Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams Partners
Transco Loses Bid to Change Court for REAE Pipeline Challenge
In March, environmental radical Pat McDonnell of PennFuture, the former Pennsylvania Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), along with his best friend THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum, sued McDonnell’s former agency over permits the DEP issued to Williams to build the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project (see PennFuture Appeals DEP Permits for Transco Northeast Expansion Proj). Williams tried to get the venue of the court challenge changed, but the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania denied that request in a ruling issued Monday.
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Williams, one of the largest pipeline companies in the world, issued its first quarter update yesterday. The company reported 1Q23 net income increased by $547 million to $926 million, up from $379 million in 1Q22 due to unrealized gains (and losses) on commodity derivatives, the benefit of higher service revenues driven by contributions from recent acquisitions, increased volumes at Ohio Valley Midstream, as well as higher commodity marketing margins. CEO and President Alan Armstrong said, “We remain squarely focused on our natural gas-focused strategy.” The Marcellus/Utica plays a big part in the company’s gas-focused strategy.
Environmental radical Pat McDonnell of PennFuture, the former Pennsylvania Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), along with his best friend THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum, have just sued McDonnell’s former agency over permits the DEP issued to Williams to build the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project (see 
We have an update to a project we first told you about in June of last year called the Southside Reliability Enhancement Project (see 
A little over a month ago, MDN brought you the good news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the Williams Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project, a plan to beef up the Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland (see 
In March 2019, MDN told you about a new Williams plan to beef up the Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland (see 
Here’s something you won’t read on any other news or blog site: Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) failed to issue a final certificate to build and operate the Williams Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion project. The project is vital for delivering more Pennsylvania Marcellus gas to New Jersey and beyond. Williams CEO Alan Armstrong, in a strongly-worded letter to FERC Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick in November, warned the project is in jeopardy if it doesn’t get a certificate now, this year (see 
On Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will hold its last meeting of 2022. It appears it will be the very last meeting for FERC Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick, who has been blocked from receiving a reappointment hearing by WV Sen. Joe Manchin. Without a hearing, Glick will be forced to step down after this year. Blocking Glick is about the only thing Manchin has done right this year. At any rate, at Friday’s meeting, the five (soon to be four) FERC commissioners will vote on a variety of issues. Two of the issues (projects) are vital to the Marcellus/Utica: a new certificate for the Spire STL Pipeline to continue operating, and a certificate to allow the Williams Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion project to proceed.
This is rare. The CEO of Williams (Alan Armstrong), one of the largest pipeline (midstream) companies in the U.S. and on the planet, sent an open letter (an official filing) to the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Richard “Dick” Glick, using pretty abrupt language to tell Glick FERC needs to approve the Regional Energy Access expansion project by November 30th or the project WILL be delayed by a full year. The letter has the look and feel of an ultimatum.
The Catholic nuns of Lancaster County’s Adorers of the Blood of Christ are still, all these years later, trying to shake down Williams for more money because of a pipeline that runs underneath a cornfield owned by the sisters (hence our nickname for them). Using lawyers from Big Green groups, the nuns argued their “religious beliefs” were offended by the pipeline because it flows a nasty, filthy fossil fuel that causes global warming. We’ve lost track of how many lawsuits the sisters have filed, using OPM (other people’s money). The most recent lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia-based U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, was just shot down by the court.
In March 2019, MDN told you about a new Williams plan to beef up the Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d (originally 1 billion cubic feet per day) of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland (see 
One step forward and two steps back. That country tune went through our head as we read about the progress being made by Williams with its Regional Energy Access Expansion Pipeline project in Pennsylvania. The project, aimed at competing with the now-dead PennEast Pipeline project by flowing gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton, NJ area, will get a virtual public hearing by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection on Wednesday, October 5.