Constitution Pipe Files for FERC Rehearing, Then Back to Court
Contrary to stories begin spun by anti-fossil fuel groups, Williams has not given up the fight to build the Constitution Pipeline–a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into New York State and from there, into New England. The pipeline faces stiff odds. In 2016, the Andrew Cuomo-corrupted NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) abrogated their fiduciary duty by denying the project a federal stream crossing permit (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Williams sued the state in federal court–and lost (see Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?). Williams then asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to overrule DEC’s rejection. Sadly, last month FERC denied that request (see Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC). Williams has since launched a multi-pronged legal attack with three potential paths to victory. First, Williams appealed the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court (see Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court). The case to the Supremes takes up the issue of whether or not one state, like New York, can deny a federal project that benefits other states, like the New England states. We await word from the Supremes on whether or not they will hear the case. Yesterday Williams launched another legal attack by asking FERC to reconsider their denial from last month. If FERC says yes and overrules the DEC, we have victory. If FERC says no, Williams will then (we are assuming) use the denial as the basis to take the case back to federal court–this time to the D.C. Court of Appeals. The first federal court to consider the matter (ruling against Williams) was the Second Court of Appeals (in NY). Moving the case to the D.C. court stands a better chance. So, three potential paths to victory: U.S. Supreme Court, FERC changes its mind, or the D.C. Court of Appeals. This fight is far from over…
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We often write about pipeline projects in the Marcellus/Utica and their mission to move our prodigious natgas production to new markets where the gas will fetch a higher price. Last fall MDN provided a list of 15 active pipeline projects in our region, aimed at moving our gas to new markets (see 
Here’s something you don’t read every day with respect to pipeline construction: “Some township officials have praised the care of contractors in minimizing and reacting to disturbances and nuisance issues such as muddy roads and traffic backups.” Those comments come from officials in (yes), Lancaster County, PA, referring to the stellar job Williams is doing in building the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline–a $3 billion, 198-mile natural gas pipeline project running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County. What happened to the “over 1,000 protesters” willing to get themselves arrested as they stand in front of heavy equipment to block construction in Lancaster County? Where are the Clattberbucks and their Lancaster Against Pipelines gang? Nowhere to be found, apparently. The opposition to Atlantic Sunrise appears to have run out of steam. Meanwhile, Williams is full of steam–going full steam ahead with the project–and local officials could not be happier as Williams drills under 70 roads, 67 streams and 17 wetlands in Lancaster County…
Tree clearing for Dominion’s $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) has already begun in West Virginia (see 
In a sure sign that the $1.1 billion, 120-mile PennEast Pipeline will get built, the Bethlehem Authority, which manages watershed land in the Pocono Mountains that supplies drinking water for the City of Bethlehem, has signed a $1.7 million deal to allow PennEast to traverse four miles of Authority land. Rather than challenge PennEast and potentially lose an eminent domain case, Bethlehem Authority officials said they brokered the deal–not only for the money it will bring in, but also to ensure there are certain protections in place during construction. The State of New Jersey is trying its best to stop the PennEast project (see 
In what can only be considered a government shakedown, Sunoco Logistics Partners has agreed to pay a massive (historically high) $12.6 million fine to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for “permit violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.” The fine, along with a “stringent compliance review” going forward, gives the DEP enough confidence to allow Sunoco to resume construction on the ME2 project, which has been halted since January 3rd (see 
Last week National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Western New York State which operates drilling subsidiary Seneca Resources and pipeline subsidiary Empire Pipeline, issued its first quarter 2018 (everyone else’s fourth quarter 2017) update. Via Seneca Resources, NFG drills wells in northcentral and northwestern PA. Via Empire Pipeline, they build and maintain hundreds of miles of pipelines. NFG wants to add to their pipeline portfolio by building the Northern Access Pipeline–a $455 million project with 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern PA up to Erie County, NY. Northern Access would allow Seneca to drill new wells in an area currently pipeline “constrained.” However, Northern Access construction has been blocked by the corrupt NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (see 
Duke Energy needs to replace an aging pipeline, built in the 1950s, near Cincinnati, OH–or some people in Cincy will have to go without natural gas. Duke has proposed a 13-mile, 20-inch pipeline along two potential routes. Both routes are opposed by antis, including a group calling themselves NOPE–Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension. We call them DOPEs–Dummies Opposing Pipeline Extensions. Will the DOPEs volunteer to shut off the natural gas to their homes and businesses if the pipeline doesn’t get built? Not on your life! The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) held two public hearings last April, to grant anti-pipeliners the opportunity to vent (see 
MDN reported on a heated meeting several weeks ago near our home base. The Town of Fenton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met to hear arguments against a zoning decision that would allow a proposed virtual pipeline/compressor station from NG Advantage to be zoned as a trucking/freight facility (see 
CNX Resources, in addition to issuing an announcement about proved reserves yesterday (see today’s companion story), also issued an announcement about CNX the drilling company selling its Shirley-Pennsboro gathering system in West Virginia to CNX the pipeline company (CNX Midstream) for $265 million. Yes, in a sense it is moving assets around on paper. However, this seemingly innocuous announcement is interesting to MDN for a couple of reasons. First, there is a trend of splitting companies apart–to spin out the pipeline/midstream stuff into its own standalone company, separate from the drilling part of the company. EQT, a major CNX competitor, is going through the process of evaluating whether or not to spin off their pipeline subsidiary into its own company (see 
As we told you last week, Monday (Feb. 5) was the final day for landowners who live along the path of the PennEast Pipeline to accept an offer from PennEast to lease their land for the pipeline (see 
A construction company based in North Dakota, Bilfinger Westcon, has filed several lawsuits against MarkWest Energy (now owned by Marathon Petroleum) claiming MarkWest has failed to pay more than $40 million for work done on a number of projects. Bilfinger Westcon says MarkWest used a “time & materials cap” scheme to cap the amount of money they paid for various projects, but then slipped in last-minute change orders. Essentially, it was a way of getting more work for free–that’s the charge being made. Bilfinger says MarkWest was getting ready to sell itself to Marathon and wanted to rush to complete several projects and using time & materials cap was how they did it without breaking the bank. We have to say this is the first time we’ve heard or read anything negative about MarkWest’s business practices. We suspect there’s another side to this story, but MarkWest says they won’t comment on pending litigation. Here’s the Bilfinger Westcon side of the story…
Looks like asking “Pretty please, with a cherry on top” (along with providing requested information) works! MDN previously told you that on Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked Rover Pipeline for more information before FERC would allow the project to restart drilling under the Tuscarawas River (see 
In the end, it came to down to cold, hard cash. Last May, MDN told you about antis running the City of Green, Ohio who were/are hellbent on stopping the NEXUS Pipeline (see 