THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DECEMBER 22, 2008, 4:49 P.M. ET
By IAN TALLEY
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency issued an 11th-hour clarification on spent oil shale, declaring the byproduct of the development process not to be a hazardous waste.
The ruling could limit production costs if U.S. developers move ahead with oil shale development, but the next administration under President-elect Barack Obama is expected to put the brakes on commercial development.
Specifically, the EPA published data showing the characteristics of spent shale from operations indicate the waste is unlikely to be a hazardous waste. Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that can be heated, vaporized, and upgraded to create a synthetic crude oil.
The 11th-hour notice is one of a multitude of “midnight” rules made in the waning days of President George W. Bush’s tenure, as department chiefs implement controversial regulations designed to imprint the current White House’s policy mark well into Mr. Obama’s administration.
In November, the Department of the Interior opened the western U.S. to commercial oil shale development after the expiration of a congressional ban that had so far only allowed demonstration projects such as the one operated by Royal Dutch Shell.
But Mr. Obama last week named Colorado Democrat Sen. Ken Salazar, an opponent of commercial oil shale development, to Interior Secretary. Analysts say the appointment portends a halt in oil shale lease sales.
While environmental concerns mainly focus on the carbon-dioxide emissions created from burning oil shale fuel and the quantities of water necessary for commercial development, the primary obstacle to development has so far been cost. It’s currently uneconomical to develop, especially as oil prices have fallen into the $40 a barrel range.
Write to Ian Talley at [email protected]
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
