KINDER MORGAN WATCH

One more felony for Kinder Morgan; Axing endangered species

Stratton Lawrence
Staff Writer- Charleston City Paper

http://truffulaseed.ccpblogs.com/2008/08/14/one-more-felony-for-kinder-m...

Kinder Morgan, the ginormous energy transportation company that imports coal into Charleston harbor, was found guilty this week of a felony for knowingly dumping potash off the coast of Portland, Oregon. After covering it up for years, they were charged in April and have now been found guilty.

Check out Portland’s alt-weekly’s (Willamette Week) coverage of the verdict. The whistleblower and environmentalists argue the $240,000 fine is letting them off easy. It got a mention on MarketWatch as well. Here’s guessing that pocket change won’t effect stock value. But could it play a role in DHEC’s approval of Kinder Morgan’s expansion plans here in Charleston?

And here’s one hell of a CNN lead …

Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct.

Just in time to leave office (not that he hasn’t been trying to do this for awhile), the Bush administration is hoping to weaken the act to make approval easier for development and big infrastructure projects. The report continues …

The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don’t require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

Citing the status of polar bears as threatened due to climate change, Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne said …

“It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species.”

Um … I think some scientists might disagree with that one. Heard of coral bleaching?