THE Delaware Riverkeeper Plans to Pack DRBC Hearing to Oppose PennEast
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), charged with overseeing potential impacts on the Delaware River and the various tributaries that feed it, has stepped outside of its legal bounds with plans to review the PennEast Pipeline, part of which will run through the Delaware River Basin area. In 2014 the DRBC tried to tell PennEast and its sponsors that the pipeline will need their approval before it can be built (see DRBC Tells PennEast They Need DRBC (Not Just FERC) Approval). There’s just one teeny tiny problem with the DRBC’s plan. It’s called the U.S. Constitution. PennEast is permitted solely by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), not any other agency including the quasi-governmental DRBC. PennEast told DRBC as much (see PennEast Tells DRBC Not So Fast, FERC has Final Say on Pipeline). But silly little things like laws don’t stop power-mad liberals like those at the DRBC. FERC, in a bid to be gracious to the libs at DRBC, agreed to hold one joint hearing on the PennEast with the DRBC (see Anti Drillers Demand DRBC Hold 7 Meetings on PennEast Pipeline). But then the DRBC has decided it will take its marbles and go home–telling FERC to blank-off, that DRBC will hold their own hearings (plural) on the PennEast (see DRBC’s Lawless Action to Review PennEast Pipeline Apart from FERC). The time has come. On March 15 the DRBC will proceed with its lawless action in holding a hearing, and DRBC friend and confidant, Maya van Rossum (THE Delaware Riverkeeper) has issued an email to her legion of mind-numbed robots to hound the DRBC about speaking slots at the hearing, so they can create the illusion that most folks are against the project. She’s also planning to pack the meeting room with hippies and ne’er–do–wells in “stop penneast” t-shirts, holding up signs…
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Companies in the oil and gas space, in particular midstream (pipeline) companies, have complicated ownership structures on paper. There are usually a number of subsidiary companies. Sometimes these companies have a “mother ship” which is owned by stockholders, and a subsidiary that is a master limited partnership (MLP), which is a different kind of corporate structure. MLPs don’t have shares of stock but instead issue units (about the same thing as shares of stock). MLPs give the unitholders certain tax advantages not offered to stockholders. Yes, its complicated. The important thing to know is that often these large pipeline companies have layers within layers. Which is the setup for this story. TransCanada, which purchased Columbia Pipeline Group last year for $10 billion (see 
On Friday, Feb. 3, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave a final approval for Energy Transfer’s Rover Pipeline project–a $3.7 billion, 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada (see 
New York State is a hopeless, corrupt mess. MDN previously reported on a $900 million natural gas-fired electric generating plant coming to Orange County, NY (see 
You may recall that in April 2016, New York’s anti-drilling governor, Andrew Cuomo, decided he would cave to pressure from radical environmentalists once again and block the building of the federally-approved Constitution Pipeline (see 
Last September MDN reported on a midstream deal with major implications for the Marcellus/Utica: Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. announced an all-stock deal to buy out pipeline operator Spectra Energy, based in Houston, for $28 billion (see 
In December, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) threw a little cold water on two important pipeline upgrades to carry more Marcellus/Utica gas to southern markets. A final environmental impact statement (EIS) was due from FERC for both the Mountaineer XPress and Gulf XPress projects no later than April 28, 2017. FERC said that the deadline would slip by three months due to reroutes and additional environment information requested (see 
Earlier this month Rover Pipeline, a $3.7 billion, 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada, received its final authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday (see 
An interesting article in the Harrisburg Patriot-News looks (favorably) at a trouble-making anti from Lancaster County, PA who participated in the illegal activities at Standing Rock, ND. He earnestly hopes he can attract that kind of disruption and mayhem to peaceful Amish Country in an attempt to stop the Transco Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project from getting built. But just like Standing Rock, this effort will fail. What we found interesting is that this is an open admission of something we’ve been reporting (warning about) for months–that some of the miscreants from North Dakota are targeting the Marcellus/Utica for their next round of anarchy. There’s nothing “peaceful” about what these people do…
Anti-drilling zealots are sometimes maddening, sometimes funny, and often just plain bizarre. As they are with their latest publicity attack (aided and abetted by PBS reporters) by claiming a couple of townships along the pipeline’s proposed route have ordinances in place that would potentially stop the pipeline in those locations “if only” those lazy, corrupt townships would just enforce the ordinances. That’s the upshot of the argument. One of the towns, Thornbury (Delaware County, a Philly suburb) has a requirement that the subdivision where the pipeline will run must maintain at least 40% of the land in the subdivision as “open space.” The antis claim the pipeline will use enough acreage to reduce the “open space” to below 40%. Ah, Mr. & Ms. Anti, did you know that the pipeline will run underground? And that pipelines lead to MORE permanent open spaces? Nice green fairways that are well-maintained? Lawyers from the usual radical suspects are getting ready to file lawsuits for “force” the townships to pay money defending against this latest inanity…
Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) & Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)–essentially the same company in two different pieces, owned by Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren–turned in their 2016 updates this week. ETE and ETP had a wild ride in 2016, with lots of drama over attempting to buy–and then wiggle out of the deal to buy–Williams (see 
As we reported earlier this week, Sunoco Logistics Partners has begun active construction activities related to building the twin Mariner East 2 pipelines (see 
You may recall that 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