Inside Energy

PipelineExpansion by Inside Energy

North Dakota Pipeline Spills Over 1 Million Gallons of Saltwater Near Lake by Inside Energy

North Dakota to Stop Flaring (so much) Natural Gas by Inside Energy

An increasing number of households in energy boom states can say they live right next door to oil and gas development. Families are worrying about their health, and they’re complaining to public officials. States are looking into these concerns in very different ways. News recently broke in Pennsylvania that public health officials there have been told not to return calls with health complaints about oil and gas. Inside Energy Reporter Dan Boyce looks at the range of public health response in the West.

A dozen or more trains carrying crude oil from the Bakken region are moving across northern Montana every week, skirting the edge of Glacier national park. More trains -- far fewer in number - pass through populated regions farther south. Governor Steve Bullock released the route information this week, making Montana the latest state to buck railroads’ requests to keep the information out of public hands. Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce reports.

The Obama Administration is spending a lot of time these days defending their so-called clean power plan - new regulations on power plants aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The idea is to make sure CO2 levels in 2030 are 30 percent lower than they were in 2005. To get there, the feds assigned each state a target emissions reduction rate. Some states have a lot to cut -- over 70 percent in Washington. Others much less -- in North Dakota, just 11 percent. Inside Energy reporter Emily Guerin wanted to know why.

Oil and gas booms can seem remote -- it’s not like they happen in your backyard. Unless they do. Take Laramie County, Wyoming, where a surge in well permitting is threatening to bring drilling closer to a large number of homes. Although Wyoming has a long history with oil and gas, it’s almost always been in rural areas. Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports for Inside Energy that some say the state is ill-prepared to deal with the issues that arise when communities bump up against drilling.

Colorado is quickly becoming ground zero for a political war over the future of fracking. Drill operations are pushing deeper into populated areas these days and some local governments and activists are supporting ballot measures that would give communities greater control over the industry. To avoid a political battle in November, Governor John Hickenlooper is rushing to craft a compromise bill right now that could be passed by a special session of the state legislature. But already, political spending both pro and con is washing over Colorado. Dan Boyce with our Inside Energy team reports.

The transport of crude oil by rail has spiked dramatically in recent years. From 2012 to 2013 the amount carried by the country's major freight railroads increased nearly 75 percent. That’s according to the American Association of Railroads. Amid growing public concern about safety, new federal regulations went into effect this weekend to make sure local emergency authorities are notified when some trains come through. Grace Hood of KUNC reports for Inside Energy.

Colorado is quickly becoming ground zero for a political war over the future of fracking. Drill operations are pushing deeper into populated areas these days and some local governments and activists are supporting ballot measures that would give communities greater control over the industry. To avoid a political battle in November, Governor John Hickenlooper is rushing to craft a compromise bill right now that could be passed by a special session of the state legislature. But already, political spending both pro and con is washing over Colorado. Dan Boyce with our Inside Energy team reports.

It didn’t take long after the Obama administration unveiled new rules this week regulating carbon emissions from power plants for people to start naming winners and losers. Wyoming, the nation’s largest coal-producing state, and a huge coal consumer, was immediately billed as a loser. But, as Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports FOR INSIDE ENERGY, the reality is more complicated than that.

New EPA rules aimed at cutting carbon emissions are expected to be unveiled June 2nd. It’s a big deal. Coal generates nearly half of this country’s electricity and is the largest source of air pollution. The new rules are expected to spur the use of clean coal technology. At least that’s the hope of both the coal industry and some environmental groups. Marfa Public Radio’s Lorne Matalon has this report for ‘Inside Energy’ on a clean coal project in west Texas---one of two in the country.

In May of 2014, ground-breaking new regulations start taking effect in Colorado to cap methane emissions from oil and gas drilling sites. Groundbreaking, because they’re the first ever in the country, and because of the rare collaboration between industry, environmentalists and state leaders which led to the rules. Our Inside Energy reporter Dan Boyce takes a look.

The newly discovered abundance of domestic oil and gas is creating a shortage of something else-- the petroleum engineers who regulate drilling activities. They approve drilling plans and inspect wells after they’re completed to make sure they’re not at risk of contaminating water or blowing out. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports for Inside Energy, these days there just aren’t enough regulators to go around.

A continuing energy boom in the Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains is reshaping the future of what’s powering America, and we’re launching a new reporting project to keep track of that.

There are a lot of uncertainties about the carbon cuts proposed this week by the Obama administration. Will electricity rates go up? or not? Will the coal industry die a slow death? or not? The move has created a tremendous amount of buzz among politicians, lobbyists and the energy industry. But what does it all mean for you? Well, we do know this carbon crackdown is arguably the biggest step this country has ever taken to combat the effects of climate change --and depending on who’s talking, it signals anything from economic opportunity to catastrophe. Dan Boyce with our Inside Energy team takes a look.

The Obama administration wants states to cutback on carbon emissions - but doing that has always been a thorny problem. While carbon is a byproduct of almost everything we do, capturing and storing it is expensive. For years, the goal has been to figure out how to make that process cheaper. More recent efforts take a different approach. As Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports, focus has shifted now from STORAGE to USE.

Dramatic sea level rise... extreme weather... famine... drought. Those are just a few of the DIRE consequences scientists predict if we continue pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at current rates. POWER plants are among the largest emitters. On June 2, the Obama administration is scheduled to release new rules regulating carbon emissions from power plants. Utilities and trade groups are warning those rules will have some dire consequences of their own. Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper speaks with Inside Energy Reporter Dan Boyce about the ongoing fight over local control of oil and gas development and his thoughts on heading off ballot measures to ban fracking with a special session of the state legislature.