State Releases Environmental Report

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently released a report “Sate of the Environment” about how the state is protecting its water, air, and land. According to the report, the air is cleaner and we are putting less raw sewage into our waters. However, the report points out that population growth is causing other pollution problems and straining drinking water supplies.

Keystone XL pipeline permit denied

 State Department News Release:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/01/181473.htm
Washington, DC
January 18, 2012
Today, the Department of State recommended to President Obama that the presidential permit for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline be denied and, that at this time, the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline be determined not to serve the national interest. The President concurred with the Department’s recommendation, which was predicated on the fact that the Department does not have sufficient time to obtain the information necessary to assess whether the project, in its current state, is in the national interest.

Agreement Cuts Pollution by Retiring Dirty, Old Coal Plants in Carolinas

The Southern Environmental Law Center released the following press release today:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Conservation groups today announced a settlement with Duke Energy that will cut pollution by phasing out over 1600 mega watts of dirty, old coal-fired power while still meeting customers’ energy needs.

NC League of Conservation Voters Legislator Rankings

The NC League of Conservation Voters has released their rankings of state legislators, which can be found here.

EPA announced new mercury rules

Last month the EPA announced new rules for release of mercury and other pollutants from power plants. This will affect many power plants that presently exceed the new limits. The power companies that operate these plants will have to either install equipment to scrub the pollutants from the plants or shut down the plants. Many are expected to be shut down. Many coal burning power plants had already been shut down.

EPRI Electric Vehicle Report

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) released a report on the technology and status of electric vehicles and the effect that use of electric vehicles will have on the environment and the electrical grid. This report is available free from EPRI. Click here.

Happy Holidays

From Conserve NC to you and your family:
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and new year!

Pantego Wind Farm

Conserve NC is a supporter of alternatives to fossil fuel, including wind energy. We recognize that one of the limitations of wind energy is the environmental consequences of improper siting, particularly the effect on wildlife.

One example of bad wind farm siting is the proposed Pantego wind farm in Beauford County in eastern NC. This is a proposed 80MW wind farm that is to be located near the Pongo lake area of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Pantego Wind Energy LLC has asked for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the NC Utilities Commission.

Air pollution in the news

Several reports concerning air pollution have appeared in the news recently:

Wind Power

ConserveNC supports the development of wind power when the wind turbine sites will not adversely affect either people or wildlife. One of the major problems of wind energy is the fact that improperly sited wind turbines can kill birds and bats or disrupt the habitat of wildlife.

Certain locations off the shore of NC are not used by birds or other wildlife that would be disrupted by wind turbines. These areas also have relatively strong and steady wind and will supply a large amount of energy. They should be used.

For more information, see offshorewindnc.org/

In future posts, we will comment about wind power, particularly off shore wind power. So stay tuned.

NC needs to be cautious on offshore drilling and fracking

The Wilmington Star News, in an editorial, said it better than we could: North Carolina needs to move very cautiously on offshore drilling. According to the editorial, according a study recently released by Duke University's Center on Global Change researchers found a correlation between fracking and methane content in well water in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The editorial also pointed out that the drilling of a single well can produce over a million gallons of waste water containing hazardous chemicals. Also, the water used for fracking can use water supplies during a drought.

As for offshore drilling, the editorial argued that it can happen here. An accident similar to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill would blacken our beaches with crude oil. Coastal communities are concerned about the effect on tourism and fishing.

Largest Landfill Gas-to-Energy program in the state kicks off

The Sampson Independent reports here on the landmark partnership between Gregory Poole Equipment Company, Progress Energy and Waste Industries to produce electricity from the methane produced in the Sampson County landfill to power 4,000 homes for an estimated 70 plus years.

This project has recently been deemed by the U.S. EPA "as an endeavor that will effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve local air quality…and develop a lasting renewable source of energy. Annual environmental benefits are…equivalent to taking 5,400 passenger vehicles off the road, the carbon dioxide emissions from 66,300 barrels of oil consumed, or carbon sequestered annually by 6,100 acres of pine forest.

For a photo of ground breaking a year ago, with Gregory Poole Jr., Dix Park advocate, in this EPA link .