the middle of the next decade. That's nearly double what they get today.

I said this at the State of the Union -- a century of subsidies to the oil companies is long enough. (Applause.) It’s time to end taxpayer giveaways to an industry that has never been more profitable; double down on clean energy industries that have never been more promising -- that's what we need to do. (Applause.) This Congress needs to renew the clean energy tax credits that will lead to more jobs and less dependence on foreign oil. The potential of a sustained, all-of-the-above energy strategy is all around us.

 FULL SPEECH

Natural gas pipeline capacity additions in 2011

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that U.S. natural gas pipeline companies added about 2,400 miles of new pipe to the grid as part of over 25 projects in 2011. New pipeline projects entered service in parts of the U.S. natural gas grid that can be congested: California, Florida, and parts of the Northeast (see map above). Only a portion of this capacity serves incremental natural gas use; most of these projects facilitate better linkages across the existing natural gas grid.

By convention, the industry expresses annual capacity additions as the sum of the capacities of all the projects completed in that year. By this measure, the industry added 13.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new capacity to the grid in 2011. The six largest projects put into service in 2011 added 1,553 miles and about 8.2 Bcf/d of new capacity to the system. Much of this new capacity is for transporting natural gas between states rather than within states. Golden Pass, Ruby Pipeline, FGT Phase VIII, Pascagoula Expansion, and Bison Pipeline projects added 6.1 Bcf/d, or about 80%, of new state-to-state capacity.

Natural gas pipeline capacity additions in 2011 were well above the 10 Bcf/d levels typical from 2001-2006, roughly the same as additions in 2007 and 2010, but significantly below additions in 2008 and 2009 (see chart below). Capacity added in 2008 and 2009 reflected a mix of intrastate and interstate natural gas pipeline expansions, related mostly to shale production, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, and storage facilities.

(DOE-EIA)

Environmental Group Takes Millions In Fracking Money

Environmentalists viewed the natural gas industry as an ally against the coal industry and some groups took very large donations from a laeding natural gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) company.

The Sierra Club took $26.1 million in contributions from Chesapeake Energy and its affiliated companies between 2007 and 2010. 

Last year, the Sierra Club walked away from Chesapeake and an offer of an additional $30 million in donations, stating, “Identifying a common area of interest is very different from having our financial health dependent
on a particular industry, or particular company,”

The American Lung Association also has accepted an undisclosed amount from the company since 2009 for its “Fighting for Air” branding campaign.

Natural gas entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens gave $453,250 to the liberal think tank Center for American Progress (CAP) in 2008 and 2009 through his nonprofit groups, to support its National Clean Energy Project events.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), whose leaders Mc-Clendon wooed and who toured field operations, ultimately declined the funding he offered.  (Wash Post, 2/20/2012)

Hunan Yonker Environmental Protection Institute Co., Ltd

The Hunan Yonker Environmental Protection Institute Co., Ltd. (Yonker EPI) was established in 2011 with a registered capital of RMB 10 million. Yonker EPI is controlled by the Hunan Yonker Investment Group. Mr. Liu Zhengjun, the Chairman of of the group, is also the Chairman of Yonker EPI. Yonker EPI is located in the Environment Protection Industrial Park in the Changsha high-tech development Zone.  As a scientific research institution that keeps up with international advanced environmental protection technologies, Yonker EPI was established to lead a modern environmental protection industry.

Yonker EPI focuses on R&D for new technology, new process and new products on environmental protection; introduction of advanced environmental protection technologies and equipment; water treatment; solid waste treatment; and environmental service consultation, among other fields.

Yonker EPI aims for the utilization of advanced technological achievements in the field of international environmental protection. The Institute will introduce, digest and absorb advanced environmental protection technologies at home and abroad, and establish an international cooperation platform for better communication and cooperation.

Hunan Yonker EPI held an MOU signing ceremony last week when Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was visiting Washington, D.C.  The MOU was with a number of U.S. environmental firms.  Center President Norris McDonald attended the MOU ceremony. The ceremony was held at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The MOU was signed with three U.S. entities. The first memorandum was signed by the Milwaukee Water Association, which is an international leader in water treatment research, education and economic development. The Milwaukee Association of cooperation will develop water research and the sharing of water-related technology. The second memorandum was signed with the H & S company, which is committed to two important areas: providing users with safe drinking water and controlling water pollution to protect the environment. They will cooperate in the management of water companies, water resources management and water related technologies. The third memorandum of cooperation was with  Ze-gen, which is a renewable energy company with a clean and efficient gasification technology patents.

Hunan Yonker EPI is affiliated with Hunan Yonker Environmental Protection Company.

U.S. Coal Production Rises Slightly In 2011

U.S. coal production increased slightly during 2011 for the second year in a row, rising about 0.4% from from its 2010 level, after falling sharply during 2009, according to EIA's weekly coal production report. Exports drove gains in production, as U.S. coal shipments to other countries climbed to their highest level in two decades, while domestic coal consumption for electricity generation fell.

Production varied by region. Western coal production, which includes the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, declined 1.2% last year to 584 million short tons. Western coal has lower sulfur content and much of it is used as fuel to run power plants because it produces fewer emissions than coal mined in other parts of the country. However, the decline in western coal output mirrored the drop in electricity generation from coal, as utilities switched to more affordable natural gas to fuel their power plants. Western production was also affected by severe flooding in the spring and summer, particularly Montana, which had a decrease in production of 7% from 2010. The decrease in Montana production was enough to move it out of the top five producing states.

Appalachian coal output increased 0.6% to 339 million short tons. The region produces bituminous coal, which is used for both electricity generation and as metallurgical coal to produce coke that is used in the steel-making process. The increase in this region's production reflects the large jump in exports, of which a large portion is metallurgical coal.

Production from the Interior region of the United States rose 6.4% to 166 million short tons. Coal production in Texas was up nearly 4 million short tons in 2011 and accounted for about 40% of the Interior region's output increase. Several power plants that run on coal went online in Texas in 2010 and 2011. Most of this region's coal is used to generate electricity.

Of the total coal consumed in 2011, about 93% was used in the electric power sector. However, electric sector coal consumption fell last year by an estimated 40 million short tons, or 4%, compared to 2010, as attractively-priced natural gas encouraged operators to increase the use of natural gas-fired generation to service load, according to EIA's February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). At the same time, projected U.S. electricity generation was down about 0.3% last year.

Much of the coal that was not used by utilities was transported by train, in most cases, to major U.S. seaports where it was exported. Flooding last year disrupted the coal mining in Australia, the world's largest coal exporter, contributing to increased United States coal trade with India, Japan, and South Korea.

The United States exported a total of 107 million short tons of coal in 2011, up 31% from the year before and the most since 1991, according to the STEO. U.S. exports of steam coal, used mainly to fuel power plants, were an estimated 37 million short tons in 2011, the highest since 2008. Estimated exports of metallurgical coal reached record levels in 2011, about 70 million short tons.  (DOE-EIA)

Japan Replacing Nuclear Power With LNG, Oil & Coal

Japan’s 10 regional power utilities increased their imports of liquefied natural gas by 39 percent in January, when most of the country’s nuclear reactors remained idled over safety concerns.

Power companies imported 5.19 million metric tons of LNG last month, up from 3.73 million tons a year earlier, according to data today from the Federation of Electric Power Cos.

Oil imports almost tripled to 1.34 million kiloliters (8.4 million barrels), while fuel-oil purchases increased nearly threefold to 1.51 million kiloliters.

The average operating rate of nuclear plants in January was 10 percent, down from 66 percent last year, it said. Thermal- power generation rose 29 percent from a year earlier.

Japan had three nuclear reactors with a capacity of 3,138 megawatts, or 6.4 percent of the total, operating at the end of January. Japan ordered safety checks following the meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi station last year.

The following table shows Japanese utilities’ consumption and purchases of fuel oil, crude, LNG and coal in January. Fuel oil and crude volumes are in kiloliters, while those for LNG and coal are in tons.
------------------------------------------------------------

January 2012 / January 2011

CONSUMPTION

Fuel oil 1,634,893 / 748,606

Crude oil 1,503,329 / 698,385

LNG 5,234,278 / 4,119,179

Coal 4,780,810 / 5,214,741

PURCHASES

Fuel oil 1,507,478 / 569,662

Crude oil 1,335,188 / 487,027

LNG 5,189,890 / 3,729,421

Coal 5,309,841 / 4,742,150

(Source: Bloomberg, 2/13/2012)

NRC Approves Two New Reactors at Plant Vogtle

Today, in a 4-1 vote, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved two new nuclear reactors (3 & 4) at the Plant Vogtle facility in Burke County, Georgia.  The reactors are the first to be built in the United States in almost 30 years and are expected to be completed in 2016 and 2017. The project is estimated to cost roughly $14 billion-dollars. The nuclear regulatory commission last gave a utility permission to start building a nuclear plant in 1978.

The NRC Combined Operating License (COL) will authorize Southern Company to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the Vogtle site, adjacent to the company's existing reactors approximately 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga.

Plant Vogle Reactors 1 & 2

Southern Company submitted its COL application on March 28, 2008 and the NRC completed its environmental review and issued a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Vogtle COLs on March 24, 2011. The NRC completed and issued the FSEIS on Aug. 9, 2011.

The NRC certified Westinghouse's amended AP1000 design on Dec. 30, 2011. The AP1000 is a 1,100 megawatt electric pressurized-water reactor that includes passive safety features that would cool down the reactor after an accident without the need for electricity or human intervention. (WTOC11, 2/11/2012)

Center Supports Donald Trump's Old Post Office Renovation

The General Services Administration announced Tuesday that the New York real estate magnate Donald Trump’s hotel company (Trump Hotel Collection) has been selected to turn Washington’s Old Post Office Pavilion into a luxury hotel. The Trump Organization should bring some real spark to the nation's capital.

Built in the 1890s, the Old Post Office is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Post Office is located partway between the Capitol and the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is right across the street from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Trump prevailed with a plan to team up with California private equity company Colony Capital to invest $200 million in acquiring the building and turning it into a luxury hotel of at least 250 rooms that would include conference space, a spa, restaurants and museum space focused on the history of the building.

The Trump Hotel Collection already operates luxury hotels in Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, Hono­lulu and Panama. Its newest hotel opened in Toronto this year. The Old Post Office hotel could open as early as 2016. (Wash Post, 2/7/2012)

Emissions Allowance Prices For SO2 and NOX Remain Low

Emissions allowances are a component of policy tools used to reduce emissions of air pollutants such as SO2 or NOX. Such programs cap the total level of emissions, typically for a geographic area, without setting plant-by-plant limits. The price of emissions allowances is one important indicator of how the program is affecting the operating costs of polluting power plants, which in turn affects the order in which power plants are dispatched to meet demand, determining how often those plants run to generate power and produce the accompanying emissions.

The Center, through one of its outreach arms, is registered in EPA's SOx and NOx Allowance Program.

The prices of annual sulfur dioxide (SO2) and summer seasonal nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions allowances from the EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the NOX Budget Trading Program (NBP) have fallen dramatically in recent years. Average SO2 prices in 2007 were $534/ton, and fell to an average of $2.12/ton in 2011. NOX prices showed a similar dramatic drop from $807/ton in 2008 to $15.89/ton by 2011. The drop in the value of allowances began after the D.C. Court of Appeals struck down CAIR, in July 2008, and continued through the end of 2011.

Several factors continued to contribute to lower prices for SO2 and NOX emissions allowances in 2011:

• Regulatory changes. CAIR was struck down by the D.C. Court of Appeals in July 2008. The same court temporarily reinstated the rule until EPA finalized a replacement. In its ruling, the court made clear that banked SO2 allowances could not be used in the replacement program, like they could be under CAIR. Furthermore, the court ruled that the NOX allowances awarded to states under CAIR were done illegally. After the court ruling, the value of SO2 and NOX emissions allowances plummeted.

• Environmental controls added. Contributing to the decline of emissions that freed up allowances for sale and reduced demand was the installation of new flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR), pollution controls for SO2 and NOX reduction, respectively, by coal plants in anticipation of CAIR, state control requirements, and New Source Review settlements. After the court's CAIR rule decision, most of the projects were completed. From 2008 through 2011, FGD equipment and SCR equipment was added to about 69 gigawatts (GW) and 23 GW, respectively, of coal-fired generating capacity.

• Lower coal generation. There were two other factors that helped lower coal generation since 2009: reduced electricity demand overall and lower spot natural gas prices. Lower electricity demand from lagging economic activity since 2009 and warmer-than-normal weather in the fall of 2011 have contributed to lower coal generation. Moreover, historically low natural gas prices have increased the use of natural gas for power generation at the expense of coal. Coal generation in 2010 was 8% lower than in 2007 and 13% lower in 2009. Since significant amounts of SO2 and NOX emissions from the power sector come from coal plants, the reduction in coal generation contributed to the surplus of allowances.
 

 
SO₂ emissions from the electric power sector fell from 9.0 million metric tons in 2007 to 5.4 million metric tons in 2010 (see chart above). NO_X emissions fell from 3.7 million metric tons in 2007 to 2.5 million metric tons in 2010. (DOE-EIA)

San Onofre Steam Generator Leak

San Onofre nuclear generating station (SONGS), right, hasn't been generating power since 5:31 p.m. Tuesday, when Southern California Edison shut down its Unit 3 reactor ---- one of two reactors ---- announcing that operators had detected a leak in one of two giant heat exchangers installed in 2010. The leak could be a safety concern because it allows water that can can contain radioactive particles to mix with clean water used to make steam. The steam travels outside the protective concrete domes that are designed to protect the public from a radiation release. Once it leaves the radioactive side of the plant, the water can evaporate and travel through the plant's electricity-generating turbines.

Given that the new components were supposed to last for decades, industry experts were quick to question why the expensive equipment was already leaking at a rate of between 50 and 100 gallons per day. At the time the leak was detected, San Onofre's other reactor ----- Unit 2 ----- was already shut down for refueling and maintenance.

Steam Generator

The vertical steam generators generally have a feedwater ring supply header on the outer edge of the steam generator. The water is directed downward and flows along a wrapper sheet then is directed upwards to flow along the steam generator tubes where the water picks up heat, increasing in temperature until boiling occurs and the water is converted to steam. In the upper part of the steam generator is a moisture separator region which forces the steam-water mixture through channels which allow steam to pass, but not water. A vane arrangement in these steam generators also force a swirling action that enhances the steam-water separation.

The water supplied to the steam generators must be very pure, free of particles, and chemicals. In the boiling environment of the steam generator these chemicals can concentrate resulting in undesired corrosion.


SC Edison began replacing the steam generators at San Onofre in 2009 with new units manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Edison has indicated the new generators would last until the plant's license expires in 2022. But on Tuesday a leak developed in one of the tubes in the number 2 steam steam generator at Unit 3. Radiation monitors detected an increase in radioactivity levels, plant operators diagnosed the leak, and the unit was depowered at 4:30 p.m. and shut down fully at 5:31 p.m.

Steam Generator

While there is still no quantitative information available on the radioactivity release, an NRC spokesman noted that: “all of our information so far indicates it was very, very small, and well within federal regulatory limits. It posed no danger to workers on site or to the public offsite.”  Meanwhile, according to the NRC, SONGS workers doing maintenance at the second reactor, unit 2, checked that new steam generator as part of routine maintenance and found that:

“Two of the tubes have thinning so extensive that they need to be plugged and taken out of service. Sixty nine other tubes have thinning greater than 20 percent of the wall thickness, and a larger number have thinning greater than 10 percent of wall thickness.”

It should be noted that the nuclear power industry, now with 30 years of experience with this problem, is well equipped to plug or sleeve degraded tubes and return the steam generator to service. The generator contains thousands of tubes so even if some must be blocked the generator can still be used.

HOW NUCLEAR PLANTS WORK

(North County Times, 2/3/2012, The Orange Country Register, 2/2/2012)

Natural Gas Spot Prices Near 10-Year Lows

Warm Weather Creates Robust Supplies

Natural gas prices have continued their downward trend this winter as a result of warmer-than-normal temperatures, ample natural gas in storage, and growing production. Population-weighted heating degree days since November 1, 2011 are down 12% nationally from the 30-year average. Total working natural gas in underground storage in the lower 48 states was 3,098 Bcf for the week ending January 20, 21% above the storage levels from one year ago. Daily dry gas production averaged about 64.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) in January, up almost 10% from last January.

Click on the tab headers below to see charts highlighting factors affecting natural gas prices.

Spot Prices
Weather
Storage
Production
Futures Prices

Average spot natural gas prices for January were $2.68/MMBtu. Spot natural gas prices in January 2012 reached their lowest level in 10 years except for a 4-day period over the Labor Day weekend in 2009. (EIA)

End Of Wind Tax Credit Could End Wind Projects

If Congress does not to renew the wind production tax credit, the industry could collapse in 2013. The credit will expire in December and there is doubt that Congress will renew the tax credit.  Currently U.S. tax credits are available only for facilities that come online before the end of 2012.

Bills to extend the credit so far have not gone anywhere in Congress.  Several key ethanol and biodiesel subsidies expired at the end of last year.

California Advanced Clean Cars Program

Last Friday, after three years in the making, the California Air Resources Board unanimously approved automobile standards known as the California Advanced Clean Cars program. This emissions-control program will increase the number of low-pollution vehicles available to consumers starting in 2017, with a goal to have 1.4 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2025. These vehicles include plug-in hybrids, electric battery-powered cars, and hydrogen fuel cell cars. By 2025 one in seven new cars sold in the state must emit little or no pollution. Half a million of these cars are expected to be fuel cell or electric powered. The clean car rules also set the goal that by 2050 87% of vehicles must be fueled by clean technologies.

The Advanced Clean Cars program combines the control of smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions into a single coordinated package of requirements for model years 2017 through 2025. Starting with model year 2015, automakers will have to meet tougher standards for smog-forming emissions and in 2017, greater limits on pollutants that contribute to global warming. By 2025, the standards are designed to reduce the average smog-forming emissions of new cars and light trucks by 75% compared with those sold today.

The greenhouse gas limits, which would be the same as the federal government has proposed for vehicles nationally, should cut those auto emissions by a third more in 2025 than required under current standards. To meet the new limits, the board staff anticipates the auto industry will make greater use of advanced hybrid technology, stronger and lighter materials and improved emission control equipment.

If oil companies don't reach an agreement with the state to voluntarily install alternative fueling stations, such as for hydrogen fuel cells, the new rules will also require them to do so when a certain number of cars using that fuel is reached. The outlets could be placed at an existing gasoline station or a free-standing site.

The California clean car rules also address emission standards for gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by extending limits on greenhouse gas emissions and smog forming pollutants. Again, by 2025 all new vehicles must emit 34% fewer global warming gases and 75% fewer smog forming emissions. California has over 26 million cars and the top five smoggiest metropolitan areas in the country.

The California Air Resources board estimates that the initial increase in cost will be offset by an average of $6,000 worth of fuel savings over a vehicle’s lifetime. (Think Progress, 1/30/2012, LA Times, 1/28/2012)

(More Information)

Obama Commission on America's Nuclear Future Final Report

Norris McDonald Testifying at BRC Hearing in Washington, DC

President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (BRC) has issued its final report. Fully implementing the Commission’s recommendations will require several changes to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act or other legislation:

Establishing a new facility siting process – The NWPA, as amended in 1987, now provides only for the evaluation and licensing of a single repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The Act should be amended to authorize a new consent-based process to be used for selecting and evaluating sites and licensing consolidated storage and disposal facilities in the future, similar to the process established in the expired Nuclear Waste Negotiator provisions of the Act (but under new organizational leadership, as described below).

Authorizing consolidated interim storage facilities – The NWPA allows the government to construct one consolidated storage facility with limited capacity, but only after construction of a nuclear waste repository has been licensed. One or more consolidated storage facilities should be established, independent of the schedule for opening a repository.

The Act should be modified to allow for a consent-based process to site, license, and construct multiple storage facilities with adequate capacity when needed and to clarify that nuclear waste fee payments can be used for this purpose. Broadening support to jurisdictions affected by transportation – The NWPA provides funding and technical assistance for training public safety officials to states and tribes whose jurisdictions would be traversed by shipments of spent fuel to a storage or disposal facility.

The Act should be amended to give the waste management organization the broader authorities given to DOE in the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act that supported the successful large-scale transport of transuranic waste to WIPP (including a public information program, support for the acquisition of equipment to respond to transportation incidents, and broad assistance for other waste-related transportation safety programs).

Establishing a new waste management organization – Responsibility for implementing the nation’s program for managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes is currently assigned to the U.S. Department of Energy. Legislation will be needed to (1) move this responsibility to a new, independent, government-chartered corporation focused solely on carrying out that program and (2) establish the appropriate oversight mechanisms.  [This is a Center recommendation]

Ensuring access to dedicated funding – Current federal budget rules and laws make it impossible for the nuclear waste program to have assured access to the fees being collected from nuclear utilities and ratepayers to finance the commercial share of the waste program’s expenses.

They have recommended a partial remedy that should be implemented promptly by the Administration, working with the relevant congressional committees and the Congressional Budget Office. A long-term remedy requires legislation to provide access to the Nuclear Waste Fund and fees independent of the annual appropriations process but subject to rigorous independent financial and managerial oversight.

Promoting international engagement to support safe and secure waste management – Congress may need to provide policy direction and new legislation to implement some measures aimed at helping other countries manage radioactive wastes in a safe, secure, and proliferationresistant manner, similar to the expired NWPA provisions for technical assistance to non-nuclear weapons states in the area of spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal. (BRC)

Coal Export

The Powder River Basin currently represents approximately 50% of the US’s total coal production and the reserves are massive. The key to accessing the Asian export market is port capacity. The US west coast currently supplies only 8Mtpa of Asia’s total thermal coal demand of 550Mtpa. Current port capacity restricts any further growth.

In 2009, coal accounted for 28% of global energy use and generated 42% of the world’s electricity. Japan is the world’s largest coal importer (182 million tons in 2009), South Korea imported 110 million tons and Taiwan imported 65 million tons. Asia’s thermal coal demand is forecast (Wood Mackenzie) to increase by 560Mtpa over the next 10 years. The US can only participate in this phenomenal growth if new port capacity comes on stream. (Ambre Energy)

Pacific Northwest Coal Export Wars Continue

Environmental opponents are working to kill several proposed terminals that would facilitate the shipment of coal mined in the Rocky Mountains to countries such as China. Environmentalists who scuttled development of a coal-export terminal in Washington last year are back at it in Oregon, trying to keep two ports from becoming transit points for coal shipped to the Far East. But while many local residents share the activists' concerns about pollution, the projects' promise of jobs also resonates widely in a region suffering from declines in fishing, timber and other resource-related industries.

Last year, a coalition blocked development of a $100 million coal-export terminal at the Columbia River port of Longview, Washington by challenging the permitting process that had allowed construction to begin. This month, those same activists filed a petition to stop work on the harbor at Coos Bay on Oregon's coast, then mobilized opposition to two coal projects proposed for the Port of St. Helens, 48 miles downstream of Portland.

At a public hearing Wednesday in Clatskanie, Oregon, five port commissioners voted to greenlight the coal terminal projects at Port of St. Helens, across the Columbia from Longview. It is the first step ahead of what will be a lengthy permitting process. Both terminals would require the approval of several state and federal agencies.

One is backed by Ambre Energy Ltd. of Australia, the coal producer turned back at Longview in 2011. Longview, sited on the Columbia River where Washington and Oregon states meet, was the first coal port proposal on the table. An Ambre subsidiary, Pacific Transloading LLC, wants to lease public property to build a terminal so it can load as much as 3.5 million metric tons of coal annually onto ships that would transport it to Asia. This site has obtained shore permits from the state of Washington, but is already facing legal challenges. Arch recently bought a significant share in Ambre Energy, the Australian company developing this port project.

The project would provide dozens of high-wage jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenue, according to Pacific Transloading. On top of the tax revenue, the company promised to donate 10 cents per metric ton of coal to the school districts of Columbia and Morrow counties—$300,000 to $350,000 to each annually. The coal terminal would be in Columbia County, and trains that would transport coal to St. Helens would go through Morrow County.

A second company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP of Houston, wants to build its own terminal at the Port of St. Helens, also on public property, to handle some 15 million metric tons of coal annually. Port officials projected the two projects would require hiring more than 100 people.

With unemployment topping 12% in Columbia County, both coal terminals would be welcome, providing "living-wage jobs." Environmentalists' concerns range from coal dust polluting the air to barges spoiling local fishing and tourism to cross-ocean fallout from burning the fuel in dirty Asian furnaces. "
 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists coal-fired plans in China and elsewhere in Asia as a leading cause of mercury emissions world-wide, a contributor to contamination in seafood. Coal exporters counter that it would be better for the environment if China were to burn U.S. coal, which has a lower sulfur content than the coal it could get from Asia and Russia.

Local "greens" are equally adamant that only strict regulation can protect jobs in new industries linked to tourism and retiree havens along Oregon's seaside, as well as traditional industries such as fishing.
 
The Ambre project emphasized the use of covered barges to minimize land-dwellers' exposure to coal dust for moving coal down to St. Helens each year. On an annual basis, any projects of this size could contribute over $1 million to the county in property taxes.

This month the Sierra Club joined a coalition of Native American tribes, the Seattle-based Earthjustice and Oregon's local Greenpeace office to appeal Oregon's Department of State Lands' permission to allow "dredging" at Coos Bay, which the port requested. The environmental groups said that permit, to benefit a liquefied natural gas operation, may also benefit a secretly planned future coal export terminal.

The Jordan Cove Energy group, a unit of Canada's Veresen Inc, is building an LNG terminal at Coos Bay. The entire project—a $5 billion investment including a terminal and a 230-mile pipeline—won't be operational before 2017. Opposition to the harbor work is "nowhere near critical" to the company's timetable. (WSJ, 1/28/2012, photo courtesy WSJ)

Center Supports President Obama's 'Clean Energy Standard'

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

President Obama covers all bases when it comes to energy policy.  He is pro coal and pro nuclear, while being on the cutting edge in promoting a 'green energy economy.'  We support President Obama's 'all of the above' energy strategy because that is what it will take to meet America's voracious energy appetite.  The president stated in his 2012 State of the Union, "This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs."  President Obama also called for a 'Clean Energy Standard:'

"The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well tonight, I will. I’m directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history – with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year."

In his 2011 State of the Union, President Obama proposed a Clean Energy Standard (CES) to require that 80 percent of the nation’s electricity come from clean energy technologies by 2035. That is a bold goal, particularly considering that the percentage he cites for clean energy is now held by fossil energy.  According to the “Annual Energy Outlook 2012” from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2010, fossil fuel represented 83 percent of U.S. energy consumption. Although total energy use grows only 10 percent between 2010 and 2035, the fossil fuel share stays high at 77 percent in 2035. The electricity sector reflects similar percentages to the total energy sector.

Since 1985, part of the Center's mission has been to promote 'practical solutions to energy and environmental problems,' and to 'promote the efficient use of natural resources.'  I believe that President Obama brings a balanced approach to energy and environmental policies and it is for this reason that we support most of his proposals.

See Also:

Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Lisa Murkowski WHITE PAPER ON A CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD

Obama Wants A “Clean Energy Standard.” What Does That Mean? The Washington Post, 1/25/2012

Ener1 Car Battery Company Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Ener1, an electric car battery company that the Obama administration awarded a $118 million stimulus grant to expand its operations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after being unable to repay pressing debts.

Lithium Ion Batteries

Ener1 is the third company to seek bankruptcy protection among those the Energy Department backed as part of the president’s signature program to invest in clean energy. Solyndra, a California solar-panel maker, and Beacon Power, a Massachusetts energy-storage firm, entered bankruptcy court proceedings in the fall, after having received taxpayer-guaranteed loans of $535 million and $43 million, respectively.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President foreshadowed the bad news by saying that he remained proud of his administration’s $80 billion commitment to clean-energy projects and companies, despite periodic failures. The Ener1 grant, among $2.4 billion in federal awards to spur the electric car industry. (Wash Post, 1/26/2012)

USA Energy Outlook: Fossil Fuels & More CO2

According to the “Annual Energy Outlook 2012” from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2010, fossil fuel represented 83 percent of U.S. energy consumption.  Although total energy use grows only 10 percent between 2010 and 2035, the fossil fuel share stays high at 77 percent in 2035.

The gains in efficiency and the expansion of renewables are offset by increased energy demand from a larger population (390 million in 2035, up from310million in 2010) and more homes, buildings,malls and cars. In 2035, emissions of carbon dioxide—the largest greenhouse gas—are reckoned to be 3 percent higher than in 2010. This contrasts with the declines of 50 to 80 percent that some scientists say are needed by midcentury to stabilize global temperatures.

Advances in “fracking” have opened new oil and natural gas fields. From 2007 to 2010,U.S. oil production rose from 5.1 million barrels a day (mbd) to 5.5mbd. By 2020, itwill hit 6.7 mbd.

In 2010, oil imports accounted for 49 percent of U.S. consumption, down from60 percent in 2005.  By 2035, imports could decline to 36 percent, projects the EIA. (Wash Post, 1/26/2012)

ConocoPhillips Fined By Chinese Government For Oil Spill

Houston-based ConocoPhillips and China National Offshore Oil Corporation have agreed to pay 1 billion Chinese yuan, or around $159 million, to settle compensation claims resulting from oil spills in Bohai Bay, off northeastern China. Center staff visited the Bohai Bay area in 2007.

The two companies had reached an agreement with China's Ministry of Agriculture related to the June 2011 incidents at the oil field, known as Peng Lai 19-3.  The leaks, although tiny compared with BP PLC's 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, provoked a storm of media protests in China and harsh criticism by the authorities of the Bohai field operator, Conoco.  The Chinese government in early September ordered a complete halt in production at the field, which produced an average 56,000 barrels a day in 2010. It is still offline.

Conoco said the compensation money would be used to "settle public and private claims of potentially affected fishermen in relevant Bohai Bay communities.

In two accidents in June, 3,343 barrels of oil and mud used in drilling leaked through the seafloor near platforms at the field, operated by Conoco and 51% owned by Cnooc's listed unit Cnooc Ltd. In November, China's State Oceanic Administration charged that "Conoco was deficient in management of the field and didn't adopt the necessary measures after the spill, all of which caused a larger oil spill because of its negligence."

In December, Conoco Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Mulva said that his company expected to pay "reasonable compensation" and that a fund it had set up "can help address the challenges of those who have been affected and promote the environmental sustainability of Bohai Bay." In its Wednesday statement, Conoco said it also is allocating approximately $16 million of that fund to improve fishery resources in the area. (WSJ, 1/25/2012)

House Bill Seeks To Resurrect Keystone XL Pipeline

Lee Terry

The legislation, which Representative Lee Terry (R-Neb.) has introduced legislation in the House that, “imposes narrow time constraints and creates automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision.” Terry's legislation would put the final verdict on the pipeline into the hands of the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), not the State Department. The bill instructs FERC to issue a permit and limits its discretion to reject the project.

House GOP leadership is weighing attaching the bill to upcoming legislation to extend the payroll tax cut for the rest of the year in an effort to overturn Obama’s decision last week to reject the pipeline.

Opponents of the bill, particularly the State Department, believe the legislation:

Raises serious questions about existing legal authorities,

Questions the continuing force of much of the federal and all of the state and local environmental and land use management authority over the pipeline, and

Overrides foreign policy and national security considerations implicated by a cross border permit, which are properly assessed by the State Department.

President Obama rejected the pipeline under a GOP-backed provision in a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut that mandated a decision within 60 days. (Politico, 1/25/2012)

President Obama State of the Union - Energy

THE WHITE HOUSE

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery

State of the Union Address

“An America Built to Last”

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Washington, DC

Excerpts - Energy

Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right – eight years. Not only that – last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.

But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of thirty years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock – reminding us that Government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.

What’s true for natural gas is true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled. And thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring workers like Bryan, who said, “I’m proud to be working in the industry of the future.”

Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.

We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well tonight, I will. I’m directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history – with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s another proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, and more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.

Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world. (The White House)

CORPORATIZATION OF NATIONAL PARKS

Summit Promoting a Billion Dollar Private Endowment for Parks

As the National Park System prepares for its centennial in 2016 it is turning toward corporate funding for support, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). A core strategy announced by National Park Service (NPS) leaders in August 2011 is creating a billion dollar corporate-financed endowment outside the federal appropriation process.

Today through January 26th, an invitation-only summit in Washington, DC focuses on how to build support for the NPS agenda, called a Call to Action. While not hosted by the NPS, the summit is being staged by the National Park Foundation, the congressionally-chartered fundraising arm for NPS, and the network representing park vendors and concessionaires. “America’s Summit on National Parks” does, however, feature NPS and Interior Department officials from both the Obama and Bush administrations.

One of the main financial sponsors of the summit is Coca Cola, which recently leveraged its substantial contributions channeled through the National Park Foundation to temporarily block a ban on disposable plastic water bottle sales at Grand Canyon National Park. Coca Cola is a major water bottler whose products would have been affected. Five weeks after the company’s role was exposed in November 2011, NPS backed off its veto of Grand Canyon’s plans.

“Our national parks do not need a super PAC to flourish in the 21st century,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, pointing out that a big private “slush fund” raises issues of accountability and transparency not addressed in agency plans. “Corporate money comes with strings attached, which inevitably means special treatment for special interests at the expense of our national commons.”

PEER points to the $2.5 million “Proud Partner” agreement Coca Cola entered into with NPS and its Foundation as an example of “creeping corporatization” of national parks. Under the 5-year arrangement which runs through 2012, Coca Cola gets exclusive use of park logos for cause marketing campaigns (to the exclusion of all other beverage companies). In addition, the company obtains –

• “Special visitation opportunities, e.g., for executives and key customer hospitality, in the Parks”;

• “Marketing Support” including a “promotional media commitment.” The agreement specifically mentions that Coca Cola will “develop executions around the parks that are part of the African American Experience Fund under the system multicultural marketing platform”; and

• A variety of “in-park activities including tours, events and interpretation” as well as unspecified “additional mutually beneficial program enhancements.” The company will also receive discounted National Park Passes for its employees and approved “promotional purposes.”

Coca Cola’s contributions to the National Park Foundation are completely tax deductible. The only explicit limit on cross-marketing is that NPS does not explicitly endorse the company’s products.

“Taxpayers are underwriting commercial marketing campaigns courtesy of the National Park Foundation,” added Ruch, noting that NPS will need 400 agreements similar to the Coca Cola Proud Partner deal to reach its billion dollar goal. “Any summit on the centennial of our nation’s park system should ponder how to preserve the integrity of America’s best idea from the seduction of material pressures – a topic apparently not on this week’s agenda.”

PEER obtained the Coca Cola agreement after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the National Park Foundation. PEER is calling for all of these fundraising deals to be on the public record.

(Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility, 1/24/2012)

See how corporate contributions confer access and influence

Look at the Coca Cola Proud Partner agreement

Revisit Coke role in blocking plastic bottle ban

View Coke sponsorship of the summit