skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 23, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Suspect held after woman set on fire in NY subway car dies; Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over 'ridiculous' fees; A year of growth for juvenile diversion programs in SD; The ups and downs of combating rural grocery deserts in ND; Report: AZ one of eight Western states that could improve conservation policies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers, and future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Should Huge Petrochemical Project Get Federal Clean-Energy Funds?

play audio
Play

Monday, August 12, 2019   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia conservation groups are fighting a plan to use U.S. Department of Energy clean power funds for a huge petrochemical project.

The state's congressional delegation is pushing for the Appalachian Storage Hub to get $1.9 billion in loan guarantees designated for clean energy development.

But Dustin White, project coordinator for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, says it's not even an energy project, much less a clean one.

"There is nothing about this that is going to be 'clean,'” he states. “From cradle to grave, from the moment these natural gas liquids are fracked, to the plastic pollution, it is not clean in any way."

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of W.Va. says without federal help, the plan to store and distribute chemical feed stocks, such as ethane and butane that come as byproducts of natural gas, probably couldn't happen.

Supporters argue the $10 billion project would be a key to dramatically increasing the size of the chemical and plastics industry in the northern Ohio Valley.

They say without it, West Virginia would just continue to export natural resources, such as the feedstocks extracted from the state's so-called "wet" natural gas.

But White points out that the Ohio River is the drinking water source for 5 million people. And he notes the petrochemical industry is already polluting other areas, like what's known as "cancer alley" in Louisiana.

"That's all taxpayer money, that should be allocated for other things – especially clean energy products that will actually help people – rather than single-use plastics," he states.

The U.S. House has passed an amendment to stop the use of those loan guarantees from going to any project that doesn't reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

That legislation could block the funding for this mammoth underground storage facility, but the bill's future in the Senate is very much in doubt.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Federal Trade Commission reported older adults are less likely to report scams than those ages 18-59. Because the majority of fraud cases are not reported, the commission estimates national losses last year alone may be as high as $61.5 billion. (fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The holidays are the busiest time of the year for many people, including scammers. Oregonians lost $136 million to holiday shopping scams last year…


Environment

play sound

Across Pennsylvania and other northern U.S. states, climate change -- from burning oil, coal and methane gas -- is increasing the number of winter …

Social Issues

play sound

The Internal Revenue Service will be in the crosshairs in the second Trump administration, as the president-elect's recently announced choice to run …


Millions of families across the U.S. depend on home-based child care, with over 750,000 children enrolled in these programs, often because parents consider them more flexible than traditional child care centers. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama is part of a national program aimed at diversifying early childhood education. The Enriching Public Pre-K Through Inclusion of Family Child …

Social Issues

play sound

West Virginia schools' reliance on zero-tolerance policies are driving more kids into the juvenile justice system - with lifelong consequences…

Critics argue Florida's book removals limit access to important information. At the same time, state officials insist they ensure only age-appropriate materials remain in schools, rejecting claims of outright bans as a "hoax." (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent changes to Florida's education laws have removed information on consent, contraceptives and prenatal development from many health lessons at …

Health and Wellness

play sound

If you find yourself in a less than festive mood this holiday season, you are not alone. In Wisconsin, the recent school shooting tragedy in Madison …

Environment

play sound

By Jennifer Oldham for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021