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MVP Delays Startup from June 1 to “Early June” – Testing 99% Done
We suppose it was inevitable following a rupture in a segment of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) during pressurized water testing (see Section of MVP Ruptures Near Roanoke Under Water Pressure Test) that the in-service date would slip. And so it has. In a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Tuesday, MVP sought to set the record straight about the rupture and signal to FERC that it would now be “early June” before the pipeline was ready to go online. On the plus side, some 99% of the pipeline has been successfully pressure tested, including a replaced segment where the rupture happened in Roanoke County, VA.
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At a packed meeting last night, the Indiana Township (Allegheny County), PA, Planning Commission voted unanimously (4-0) to delay a decision on rezoning a 59-acre parcel along Route 910 from office/commercial to light industrial — which would allow gas drilling on the site. The room was packed with over 100 people, most of whom were there to oppose the rezoning request. The commission members voted to delay any action for 60 days on a proposal by Cranberry-based MPF Management to rezone the parcel.
In 2021, as he was running for Governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin pledged that if he won, he would remove the state from the onerous carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Youngkin kept his promise, although it took longer than he had hoped (and is still being challenged in court). In a major victory against the RGGI carbon tax, Youngkin negotiated and signed a new state budget that does NOT include any revenue from RGGI. Victory!
The switch from coal to natural gas in power generation has led to historic emissions and air pollutant reductions equaling $450 billion to $1.04 trillion in public health benefits for Pennsylvanians, according to a Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) analysis. The analysis leverages emissions data from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and applies U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodologies to assign a dollar value to each ton of NOx and SOx reduced. As shale gas development became prevalent across PA and in-state natural gas electric generation increased from 5% to 59% between 2005-2022, criteria emissions contributing to respiratory ailments — nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) — are down 81% and 93%, respectively, yielding a range of $7.9-$18.4 billion in NOx and $445.1 billion – $1.02 trillion in SOx cumulative public health benefits for Pennsylvanians.
Last week, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources Corp., KeyState Energy, and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are working together on a $1.5 billion project that, if completed, would make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at PIT from coal mine methane gas (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA DEP awards over $980,000 to environmental education projects; NATIONAL: Miller selected as GPA Midstream’s and GPSA’s new top executive; Senate passes bipartisan legislation to preserve consumer choice in gas furnaces; House Dems investigate whether Big Oil colluded with OPEC; Biden releasing another 1M bbls of gas from reserve to lower prices; INTERNATIONAL: EU gas sendout from LNG facilities drops to 7-month low.