-More than 326,000 pounds of butadiene were accidentally released from a tank at Shell’s Deer Park, Texas, facility on Sunday. Via the Houston Chronicle, data on the release collected by nearby monitors did not exceed TCEQ odor or health-based screening levels. A Shell spokesman said there were no adverse impacts to the community.
-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said today water quality is improving in the river that was contaminated with toxic sludge after an accident at a dormant gold mine in Colorado last week. Via the Washington Post, test results released by the EPA today showed high levels of toxic metals in the Animas River that peaked after the spill but have since fallen as the contaminants moved downstream. McCarthy on Tuesday publicly apologized for the spill, which has affected communities in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
-Meanwhile, environmentalists say Obama Administration’s permissiveness on Arctic drilling is “inconsistent” with the EPA’s Climate Action Plan. Via FuelFix, two environmental groups said in a report released today Artic drilling should be “off the table” if other energy projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline are being weighed against the potential for increased carbon emissions. The administration recently approved a plan by Shell to revive its drilling program in the Chukchi Sea.
-At least five people were killed in a gas pipeline explosion at a Pemex-owned plant in northern Mexico on Tuesday. Via the Associated Press, Pemex said it is investigating the incident and that it is not ruling out the possibility that gas was stolen from its pipelines.
-Oneok received approval from North Dakota regulators to build a four-mile NGLs pipeline in Mackenzie County. Via the Grand Forks Herald, the four-mile pipeline will connect Oneok’s Lonesome Creek natural gas processing plant with its Garden Creek pipeline.