Latest news with #SB136
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio citizens assume costs and risks of carbon capture
() Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a process where supercritical carbon dioxide (1070+ psi and 88 degrees Fahrenheit) is injected into Class VI injection wells, into underground subsurface rock formations to a depth of at least 5,000 feet. The CO2 gas fills pore spaces located within these formations. Recently, Ohio's legislators introduced bills HB 170 and SB 136, which will give the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) primacy (primary control) over Ohio's Class VI carbon dioxide injection wells. Currently, the U.S. EPA has control and issues the permits for Class VI wells. H.B. 170 and S.B. 136 will allow the ODNR chief to force non-consenting property owners to surrender use of the 'pore space' under their private property. 'A storage operator who has obtained the consent of owners of at least 70 percent of the pore space proposed to be used in a storage facility may submit a statutory consolidation application for the operation of the entire proposed storage facility to the chief of the division of oil and gas resources management,' H.B. 170 states. Private landowners have no rights or the ability to stop this dangerous asphyxiant from being stored under their homes. CCS does not remove any existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but rather captures carbon dioxide from industrial processes, including ethanol fermentation, methane reforming, Portland cement production, and emissions from fossil fuel power plants. The process is energy intensive and expensive. The CCS equipment can require up to 30% of the energy that a power plant produces. A recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change found 'the levelized costs of electricity (LCOEs) for thermal power generation with CCS are at least 1.5 to 2 times above current alternatives, which include renewable energy plus storage.' In addition to increased electricity bills, taxpayers will be picking up the costs for the 45Q tax credits for carbon dioxide captured. The Inflation Reduction Act established rates per ton of CO2 sequestered at $85 per ton. Considering that a large coal power plant emits 15 million tons of CO2 per year; the subsidy would be $1.25 billion in taxpayer dollars per year for one power plant. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE There are many concerns about safety throughout the entire process, including the toxic chemicals needed to sequester the CO2 gas, the pipelines used to transport the gas, and issues with Class VI wells leaking CO2 gas. Some estimates say at least 900 miles of pipelines would be required to carry CO2 across the state from sources to injection wells in eastern Ohio. In 2020, the Mississippi town of Satartia experienced a pipeline rupture in a 24-inch pipe. The pipe spewed out CO2 at a pressure of 1300 psi for more than three hours. The accident resulted in 200 people being evacuated and 45 taken to the hospital, with many having resulting chronic illnesses. Nearby cars shut off or failed to start because of lack of oxygen needed to operate internal combustion engines. Carbon dioxide gas is odorless, colorless, doesn't burn, is heavier than air. It is also an asphyxiant and intoxicant, which makes releases from CO2 pipelines harder to observe and avoid especially when it spreads and migrates off the pipeline right-of-way. In 2009, concerned citizens living in Darke County successfully mobilized over a 14-month period to stop a proposed carbon sequestration project. 'The 35-member Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Project (MRCSP) cancelled the $92.8 million dollar proposal to inject one million tons of carbon dioxide captured over four years from an ethanol plant in Greenville, Ohio,' according to a report from Recharge News. There is no guarantee that the CO2 will remain in the rock strata in perpetuity. Several factors could contribute to leaking of the super-critical CO2 gas from the underground storage locations. One of these is seismic activity. 'The presence of seismic activity, both natural and induced, is of great importance when evaluating CO2 sequestration potential. Extensive fault zones may provide leakage pathways along which CO2 could migrate,' according to a study published in Environmental Geosciences. Additionally, the very act of injecting high-pressure CO2 into continental crusts could induce earthquakes and jeopardize carbon storage. 'Deep borehole stress measurements at the Mountaineer coal-burning power plant on the Ohio River in West Virginia indicate a severe limitation on the rate at which CO2 could be injected without the resulting pressure build-up, initiating slip on preexisting faults,' according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The fact that Ohio has over 36,000 orphan oil wells also adds to the risks of injecting high pressure CO2 into Ohio's Appalachian counties. Finally, current CCS projects have shown that the process fails to capture the promised amounts of CO2 and many of the taxpayer subsidized projects have been terminated. According to the Geoengineering Monitor, after decades of research, 'there is no evidence that CCS can address the causes of the climate crisis or significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.' CCS is too risky and too expensive. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mental health centers seek new 'tax' to cover free care debts
Feb. 10—Leaders of the state's 10 community mental health centers Monday lobbied for a new tax on commercial insurance premiums to cover up to $20 million a year in free or uncompensated care they provide to lower-income families that can't pay for services. Roland Lamy, executive director of the Community Behavioral Health Association, said nine of the state's mental health centers had huge losses in free care last year. Much of this was due to the end of the so-called Medicaid wind down of bonus payments to states. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress approved enhanced reimbursement rates paid to providers under the federal-state Medicaid health insurance plan that covers the low-income, disabled and many senior citizens on fixed incomes. On average, 75% of the center clients are on Medicaid, Lamy said. 'When services are provided for free, there is no way to shift those costs onto other payors," Lamy said. The state has in the past used these charges on insurers in similar ways to cover the cost of a vaccine program and a reinsurance pool, he said. "We have a history of using assessments to deal with tricky health care challenges," Lamy said. The group is not wedded to this concept but needs relief, Lamy said. "This trend is concerning and unsustainable for our system of care. This bill is one solution," Lamy said. Cynthia Whitaker, president and CEO of Greater Nashua Mental Health, said her agency consistently had been dealing with an annual $1 million loss in such free care. Last year that shot up to $2.5 million. Whitaker said she ended up covering the bill by taking money that had been set aside to build a new center. "We are the safety net for community mental health, but we don't have safety net funding," Whitaker said. Insurance Commissioner D.J. Bettencourt said he's "not a big fan" of the charges against insurance premiums. "Insurance companies are going to incur that cost and pass it on to the consumer in some fashion. They are not going to just eat it. You have to appreciate that the consumer will feel it in some way," Bettencourt said. State Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, sponsored the bill (SB 136); Sen,. Dan Innis, R-Webster, had authored an identical one but asked the Senate Health Care Committee to kill his bill and work on Altschiller's Andrew Hosmer, a lobbyist for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, said commercial insurers operate on a small profit margin and can't afford to pick up the cost and remain financially viable. "What this does is destabilize our health insurance system in our state, result in higher deductibles and not really benefit access," said Hosmer, the mayor of Laconia and former Democratic state senator. "This is not what I think the state should be looking to do. This assessment, it's a tax on a company doing its best in a highly regulated market that his highly competitive," Hosmer said. Anthem's Sabrina Dunlap said the insurer wants to work with providers and lawmakers on ways to help deal with uncompensated care but it too opposed this approach. State health officials noted former Gov. Chris Sununu and the Executive Council approved last summer a $5 million relief package for these mental health centers, using federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. klandrigan@
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Car dealerships open on Sundays? Not on Utah Legislature's watch
Snow falls at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) For 25 years, car dealerships in Utah have kept their doors closed on Sundays. In a state with a heavily concentrated Latter-day Saint population, Senate Republican leaders say that should remain the status quo. After a 2025 bill that challenged that long-lasting policy was unveiled, the Utah Senate's Republican leadership said they would not be receptive to the bill, indicating it would likely hit a dead end. SB136, titled Motor Vehicle Business Regulation Amendments, sponsored by Salt Lake City Democrat Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, and South Jordan Republican, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, would have repealed the Sunday ban on selling or leasing cars. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Senate Majority Whip Chris Wilson, R-Logan, who owns a car dealership, described the proposal as 'a horrible bill' and an 'anti-family bill,' adding that some industry associations strongly opposed it. 'It'll force new car dealers to be open on Sunday. You're talking about 80,000 employees, you're talking about families,' Wilson told reporters on Friday. After those comments became public, Pitcher confirmed to Utah News Dispatch she would not pursue the bill this year. According to Wilson, this wouldn't allow Utah-based car dealerships the option to remain closed on Sundays because of pressures from franchise agreements. He said it would effectively take away local owners' choice of remaining closed on Sundays. 'What's going to happen is the manufacturers, they're going to come in and say, you can be open on Sunday,' Wilson said. 'Of course, we're franchisees, so we are under their rule, and they have a lot of control and they're going to come to a point where we're gonna have to be open.' Since many operations don't have the ability to hire more employees, opening on Sundays would mean that the already existing staff would have to work more hours, Wilson said. The Sunday ban was a policy that Larry H. Miller, one of the state's most influential business owners, heavily advocated for in the year 2000 to keep local dealerships, which closed on Sundays Similar legislation was introduced in 2016 by former Santaquin Republican Rep. Marc Roberts, but it never received a committee hearing. 'Larry Miller, at that time, was concerned about employees, and knowing that being open seven days a week is just very difficult on families and employees, and we worry about finding employees that actually will work on Sunday,' Wilson said. 'And so it's a tough bill for our industry.' Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork agreed. Car dealerships are good members of his community, he said, sponsoring the rodeo and other community events. So, he didn't believe the bill would pass. 'I certainly don't want to force the franchises down in my area, who are really incredible community partners to do something that they're uncomfortable with,' McKell said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
