Energy Services

Columbia County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Williams | Wyoming County (PA)

Williams Breaks Ground on Atlantic Sunrise Pipe, Ahead of Schedule
September 19, 2017September 19, 2017

Earth moving has begun for a compressor station in Columbia County. (Williams Partners)

Well that didn’t take long! Yesterday MDN brought you the fantastic news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had granted Williams a certificate/go-ahead to begin construction on Atlantic Sunrise, 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 (see FERC Greenlights Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline). FERC issued their permission to begin construction last Friday. Based on a previous Williams statement, we expected construction to begin tomorrow, on Sept. 20th. However, as soon as Williams had the certificate in their hands, they began construction–LAST FRIDAY. Where? Williams fired up bulldozers at two locations–one in Wyoming County, the other in Columbia County (both in northeast PA), to clear land for two new compressor stations they will build as part of the project. Yesterday both Williams AND Cabot Oil & Gas issued the same press release to announce construction has begun. Interesting that Cabot issued the release too, showing just how important this project is to Cabot’s future (and to their stock price)…
Read More “Williams Breaks Ground on Atlantic Sunrise Pipe, Ahead of Schedule”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

FERC Lifts Rover Horizontal Drilling Ban, Pipeline Work Resumes
September 19, 2017September 19, 2017

Rover Pipeline–$3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline that (will eventually) run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and on to Canada–began flowing natural gas through a large portion of the pipeline on Sept. 1st (see Big Portion of Rover Pipeline Now Up & Running – Thru Most of Ohio). In the past three weeks, Phase 1A of the pipeline has steadily increased its throughput and now flows over 700 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of yummy Utica/Marcellus Shale gas to Defiance, OH. However, it could flow more, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would lift its considerable boot off Rover’s neck and let them finish Phase 1B pipeline work in eastern Ohio to feed more gas to the main part of the pipeline. The problem is that Rover had early missteps, the most serious of which spilled 2 million gallons of non-toxic drilling mud in a swamp near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). An investigation by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) found the presence of diesel fuel in the drilling mud, which means the mud wasn’t so non-toxic after all (see OH EPA Says Diesel Fuel Found in Rover 2M Gal Drilling Mud Spill). Rover believes sabotage may have been the cause. Since April, FERC has blocked all new underground HDD work for the Rover project. Rover has asked (begged, pleaded) FERC, several times, for permission to restart the HDD work–at least in a few select locations. In August, FERC issued eight conditions before they would agree to lifting the HDD ban (see FERC Issues Rover 8 Commandments to Restart Horizontal Drilling). Rover says they have met all of those conditions. However, the OEPA says they have not. Last week OEPA asked FERC to continue blocking HDD activity until they (OEPA) are satisfied (see Rover Pipeline Still Battling Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Lift HDD Ban). Rover fired off a letter to FERC that says OEPA’s public statements are opposite of their private statements with Rover. In other words, OEPA is lying. Who will FERC listen to? Now we know. They’re listening to Rover. Yesterday FERC lifted the ban on HDD for nine key locations–NOT including the Tuscarawas River site. FERC says they are still investigating that spill. FERC said, in lifting the HDD ban, that “Rover has demonstrated sufficient progress on the required rehabilitation and restoration of the areas affected by the inadvertent release and drilling mud contamination” and that the company is following FERC’s 8 Commandments. We’re pretty sure yesterday’s FERC decision won’t make the OEPA happy…
Read More “FERC Lifts Rover Horizontal Drilling Ban, Pipeline Work Resumes”
Empire Pipeline | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Williams

Constitution, NFG Pipes to Seek FERC Relief from NY DEC Tyranny
September 19, 2017September 19, 2017

Yesterday we told that you history has been made–the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has broken the back of the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) by overturning the DEC’s decision to block a short pipeline Millennium wants to build to a power plant in Orange County (see History Made! FERC Overrules NY DEC on Millennium Pipe Permit). The DEC has also blocked federally-approved pipeline projects in two other cases–the Constitution Pipeline, a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY carrying Marcellus gas (a Williams project), and the Northern Access Pipeline, a $455 million project includes building 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern Pennsylvania up to Erie County, NY, to carry Marcellus gas northward (a National Fuel Gas Company project). Given Millennium’s success in having FERC overrule NY DEC, one would think these other two projects would also file requests with FERC for the same thing. According to Reuters, NFG already has filed such a request, and Williams is about to…
Read More “Constitution, NFG Pipes to Seek FERC Relief from NY DEC Tyranny”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Orange County | Pipelines | Research | Statewide NY

History Made! FERC Overrules NY DEC on Millennium Pipe Permit
September 18, 2017September 22, 2017

Finally the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has had enough shenanigans from the corrupted New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In a historic, precedent-setting decision, on Friday FERC overruled DEC’s denial of a water permit for Millennium Pipeline’s tiny 7.8 mile pipeline spur from the main Millennium Pipeline to a natural gas power plant under construction in Orange County, NY. On Wednesday, Aug. 30, the DEC issued a denial letter to FERC and Millennium. In it, they claim that FERC’s review of the power plant project (that the pipeline will feed) is deficient based on a recently-decided court case about a pipeline project in Florida (see Corrupt NY DEC Denies Water Permit for 7.8 Mile Power Plant Pipeline). The radicalized DEC used the Florida case as an excuse to refuse stream crossing permits for the Millennium Pipeline project–claiming FERC had not considered long-term effects of mythical man-made global warming that would come from the power plant if the Millennium pipeline is connected to and feeds the plant. The DEC decision was a naked attempt to grab power not given to it under federal law. FERC said ENOUGH, and ruled on Friday the DEC had taken too long (over one year) in dithering with a decision on the Millennium pipeline request. A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said FERC has the power and authority to overrule the DEC when they take longer than one year to grant permits (see DC Court Tells Millennium FERC Can Override NY DEC Pipeline Delay). So FERC just exercised their federal, court-approved authority and smashed the DEC into the ground. LOVE IT! Of course the humiliated DEC spit and sputtered and said they will likely sue…
Read More “History Made! FERC Overrules NY DEC on Millennium Pipe Permit”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

FERC Greenlights Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
September 18, 2017September 18, 2017

Bad news for the Sisters of the Corn and the radicals at Lancaster Against Pipelines. On Friday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Williams permission to begin construction on Atlantic Sunrise, a $3 billion, 198-mile 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. Last week the Sierra Club and a mish mash of other nutball groups begged FERC to delay issuing an order that Williams can commence with construction, claiming FERC’s delay in considering a rehearing delayed a lawsuit and the lawsuit hasn’t had enough time to work it’s way through the court system (see Big Green Begs FERC to Delay Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipe). As was expected, Big Green’s begging and pleading fell on deaf ears. Williams previously said they plan to begin construction on Sept. 20th–this Wednesday. Ladies and gentleman, start your (backhoe) engines! Sisters of the Corn (see Lancaster Sisters of the Corn Lose Bid to Stop Atlantic Coast Pipe), you may want to pick up your wooden park benches and the flower trestle–what you call a “chapel”–in the middle of your corn field. Here comes the Atlantic Sunrise!…
Read More “FERC Greenlights Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | TC Energy/TransCanada

Canadian Drillers Beg NEB to Approve Pipe Plan to Compete with M-U
September 18, 2017September 18, 2017

TransCanada, one of Canada’s leading midstream/pipeline companies, cooked up a deal last year to pipe natural gas from Canada’s West Coast to the East Coast in order to fend off cheap supplies of Marcellus/Utica gas that will flow into Canada when/if the NEXUS and Rover pipelines get built (see TransCanada Pipe Drops Price 42% to Compete with Marcellus/Utica). TransCanada dropped their pipeline price to lure drillers by (theoretically) making it less expensive to get gas from Western Canada, some 2,400 miles away, than from the Marcellus, just 400 miles away. The original open season last year was a bust because TransCanada insists on a 10-year commitment (see TransCanada Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Using Canada Pipeline a Bust). TransCanada revived their plan in February. Although it looked almost like the same deal all over again with the same 10-year term and about the same price, TransCanada dropped a minimum amount to be shipped and is letting shippers opt out after five years under certain conditions. The changes worked (see TransCanada Says Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Worked, Shippers Sign Up). The plan needs a bevy of regulatory approvals, the main one being the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB). The clock is ticking and time is running out. In hearings before the NEB last week, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers pleaded their case that the plan get approved. Without it, western Canadian gas simply can’t compete with cheap, abundant Marcellus/Utica Shale gas flowing north. In somewhat dramatic terms, Canadian drillers claimed the “future of western Canada’s natural gas industry could depend on pipeline company TransCanada winning regulatory approval” of their lowball plan…
Read More “Canadian Drillers Beg NEB to Approve Pipe Plan to Compete with M-U”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Williams

Big Green Begs FERC to Delay Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipe
September 15, 2017September 15, 2017

Last week the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the final permit needed by Williams to begin construction on Atlantic Sunrise, a $3 billion, 198-mile 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 (see PA Issues Final Permit for Atlantic Sunrise, Construction Sept 20). The only thing left before Williams fires up the bulldozers and backhoes and begins to dig is for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has already fully approved the project, to issue a “you can begin building” order. Last week Williams said they hope/plan to receive that order imminently, and begin construction next week, on Sept. 20th. However, the radicals at the Sierra Club and a bunch of other loony leftist “environmental” organizations are riding in to ruin the day. They’ve filed an urgent request with FERC to delay issuing the order to begin building. Why? Because these cancerous groups previously filed a lawsuit in federal court that seeks to have FERC reverse their decision to approve the project. The first step in the process when radical groups challenge a FERC order is for FERC itself to reconsider whether or not to rehear arguments against a project. FERC did delay, using something called a “tolling order.” Because of the tolling order delay, the radicals could not (as they wanted all along) appeal the case to the liberal D.C. Court of Appeals, the next step in the process. The radicals say the now-appealed case before the 2nd Circuit hasn’t had enough time, therefore FERC should delay an order to allow construction to begin for Atlantic Sunrise…
Read More “Big Green Begs FERC to Delay Construction of Atlantic Sunrise Pipe”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services

UGI Adds Marcellus Gas Service to Town Between Scranton, W-B
September 15, 2017September 15, 2017

It is a story we see happening more and more frequently–local distribution companies (LDCs, your local gas & electric company) are adding new customers in places previously not served by natural gas lines–because of the presence of the abundant, cheap, and clean-burning Marcellus Shale. The latest such story we noticed of this type comes from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. If you ever whiz through Scranton, and then Wilkes-Barre, motoring down Interstate 81 (as we’ve done hundreds of times over the years), one of the townships you pass through without knowing it is Dupont (in Luzerne County)–quite close to the regional airport in Avoca, not far from Montage Mountain ski resort, and a whisker away from Moosic. Utility giant UGI has begun a program to install natural gas pipelines to 123 homes in Dupont, to provide Marcellus Shale gas to those homes…
Read More “UGI Adds Marcellus Gas Service to Town Between Scranton, W-B”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

Rover Pipeline Still Battling Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Lift HDD Ban
September 14, 2017September 14, 2017

Rover project map – click for larger version

Rover Pipeline–$3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada–starting flowing natural gas through a portion of the pipeline on Sept. 1st (see Big Portion of Rover Pipeline Now Up & Running – Thru Most of Ohio). Since then, Phase 1A of the pipeline has steadily increased its throughput and now flows over 700 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of yummy Utica/Marcellus Shale gas to Defiance, OH. However, it could flow more, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would lift its considerable boot off Rover’s neck and let them finish Phase 1B–pipeline work in eastern Ohio to feed more gas to the main part of the pipeline. The problem is that Rover had early missteps, the most serious of which spilled 2 million gallons of non-toxic drilling mud in a swamp near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). An investigation by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) found the presence of diesel fuel in the drilling mud, which means the mud wasn’t so non-toxic after all (see OH EPA Says Diesel Fuel Found in Rover 2M Gal Drilling Mud Spill). Rover believes sabotage may have been the cause (see ET Says Accident or Anti Sabotage Caused Diesel in Rover Mud Leaks). Since April, FERC has blocked all new underground HDD work for the Rover project. Rover has asked (begged, pleaded) FERC, several times, for permission to restart the HDD work–at least in a few select locations. In August, FERC issued eight conditions before they would agree to lifting the HDD ban (see FERC Issues Rover 8 Commandments to Restart Horizontal Drilling). Rover says they have met all of those conditions. However, the OEPA says they have not, and is asking FERC to continue blocking HDD activity until they (OEPA) are satisfied. Rover fired off a letter to FERC that says OEPA’s public statements are opposite of their private statements with Rover. In other words, OEPA is lying. Who will FERC listen to?…
Read More “Rover Pipeline Still Battling Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Lift HDD Ban”
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Mountaineer NGL Storage | Ohio | Regulation

Mountaineer NGL Storage Project Delayed Until 2018
September 14, 2017September 14, 2017

Mountaineer NGL Storage wants to build a new underground NGL storage facility in Monroe County, Ohio, near Clarington, along the Ohio River (see New Company Announces Open Season for NGL Storage in Ohio Utica). As we reported in April, the company need customers to sign up to use the facility–a minimum of 1 million barrels of storage would get it going (see More Clarity on Status of Mountaineer NGL Storage Facility in OH). Mountaineer still needs to build a 3.25 million barrel brine pond, used to pump out the stored NGLs. Mountaineer is waiting for a clearance from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources to build the pond, which (in June) we said would likely to take “a few more months.” Strike that. The CEO of the project recently said he now does not expect to get those permits until “first or second quarter of next year.” He hastens to add that’s no problem, because his two biggest potential customers–the Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA and the closer-by PTT Global Chemical cracker in Belmont County, OH, won’t be ready to start using ethane until 2020 at the earliest…
Read More “Mountaineer NGL Storage Project Delayed Until 2018”
Broome County | CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | NG Advantage

200+ Binghamton-Area Residents Sign Petition Supporting Virtual Pipe
September 14, 2017September 14, 2017

Who knew there was ANYBODY who supported a virtual pipeline project in Broome County, NY?! As MDN recently reported, a Broome County judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–called a “virtual pipeline” (see Judge Rules Against Broome Virtual Pipe, NG Advantage to Try Again). The judge’s ruling delays the project for months at least. NG must now resubmit the project for approval by the Fenton Planning Board. Before doing that, NG must first conduct a full environmental impact study and an aquifer study. Even with environmental studies, don’t expect the locals, who appear to have very closed minds, to accept the outcome. Travel around the community where the project is slated to be built and almost every home within a mile has a “NO COMPRESSOR STATION” sign. Read local news coverage of the issue and you come to the conclusion there isn’t a single soul in the county (apart from MDN editor Jim Willis) who supports the project. NG is out to counter that media narrative. NG has just launched a petition to support the project. And guess what? Already over 200 local residents have signed it. Yeah, there’s likely at least that many against it, but the point is this is not a one-sided issue. People in the community are starting to speak up in support of the project. If you live in the general vicinity, here’s how you can sign the petition…
Read More “200+ Binghamton-Area Residents Sign Petition Supporting Virtual Pipe”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines

MDN’s Prayer for North Carolina Clergy Who Pray Against Pipeline
September 13, 2017September 13, 2017

We spotted an article that says clergy and lay people from the United Church of Christ in Robeson County, North Carolina will hold a prayer vigil today. A liberal pastor has decided to show up at the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to pray against approval for Dominion’s $5 billion, 594-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP)–a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. The DEQ is scheduled to announce a decision about granting the project a necessary permit, at a meeting on Sept. 19th. Which got us to thinking. Perhaps we should pray for the pastor and lay people who will show up to pray today. Here’s our prayer…
Read More “MDN’s Prayer for North Carolina Clergy Who Pray Against Pipeline”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

PA Issues Final Permit for Atlantic Sunrise, Construction Sept 20
September 12, 2017September 12, 2017

Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline is primed and ready to begin construction after receiving its very last required permit from Pennsylvania–an Air Quality Plan Approval for air emissions related to construction activities in Lancaster County. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the Air Quality permit last Friday. You may recall Atlantic Sunrise, a $3 billion, 198-mile 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, received water crossing permits from the DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a few weeks ago (see Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Gets Water Permits from Army Corps, PA DEP). In August the DEP held a public hearing in Lancaster to accept public comment on the air permit. A small group of anti-pipeline protesters acted like petulant 5-year olds and walked out of the hearing (see Big Green Groups Stage Walkout at PA DEP Atlantic Sunrise Hearing). No matter. Their antics didn’t affect the DEP. According to Williams, the builder of the pipeline, they now await an order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin construction. They expect to receive that order any day now. They hope (and expect) to begin construction next Wednesday, Sept. 20th…
Read More “PA Issues Final Permit for Atlantic Sunrise, Construction Sept 20”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (WV) | Maryland | Pipelines | Statewide MD | TC Energy/TransCanada | West Virginia

Jefferson County, WV Hopes Hinge on Gas Pipe Under Potomac River
September 12, 2017October 16, 2019

Jefferson County, WV has been working for the last 30 years to get natural gas piped into the community. Jefferson is on the cusp of seeing that long-time dream turn into reality–if anti fossil-fuelers in Maryland don’t screw it all up. In April, MDN brought you the news that Columbia Pipeline (now owned by TransCanada) has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a 3.5 mile, 8-inch pipeline that will carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to connect the Mountaineer Gas system in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia with the Columbia Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania (see New 3.5 Mile Pipeline Project to Drill Under the Potomac River). The purpose of the Eastern Panhandle Expansion project is to deliver natural gas via local distribution channels (local utility Mountaineer Gas) to a new industrial facility in Berkeley County, WV, scheduled to open this fall, and to provide gas to other local businesses and residents in the Tri-State area. Most of the proposed pipeline crosses through a tiny sliver of Washington County, Maryland. The main “issue” with the project is that the pipeline will be drilled underneath the Potomac River, which serves as the border between WV and MD. That has radical anti-fossil fuelers in an uproar (see Mountaineer Pipeline Under Potomac Latest Focus of Anti Movement). Here’s a look at the faces of those whose lives will be changed for the good by a short, 3.5 mile pipeline under the Potomac, IF…
Read More “Jefferson County, WV Hopes Hinge on Gas Pipe Under Potomac River”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY DEC Grants Permit for Millennium Pipe Eastern System Upgrade
September 11, 2017September 11, 2017

The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is tap dancing to explain why they refused to grant a water crossing permit for a 7.8-mile pipeline in Orange County to Millennium Pipeline Valley Lateral Project, yet a few days before that refusal they granted a water crossing permit to Millennium for the Eastern System Upgrade, which includes 7.8 miles of looping pipeline in yes, Orange County! The Millennium Pipeline stretches ~244 miles from Independence in Steuben County, NY to Buena Vista in Rockland County, NY. The Millennium, which is supplied by local production (much of it Marcellus Shale gas) and storage fields and interconnecting upstream pipelines, serves customers along its route in New York’s Southern Tier region and helps meet the energy needs of northeast markets. In August 2016, Millennium filed an application for what it calls its Eastern System Upgrade (see Millennium Pipe Asks FERC to Approve Eastern System Upgrade in NY). The ESU would add 7.8 miles of extra looped pipeline in Orange County, upgrade a compressor station in Delaware County, build a new compressor in Sullivan County and make some minor tweaks to metering stations in Rockland County. Just days before the DEC denied a water permit for the Valley Lateral Project (see Corrupt NY DEC Denies Water Permit for 7.8 Mile Power Plant Pipeline), the DEC issued the same permit for the much larger ESU project. The DEC denied Valley Lateral on the premise that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had not done a proper job in evaluating the global warming potential of the new power plant that pipeline will feed. Yet the DEC saw no problem with bumping up capacity by 223 million cubic feet of natural gas flowing per day along the mainline Millennium, which the ESU project will do. Lucy! You have some ‘splainin to do! Aside from the flaming DEC contradiction, Millennium has just asked FERC to please hurry up a final OK of the ESU project, before the DEC changes it mind…
Read More “NY DEC Grants Permit for Millennium Pipe Eastern System Upgrade”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Orange County | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s Critical Error in Denying Millennium Pipe for Power Plant
September 11, 2017September 11, 2017

On August 30th the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued a refusal to grant a water permit to Millennium Pipeline to build a tiny, 7.8 mile pipeline spur from the main Millennium Pipeline to an under-construction natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County (see Corrupt NY DEC Denies Water Permit for 7.8 Mile Power Plant Pipeline). The electric plant will get finished either way, whether it’s fed by natural gas or, alternatively, by dirtier fuel oil. The DEC has blocked many (not all, but many) recently filed pipeline projects in the state–because of undue and corrupt influence from our governor, Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo seeks to appease his radical/left base. The DEC previously denied a water permit for the Constitution Pipeline, stating Constitution had not provided all of the required information the DEC needs to properly evaluate the project (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). The DEC later refused a water permit for NFG’s Northern Access Pipeline project (see Cuomo’s Corrupt NY DEC Blocks NFG Northern Access Pipeline Permit). In the case of Northern Access, the DEC claimed they did have enough information, but in their opinion the project would do too much damage to Mom Earth. Both the Constitution and Northern Access projects are in court to try and overturn the DEC’s decision to block. However, in refusing Millennium’s tiny 7.8 mile pipeline to the Valley Energy Power plant, the DEC claimed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) didn’t do a proper job in evaluating the project’s impact on mythical man-made global warming. The pipeline will feed gas to an electric plant, and the DEC says the electric plant will produce air emissions that will help toast Mom Earth. A couple of top energy attorneys from the law firm Blank Rome explain how the DEC has made a critical error in judgment with their refusal of the Millennium project, a decision they say stands a “very high” chance of being overturned on appeal…
Read More “NY’s Critical Error in Denying Millennium Pipe for Power Plant”