Virginia DEQ Plans to Give 2 Pipeline Projects Detailed Exam
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced yesterday that it would require water quality certifications under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act for each segment of both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (Dominion) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline project (EQT & NextEra Energy). Apparently the DEQ considered using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 process–a less rigorous review (saves about half a forest of trees in paper). But in the end, the DEQ said they were caving to political pressure from anti groups (our words), and instead put Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley on notice to get ready for a detailed exam. It will be painful. However, it’s not anything either company isn’t already used to/hasn’t done before. We wouldn’t say “it’s no big deal,” but neither is this a show stopper. The more relevant question: Is the DEQ ready to review the blizzard of paperwork that will come at them, IN A TIMELY MANNER? The real question is whether or not the DEQ is equipped to conduct the extensive review they’ve now demanded, and what happens if they can’t?…
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In what has to be a major blow to the morale of anti-pipeline crusaders in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, the top elected state officials in the legislatures of all three states, both Republicans AND Democrats (16 of them in all), sent a letter on Tuesday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting FERC approve the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Dominion wants to build a $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. The leaders of all three state legislators have told FERC, we want this pipeline, we NEED this pipeline, please approve it. Today is the last day FERC will receive public comments on the project. Here’s who signed, along with a copy of the letter sent to FERC…
Extremist environmental protesters who don’t want to hear any viewpoints other than their own (i.e., fascists who LOVE to suppress free speech), got a bit violent and ugly on Tuesday and shut down a meeting at Duke University (headquarters for insane environmentalism) where the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Cheryl LaFleur, was scheduled to speak. Beyond Extreme Energy was one of the groups behind the illegal action. They have dogged FERC Commissioners for years. Perhaps some in the crowd were the same Beyond Extreme Energy lunatics that Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commissioner Rob Powelson previously called “jihadists”–because they show up at FERC Commissioners’ homes and threaten them (see 
We don’t use the word “jihadist” lightly or flippantly. A jihad is, according to Websters, “a crusade for a principle or belief.” Most of the time the media uses the term in reference to radical Muslims who perpetrate acts of terror and crime in a holy war to convert the world to Islam. We think there’s a close parallel to some (not all) extreme environmentalists. It is irrefutable that many in the environmental movement view their cause as a kind of holy war–against those they believe are harming Mom Earth. Against those who don’t or won’t “convert” to their philosophy on how best to protect the environment (i.e. dump the use of fossil fuels). Some of these extremists tip over into criminal and even terrorist activities. We saw it in the protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project in North Dakota, when so-called protesters vandalized millions of dollars of equipment, set tires on fire, illegally blocked roads, and (one) even shot at police officers (see 
In June 2014, MDN told you about the Dominion New Market Project–a project that will build two new compressor plants and upgrade one other compressor station in upstate New York–to help flow more abundant, cheap and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania (and beyond) into the northeast (see 
Each year utility and midstreamer Dominion East Ohio awards grants to community organizations across the Buckeye State, where it operates. A great program. Each year (in recent memory) the awards have totaled over $100,000. This year is no different. Last week Dominion East Ohio presented $110,000 in grants to 12 winning community organizations in its 22nd annual Community Impact Awards competition. Here’s who won…
Fossil fuel haters did their best to stop Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility in Lusby, Maryland. They sued (see 
Midstream (i.e. pipeline) giant Williams has just created a brand new executive position–Chief Operating Officer (COO). The position was created for Micheal G. Dunn, formerly president of Questar Pipeline and executive vice president of Questar Corporation. Does Questar ring a bell? It should. Questar is, or rather was, a Rockies-based integrated natural gas company operating through three principal subsidiaries. In an attempt to diversify out of the northeast, Dominion bought Questar in September for $4.4 billion (see 
Midstream and utility giant Dominion has ~26,400 megawatts of power generation, 14,600 miles of natural gas transmission/gathering/storage pipelines, and some 6,600 miles of electric-transmission lines. They are “a producer and transporter of energy.” Dominion, whose official name (on paper) is Dominion Resources, Inc., has decided to change its name. The new name will be Dominion Energy, Inc. Why? “In recognition of its focus on the evolving energy marketplace and to unify its brand following last year’s merger with Questar Corporation.” In addition to a new name comes (of course) a new logo…
Can you smell it? We sure can. It’s called hope. Not even a full week in the new Trump Administration, hope can be found everywhere. Liberal Democrats still aren’t sure what hit them. Let us help. It’s competence. It’s someone who gives a damn about the average American. It’s someone who believes the country, as it was founded, is the best country in the world. Donald J. Trump. He’s blown into Washington, DC like a hurricane and things are changing so fast most of us can’t keep up. Case in point: On Tuesday, Trump’s second full day on the job (last Friday and the weekend don’t count), Trump signed an Executive Order “Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects.” What are ‘high priority infrastructure projects’? A document has leaked, originally compiled by Trump’s transition team, of 50 ‘Emergency & National Security Projects’ that are infrastructure projects–projects the Trump Administration believes should be worked on immediately. Project #20 in the list is Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), a $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. Number 20! How cool is that? No, this doesn’t mean Trump can simply order it approved like some sovereign or tinpot dictator. Our rules and laws must be followed. What it does mean is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will now receive enormous pressure to quit dragging its feet and to “fast track” the review for ACP. It means hope on now on the horizon…