Earth Equity News

Section 546 of 2007 Energy Bill Prohibits U.S. Military From Importing Canadian Tar Sands Oil. By Chris Arsenault. IPS, October 20, 2008. "As Canada's tar sands extraction expands full steam ahead, a perfect storm of internal and external opposition could derail some of the voracious growth at the world's largest energy project. Together, skyrocketing construction costs, falling crude prices, increasingly vocal opposition from some native groups, and a little known section of the 2007 U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act all threaten growth projections in northern Alberta... Canada is the largest foreign exporter of oil to the United States, with Alberta's tar sands sending roughly 500,000 barrels to the U.S. every day. Losing access to the U.S. market would significantly affect expansion plans. And Canadian oil industry lobbyists are concerned about Section 526 of the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 which bars U.S. federal agencies such as the military and the postal service from buying synthetic or unconventional fuels if they create more greenhouse gases emissions than conventional fuels. 'It was just one of those funny stories in Washington where this section [526] was overlooked,' Greg Stringham from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers told IPS. 'I don't think Canadians or oil companies knew about this section.' Between January and September of this year, Canadian oil lobbyists pushed hard to have section 526 amended or repealed... Mar. 17, Democratic Senator Henry Waxman, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and author of the legislation, wrote a letter to Chairman Jeff Bingaman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee clarifying the legal meaning of section 526. Waxman said section 526 of the Act prohibits U.S. government agencies, including the military, from purchasing 'fuels derived from tar sands'... Environmentalists claimed victory in late September, when the Defense Authorization Bill passed without weakening or amending section 526. Oil industry lobbyists say environmentalists haven't won any victory and U.S. institutions will continue purchasing tar sands oil... The military is the largest consumer of transportation fuel in the U.S., so its interpretation of Section 526 and future purchasing habits are crucial."