News

Statement on announced resignation of Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Becca Connors — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:51:32 -0400

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica had the following statement in response to the announced resignation of Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

"With two of the five NRC commissioners now up for appointment, this is a critical moment for President Obama and Congress to address the cozy relationship between the NRC and the nuclear industry it is supposed to regulate. It is extraordinary that while other countries have prioritized nuclear safety after Fukushima, with a number even closing old reactors, here in the U.S. the NRC has taken its marching orders from the nuclear industry and dragged its feet in enacting new regulations to protect the public.

"It took the Gulf spill to force the president to address the decay of the Minerals Management Service. Will it take a Fukushima-scale disaster here in the U.S. to make President Obama reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?"

Contact:
Bill Walker, 510-759-9911, bw.deadline@gmail.com
Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, ktrout@foe.org

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Friends of the Earth fights to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

Friends of the Earth releases new ad: San Onofre 'a disaster waiting to happen'

Becca Connors — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:21:52 -0400

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Friends of the Earth released a new video ad warning that restarting the crippled San Onofre nuclear power plant is "a disaster waiting to happen."

The 30-second online ad blasts Southern California Edison's announced plan to restart San Onofre's twin reactors as early as next month. The reactors have been shut down since a release of radioactive steam in January, but Edison insists they can be safely operated by plugging some of the faulty steam tubes and operating at reduced power -- even though the exact cause of the leaks is still unknown.

The ad urges concerned citizens to contact Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Sen. Boxer, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, wrote to Edison and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on May 15, asking for documents relating to Edison's decision to replace the plant's steam generators with a different design and the NRC's review of that decision. The senator has given the NRC and Edison until May 21 to provide documentation.

"Edison has yet to provide any technical information about what went wrong at San Onofre, but they're recklessly pushing to start the plant up again," said Damon Moglen, climate and energy campaign director at Friends of the Earth. "It's an irresponsible gamble that could endanger the millions of people who live near the nuclear plant. We can't let that happen."

To watch the ad: http://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsoftheEarthUS?feature=mhee

Contact:
Bill Walker, (510) 759-9911, bw.deadline@gmail.com
Damon Moglen, (202) 222-0708, dmoglen@foe.org

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New study shows dangers of E15 for engines

Kelly Trout — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:03:16 -0400

Study is latest proof that EPA’s rushed approval process of the ethanol blend endangers public safety and health

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today the Coordinating Research Council released a study demonstrating the negative effects that blends of 15 and 20 percent ethanol in gasoline, E15 and E20, would have on the current vehicle fleet. Out of eight engines approved by the EPA to use E15, two failed with mechanical damage when operated with the ethanol blend.

The Coordinating Research Council is a non-profit research organization supported by the American Petroleum Institute and a group of automobile manufacturers.

Friends of the Earth’s biofuels policy campaigner, Michal Rosenoer, issued the following statement in response:

“This study clearly shows that the EPA rushed the approval process for E15. The introduction of E15 at the pumps could result in a lot of stranded consumers with big repair bills. Tests show using E15 as directed will leave consumers stuck on the side of the highway, and because major engine manufacturers have already stated that using E15 will void warranties, they’ll also be stuck paying for dead engines.

“Just as the EPA did not take the steps necessary to ensure E15 is safe for consumers, it also failed to conduct the research necessary to protect public health and the environment. Ethanol-blended gasoline releases more toxic air pollution than regular gasoline, including nitrous oxide and formaldehyde. Because ethanol is more corrosive than gas, storing E15 in underground storage tanks could lead to widespread fuel leaks and drinking water contamination.

“The EPA should revoke its registration of E15 until it is positive that the fuel is safe for consumers and the environment.”

Download a pdf copy of the study released today.

Contact:
Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, ktrout@foe.org
Michal Rosenoer, 202-222-0734, mrosenoer@foe.org

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Friends of the Earth fights to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world. Our campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

Senate support for U.S. Export-Import Bank is big win for the 1%

Kelly Trout — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:47:11 -0400

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 2072, a bill to reauthorize the federal government’s Export-Import Bank, which provides billions of dollars in public financing for harmful fossil fuel projects worldwide.[1] Passage of the bill will allow the agency to increase its portfolio cap from $100 billion to $140 billion. It now moves to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law.

“By passing today’s Ex-Im Bank reauthorization, the Senate ensured that some of the country’s most profitable and polluting companies, like ExxonMobil, will continue to enjoy billions of dollars in public subsidies, leaving behind them a wake of damaged environments and harmed communities,” said Doug Norlen, Policy Director at Pacific Environment.

The passage of the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization bill omits environmental, social and some anti-corruption reforms necessary to hold the agency accountable for the damage done by the projects it finances.[2] The bill’s omission of public interest reforms comes despite earlier passage of a Senate Banking Committee version of the bill with language promoting more renewable energy, and a previously passed House Financial Services version that would have established an independent accountability mechanism to address the growing number of severe violations of the agency’s environmental and social policies.

However, two provisions of the bill could draw more public attention to Ex-Im Bank fossil fuel projects. The first is a provision that requires public notice and comment for any Ex-Im Bank transaction exceeding $100 million, which will cover many Ex-Im Bank fossil fuel projects. The second is a requirement for the U.S. to initiate and pursue negotiations with other countries’ export credit agencies to substantially reduce, with the ultimate goal of eliminating, subsidized export financing programs and other forms of export subsidies. Many export credit agencies subsidize fossil fuel projects.

“When negotiating to end export financing subsidies, the Obama Administration should start by cutting the Ex-Im Bank’s bloated support for fossil fuel projects,” said Michelle Chan, Economic Policy Director at Friends of the Earth. “This would go a long way towards demonstrating that the U.S. is serious about Obama’s G20 pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.”

Environmentalists point out that Senate passage of the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization bill does nothing to curb the agency’s skyrocketing support for fossil fuel projects, which surpassed $4.5 billion in 2011, six times as much as for renewable energy. Moreover, an amendment introduced by Sen. Bennet, calling on Ex-Im Bank to increase renewable energy financing, and to identify barriers to doing so, was defeated.

"The Senate's failure to approve clean energy and accountability reforms keeps the Ex-Im Bank hopelessly stuck in the past and cedes U.S. market share, jobs, and competitiveness in the clean energy race," said Justin Guay, Washington Representative of the Sierra Club’s International Finance Program.

“It’s bad enough that the Obama Administration pawns publicly-owned coal for export, and seriously entertains approval of the tar sands pipeline. Now it is complicit in an Export-Import Bank reauthorization bill without any requirement to clean up the agency’s portfolio. It's as if the Obama Administration wants to push climate pollution,” said Kyle Ash, Senior Legislative Representative, Greenpeace.

[1] http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr2072/text
[2] These reforms were presented in testimony by Pacific Environment’s Policy Director, Doug Norlen, before a Senate subcommittee hearing on Export-Import Bank reauthorization, available at http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=8c4ab7ec-5960-4fc7-a453-4a1efaecb2fb.

Contact:
Doug Norlen, Pacific Environment, 202.465.1650, dnorlen@pacificenvironment.org
Michelle Chan, Friends of the Earth, 415.544. 0790 x214, mchan@foe.org
Kyle Ash, Greenpeace, 202.319.2417, kyle.ash@greenpeace.org
John Coequyt, Sierra Club, 202.669.7060, john.couquyt@sierraclub.org

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New report reveals scale of Edison steam generator failures at San Onofre nuclear plant

Becca Connors — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:00:00 -0400

Engineer warns that tube plugging and low power operation are risky “non-solutions”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Southern California Edison avoided federal regulatory guidelines when replacing defective steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear power plant -- a costly mistake that can’t be fixed by plugging the tubes that carry radioactive steam or by operating the plant at reduced power, according to a new report released today by Friends of the Earth.

The content of the report by nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen details the significant design changes that should have triggered a license review which would have uncovered problems that subsequently led to serious damage and the release of radiation from the defective equipment at San Onofre in January.

Gundersen also criticizes Edison's plans to rapidly restart the damaged reactors at lower power after having done minimal plugging of damaged tubes carrying radioactive water. He warns that these are “non-solutions” that could lead to even more significant equipment failure and releases of radiation. Edison is expected to propose running the reactors at between 50 and 80 percent power. The report challenges the safety and effectiveness of such an approach, concluding:

Reducing power does not provide a remedy for the underlying structural problems that are creating the vibration that has damaged and will continue to damage the tubes deep inside the San Onofre steam generators;
Reducing power will not change the pressure inside or outside the tubes - previously damaged tubes will continue to vibrate damaging surrounding tubes and tube supports and worsening the existing damage;
Lower power might create a resonate frequency at which vibration might increase without notice causing further damage;
Historical evidence at other reactors has shown that operating at lower power has not been an effective solution.

Gundersen concludes that plugging the tubes and restarting the reactor could lead to catastrophe: “If a steam-line accident were to occur, vibrationally induced tube damage at San Onofre could cause an inordinate amount of radioactivity to be released outside of the containment system, compromising public health and safety in one of the most heavily populated areas in the United States.”

“Edison should never have been allowed to install these fundamentally defective steam generators,” said Damon Moglen, climate and energy campaign director at Friends of the Earth. “Now Edison is planning to avoid dealing with the underlying problems and instead restart at lower power. Their claims of nuclear safety first ring completely hollow and must be stopped.”

Read the report here:

http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/01/3/1442/SO_Steam_Generator_Analysis_May.pdf

Summary of the report with video demonstrating the problems:

http://www.foe.org/news/blog/2012-05-san-onofres-steam-generator-failures-could-have-been

Contact:
Bill Walker, 510-759-9911, deadlinenow@gmail.com
Damon Moglen, 202-222-0708, dmoglen@foe.org

New legislation would end over $110 billion in handouts to fossil fuels

Lisa Matthes — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:01:00 -0400

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) announced legislation that is by far the most comprehensive attempt to end subsidies for the fossil fuels industry in the United States. Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ellison's bill would save taxpayers over $10 billion a year and more than $110 billion over ten years. Friends of the Earth’s Tax Analyst Ben Schreiber issued the following statement about the bill.

“Bold leadership, like that which Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ellison have exhibited today, will be necessary if we are to have any hope of avoiding climate catastrophe. We simply must stop paying corporations to cause asthma, lung disease and cancer.

Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ellison have gone far beyond anyone before them with their proposal to eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Conservatively we are giving more than $110 billion to fossil fuels, and the final tally is surely much higher.

It is unconscionable that anyone is talking about cutting programs that make up the core of our social safety net, like Social Security and Medicaid, while we continue to give out billions of dollars each year to some of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations.

Ending these subsidies is just common sense. The first step in responsible budgeting is ending incentives for pollution and instead making polluters pay for their pollution.”

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Contact:

Kaitlin Froom: 202-222-0751

Ben Schreiber: 202-222-0752

Nuclear industry suffers major defeat in Iowa

Lisa Matthes — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:38:34 -0400

Despite intense industry lobbying, Iowa Legislature adjourns without passing ill-advised nuclear ‘cost recovery’ bill

Des Moines, Iowa — In a major blow to the nuclear industry, the Iowa Legislature adjourned today without passing a bill that would have paved the way for MidAmerican Energy to charge ratepayers in advance for new nuclear reactor construction. The utility would have been allowed to keep the money even if construction was never completed.

MidAmerican lobbied extensively for the bill but Iowa ratepayer concerns about nuclear power doomed the proposal. A poll sponsored by the Des Moines Register in January found that over three quarters of Iowans were opposed to the measure.

“The failure of this nuclear bill shows that the Iowa Legislature is listening to the people of Iowa and not to the well-financed nuclear power industry or to MidAmerican Energy’s lobbyists” said Friends of the Earth Iowa Nuclear Campaigner Mike Carberry. “Wall Street refuses to fund these nuclear boondoggles and so do the private investors of MidAmerican Energy. Now the Iowa Legislature has stepped up and said no to Iowa ratepayer funding as well. And they have good reasons: nuclear reactors are dirty, dangerous, expensive, and produce highly radioactive waste for which there is no solution. Nuclear reactors are a failed 20^th century technology -- we need to convert over to 21^st century clean, safe energy options including renewable energy like wind and solar, energy efficiency, and smart grid technologies.”

While the nuclear funding bill passed out of a senate committee on March 13 on a hard fought 8-7 vote, it never garnered enough support to pass the Senate. A similar bill passed in the Iowa House last year but also failed to pass the Senate.

Friends of the Earth worked with local and national groups including the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, Green State Solutions, Iowa PIRG, Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Move to Amend, CREDO Action and Physicians for Social Responsibility in the debate about the cost recovery bill, taking out radio and TV ads, phoning more than 100,000 Iowans, and mobilizing thousands of activists who called and wrote their elected officials.

“This is a victory for all the people of Iowa,” said Damon Moglen, Friends of the Earth’s Climate and Energy Campaign Director. “Iowans and people across the country increasingly recognize that nuclear reactors are not only unsafe but they make no financial sense. Already a national leader in wind power, Iowa is providing a great example of how to move away from the dirty and dangerous energy sources of the past, and applying clean 21^st century energy for the future.”

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Contact:

Mike Carberry, Friends of the Earth: (319) 594-6453

Damon Moglen, Friends of the Earth: (202) 222-0708

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Irvine Council pushes Edison to reveal non-nuclear summer electricity plan

Becca Connors — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:10:12 -0400

Irvine, Calif. -- The heat is on Southern California Edison tonight as it presents its energy efficiency plans to Irvine City Council -- one day after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair shot down Edison’s talk of an early restart of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

On Monday, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko issued a strongly worded statement that called talk of restarting San Onofre's damaged nuclear reactors “clearly premature” because Edison has yet to respond to actions ordered by the nuclear agency in a letter dated March 27.

David Freeman, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water, and special advisor to Friends of the Earth, said in a statement in advance of the Irvine Council meeting:

“The Edison company would do well to stop threatening blackouts as an excuse for prematurely restarting a dangerous nuclear plant. Blackouts are a failure by a utility to supply reliable service and are not new to Edison's customers. Blackouts are a concern whether or not San Onofre is operating.

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a report in April 2012 concerning the regional blackout in southern California on Sept. 8, 2011.

“The report found that the Edison company was partially responsible for that blackout which affected millions.

“FERC found that Edison did not understand that the reactors would shut down when their separation system operated. They also found that Edison had not coordinated its reactor protection and turbine protection systems with its separation system, which is designed to protect the reactors from grid instability.

“We therefore suggest that Edison focus on improving their internal performance and implementing aggressive efficiency measures. They need to cease warning of blackouts and do the work necessary to avoid them.

“They need to identify what is wrong at San Onofre before they make any plans for restart of a nuclear power plant that is ‘unsafe at any speed.’”

Edison executives will go before the City Council at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Contact:

Kaitlin Froom, Friends of the Earth, 202-222-0751
Damon Moglen, Friends of the Earth, 202-222-0708

TransCanada moves to steamroll application for controversial Keystone XL pipeline

Kaitlin Froom — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:59:26 -0400

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The State Department today confirmed that Canadian pipeline firm TransCanada has submitted its re-application to the department for the transboundary, northern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska. Along its path, the pipeline would still cut through the heart of Nebraska’s fragile Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking water for 2 million people in the Midwest and supports $20 billion in agriculture.

Friends of the Earth last year uncovered stunning conflicts of interest in the State Department’s handling of the review for Keystone XL. Among other things, the department allowed firm Cardno Entrix to conduct the environmental impacts review for the pipeline despite its ties with TransCanada. State Department officials also showed bias and complicity in allowing TransCanada to drive the review process, as evidenced by email communications between department officials and TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott, previously a top Hillary Clinton campaign aide.

Friends of the Earth and Public Citizen Texas broke the news yesterday that TransCanada has furtively moved forward with its permit applications to the Army Corps of Engineers for the southern leg of the Keystone XL, from Cushing, OK through Texas to the Gulf Coast amid objections from EPA Region 6. TransCanada’s recent application submission for the southern segment triggers a 45-day deadline by which the Corps must deny the permits, or they are automatically approved by default. The Corps can also approve the permits before the 45 days are over.

President of Friends of the Earth Erich Pica had the following statement:

“It’s time to stop beating around the bush: TransCanada’s behavior, and that of the federal agencies overseeing the review process for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, has been nothing short of criminal. TransCanada’s “new” route for the northern leg of the pipeline still crosses the sensitive Sandhills and the Ogallala, threatening our heartland with costly spills. The State Department must drop the contractor Cardno Entrix and start from scratch with a new impacts study of the proposed pipeline.

“And TransCanada’s furtive, opaque handling of its applications for the southern leg of Keystone XL is simply another attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of landowners and citizens who have long said ‘no’ to this dirty and dangerous project. If TransCanada thinks it can cover the fact that its project is a continental carbon bomb, or that it can run rough shod over Americans’ rights to clean water and air by splitting Keystone XL in half, it’s got another thing coming. This is just more evidence that TransCanada is attempting to evade a transparent and thorough review of its pipeline’s likely impacts.

“In March, President Obama unconscionably stood in front of piles of TransCanada pipe and gave his blessing to expedite the southern segment. Pandering to the oil industry and political headwinds with a pro-pipeline photo op is one thing, but encouraging his federal agencies to ram through a project that would ignite catastrophic climate change and leaves Americans on the hook to clean up Big Oil’s mess is another matter.

See the reporter memo regarding TransCanada’s permit application for the southern segment of the Keystone XL Pipeline here: http://www.foe.org/news/archives/2012-05-transcanada-secretly-moves-forward-with-permits

Read the Keystone XL Pipeline Influence Scandal: http://www.foe.org/news/blog/keystone-xl-pipeline-influence-scandal

Contact:

Kaitlin Froom, Friends of the Earth: (202) 222-0751

Kim Huynh, Friends of the Earth: (202) 222-0733

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TransCanada secretly moves forward with permits for Keystone XL southern segment amid EPA Region 6's previous objections

Kaitlin Froom — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:38:03 -0400

Memorandum

To: Journalists covering Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline

From: Lisa Matthes, Friends of the Earth: lmatthes@foe.org, 202-222-0730
Trevor Lovell, Public Citizen Texas: tlovell@citizen.org, 512-470-6572

Date: May 3, 2012

RE: TransCanada secretly moves forward with permits for Keystone XL southern segment amid EPA Region 6’s previous objections

The Army Corps of Engineers has confirmed that Canadian oil firm TransCanada has submitted applications to Corps district offices in Tulsa, Galveston, and Ft. Worth for a Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) to build the southern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma through Texas to the Gulf Coast.

TransCanada has pursued a NWP 12 to further evade a thorough, science-based review of its pipeline’s likely impacts. Its recent application submission triggers a 45-day deadline by which the Corps must approve or deny the permits. The Corps can approve or reject the permits before the 45 days are over but if the agency does not respond within the 45 days, the permits are automatically approved by default, allowing TransCanada to proceed with construction.

In a November 8, 2011 letter to the Galveston district office of the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA Region 6’s Associate Director in the Ecosystems Protection Division, Dr. Jane Watson, determined that the southern segment of the Keystone XL pipeline is ineligible for a NWP 12:

[O]f the 101 crossings that require preconstruction notification to the Corps, it appears that approximately 60 crossings of waters of the U.S. would each result in greater than a ½ acre loss of waters of the U.S., and would therefore not be eligible for authorization under NWP 12.

Dr. Watson’s letter further clarifies that individual Clean Water Act Section 404 permits are required for the southern segment of Keystone XL -- a permitting process that would ensure a minimum requirement of environmental review and public input through the National Environmental Policy Act. As Region 6 Administrator Dr. Al Armendariz has stepped down this week, it is imperative that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson intervene to ensure a permitting process for the southern segment that is transparent, science-based and rigorous as required by bedrock environmental law.

The Obama administration unconscionably gave its blessing to expedite the southern segment of the Keystone XL in March, despite widespread public outcry from national and local environmental, public interest, indigenous and landowner groups. Despite acknowledging the severe risks to the Ogallala Aquifer in delaying approval for Keystone XL in November, President Obama shamelessly ignored the southern segment’s potential impacts on the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Texas, which provides drinking water to more than 10 million Texans.

Adding to the appearance of an opaque and furtive process overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers, landowners and citizens all along the proposed pipeline’s path from Oklahoma and Texas have been stonewalled by the agency in their simple requests for information regarding the application, timeline, and process for TransCanada’s southern segment permits. The public has the right to know the particulars of a process through which a pipeline that would have massive impacts on land, water, public health and our shared climate may be approved any day now.

As the key segment of the Keystone XL pipeline, the southern leg of Keystone XL would provide the crucial link to relieving the current glut of tar sands oil in the Midwest by piping it down to refineries and international shipping ports on the Gulf Coast for export. The project would inflate oil industry profits while threatening our heartland with costly spills, amplifying the already-debilitating air pollution in refinery communities on the Gulf Coast, and vastly drive the expansion of climate-destabilizing tar sands development and consumption.

The EPA Region 6 letter is attached with this memorandum for your reference: http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/31/d/1428/EPA_Region_6_letter.pdf

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Friends of the Earth fights to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world. We’re progressives who confront economic factors fueling ecological destruction and injustice and who don’t shy from speaking sometimes uncomfortable truths to power. Our campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

Since 1984, Public Citizen's Texas State Office has concerned itself with: environmental enforcement policies, global warming, promoting renewable/clean energy, product safety, nuclear safety, medical safety, auto safety/quality, pesticide safety, insurance reforms, campaign finance/ethics issues, improving state government agency operations and fair trade policies. We have trained over 300 interns and have worked with/mentored numerous grassroots organizations.

When you turn on your lights, file an insurance claim, file a complaint about your doctor or lawyer, inquire about political contributions to your legislators, buy gas, rent a car, buy or recycle a product, appear before a judge at an administrative agency, see a pesticide warning sign or hear about a dangerous product your rights have been affected by the work of Public Citizen's Texas office.