Ohio Judge Rules Against Austin Master Services for $6.2 Million
One of the significant stories of 2024 in the Ohio Utica was about Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry, Ohio, that processes and transports fracking waste for disposal. AMS ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The Martins Ferry facility in Belmont County, where waste is temporarily stored, had vastly exceeded its permitted limit of 600 tons (storing over 10,000 tons), resulting in a permit violation. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2024 to compel compliance and require cleanup of the facility. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) stepped in to handle the cleanup. As of May 2025, cleaning and testing were completed (see Austin Master Services Ohio Frack Waste Cleanup Complete Today). The AG’s office sued for $6 million to cover the cost of cleanup (see ODNR Seeks $6M from Austin Master Services to Cover Cleanup Costs). Last week, a Belmont County court ruled in favor of the state. Read More “Ohio Judge Rules Against Austin Master Services for $6.2 Million”
Two pipeline kingpins are engaged in a deathmatch with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get their competing pipeline projects approved. One is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project. Both projects would be built in the same general area, starting at the same point near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Both claim they have customers ready to take their gas. In a July FERC filing, Williams said that its project could easily handle Southgate MVP’s capacity by adding meter tubes and regulation at an existing station (see 
Lordstown is a small village in southern Trumbull County, Ohio (population 3,332). The village has one operational gas-fired power plant, the Lordstown Energy Center, generating 940 megawatts (MW) of electricity. A second gas-fired power plant, the Trumbull Energy Center, is under construction and due to come online in 2026. It will generate 950 MW of electricity. Developers are proposing to build a $3.6 billion, 1.65 million square-foot data center campus in Lordstown on the site of the former GM complex (south of OpenAI’s Stargate AI data center campus). The developers filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court against Lordstown, claiming the village is blocking consideration of their proposal in violation of zoning procedures. 
We first told you about a frac sand company called Smart Sand some 13 years ago (see 
Freeport LNG has become something of a punchline for the frequent outages at the facility. Except, it’s no laughing matter. Outages at Freeport have happened so frequently that we’ve lost count. Last Thursday, one of the three LNG trains at the facility was offline again, affecting gas flows to (and from) the facility. According to a Reuters report, the gas restarted flowing to the affected train on Friday. Freeport refused to comment on this latest outage. 
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count gained rigs for the third week in a row. The national count increased by five rigs, rising from 549 to 554. The BH rig count has added rigs in five of the last six weeks. Rigs in the Marcellus/Utica gained a rig! Pennsylvania gained one Marcellus rig, bringing its total to 18. Ohio was the same at 13 rigs. And West Virginia maintained its 7 rigs, which it has operated since May 30 (26 weeks in a row). There were 24 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 14 targeting the Utica, for a combined 38 rigs in the M-U. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Shale rigs idle, layoffs rise as $60 oil tests resilience of Permian; Permian gas wave sparks biggest pipeline buildout since the shale boom; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas gains as traders focus on weather; New Fortress Energy warns of bankruptcy, shares tumble; New FERC commissioners say connecting data centers is key priority; U.S. associated natural gas production increased 6% in 2024; Top MIT scientist blasts ‘climate hysteria,’ global warming fears are driven by money; Export-Import Bank to spend $100bn to achieve US energy dominance; AI most energy-hungry tech ever invented – data centers, the grid, and black swans; INTERNATIONAL: Oil slides on peace deal pressure; European natural gas plummets to 18-month low; COP30 ends with a whimper; U.N. climate talks fizzle out 10 years after Paris accord; The global warming panic is subsiding; Russian oil offered to India at deep discount.