Pres. Trump Targets Marcellus/Utica to Bulk Up PetChem Industry
President Trump is pushing members of his administration to work with state regulators in Appalachia–Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania–to “build the country’s first natural gas and petrochemical hub” outside of the Gulf Coast. According to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, such a plan is in the the country’s national security interests. Members of the Trump team are also having discussions with leftists like NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to try and convince him to allow pipelines into and through the state. If states like NY won’t allow it, Perry holds out the hope/threat that the feds will invoke the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause to make them.
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A grandmother concerned that if Range Resources were to build a well pad three-fourths of a mile from her granddaughter’s school (in Washington County, PA) instead of building it a full mile from the school, tried to gain legal standing to challenge a permit granted to Range by Mount Pleasant Township. Grandma says her granddaughter has a sensitivity to benzene fumes. Yesterday a Commonwealth Court panel ruled she does NOT have legal standing to challenge the permit.
Something is not going well at Elba Island in Georgia. Kinder Morgan has left a string of broken promises about the date for which the first Elba Island LNG export plant “mini-train” will begin producing and shipping LNG. We’ve chronicled the journey extensively.
One of the worst examples of regulatory abuse under the Obama Administration was the EPA’s redefinition of what is called Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The Obamadroids redefined WOTUS to mean everything down to mud puddles–and no, we’re not exaggerating (see
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Sen. Costa to introduce bill cutting PA carbon pollution from power plants by 90% by 2040; Killion introduces severance tax bill on natural gas drillers; Lisa Baker’s DRBC “taking” bill recommended by Senate committee; PA Senate environmental committee hears ideas on 3rd party DEP permit reviews; NATIONAL: Horizontally drilled wells dominate U.S. tight formation production; INTERNATIONAL: Secretary Perry: U.S. LNG to remain competitive to Russian gas; The global boom in natural gas demand is about to slow, the International Energy Agency says; China’s energy markets feel the squeeze; Australia, a top natural-gas exporter, considers imports to stop blackouts.