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PennEast Responds to NJ Congresswoman’s Attempt to Stop Pipeline

PennEast in NJ
PennEast in NJ

Yesterday MDN told you about the political pandering by a liberal Democrat Congresswoman from New Jersey, Bonnie Watson Coleman (see Dem Congresswoman Wants to Stop PennEast Pipe by Neutering FERC). Because Coleman has a small group of vocal fossil fuel haters as constituents who object to the PennEast Pipeline, she’s floating a plan that would neuter the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s process in approving all pipelines, including PennEast. Kind of like using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. PennEast has responded to Ms. Coleman’s political stunt with the following calm, measured and devastating statement that rips apart her false claims…
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Dem Congresswoman Wants to Stop PennEast Pipe by Neutering FERC

Bonnie_Watson_Coleman_official_portrait
US Rep Bonnie Watson Coleman – wants to neuter FERC

Today, far-left Democrat U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (from New Jersey) will introduce a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives intended to hamstring the approval process of new pipelines at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Coleman’s bill, which doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of getting passed, is a ploy to block the PennEast Pipeline. Since that won’t happen, what this really is, is a political stunt–to improve Coleman’s chances of getting re-elected. She’s playing to her fringe/left base of supporters–people who irrationally hate fossil fuels and want to block anything to do with natural gas…
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PennEast Opponents Complain They’ve Been Outsmarted by UGI

hypocrite.jpgIt’s always fun to point out just how hypocritical Big Green groups, like the Sierra Clubbers, actually are. The Sierra Club in New Jersey is all up in arms that utility company UGI has hired a former member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Pamela Witmer, as vice president of government affairs. MDN was the first source to tell you the importance of her hiring, i.e. to help get the PennEast Pipeline approved (see UGI Hires PA PUC Commissioner in Brilliant Move for PennEast Pipe). The Sierra Club is “blasting” Witmer’s hire as “exactly what’s wrong with government and the incestuous relationship between utilities and corporations.” This is delicious. We will take you chapter and verse through two top Democrats in PA that have moved in and out, back and forth, between government jobs and jobs at Big Green organizations and corporations–Katie McGinty and John Hanger. The idiots at the Sierra Club make it too easy to point out their raging hypocrisy…
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UGI Hires PA PUC Commissioner in Brilliant Move for PennEast Pipe

Pamela Witmer
Pamela Witmer

Pamela Witmer, formerly a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner for five years, has left the PA PUC and has joined UGI Energy Services as vice president of government affairs. We previously wrote that Pam was one of the stars at the PUC (see PA PUC Commissioner’s Full-Throated Support of Marcellus Shale). Normally we don’t run announcements of personnel changes–unless its important and somehow affects the Marcellus/Utica. Pam’s new job certainly qualifies. Why? As vice president of government affairs for UGI, Pam will “represent the company’s interests before public officials and regulatory agencies, educate stakeholders on a variety of energy issues, and provide strategic counsel to new and existing customer projects.” In other words, Pam will talk to regulators that she already knows, and be a strong voice throughout the region for projects UGI undertakes. UGI happens to be the main sponsor of the PennEast Pipeline project–a project being vigorously opposed by anti-fossil fuel nutters like THE Delaware Riverkeeper. Now you can see why Pam’s appointment is a brilliant move by UGI…
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NJ Enviro Groups Continue Attacks on Safe, Needed PennEast Pipe

straws
Credit: Wikipedia

Grasping at straws is the closest analogy we can think of to describe the latest desperate attempt by environmental groups in New Jersey to stop the PennEast Pipeline from getting built. Lawyers for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association have written to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking FERC to suspend its review of the PennEast Pipeline application. Why? Because, they say, PennEast hasn’t provided data requested by FERC and several state agencies. Which is, of course, a joke. PennEast has provided everything requested. This is yet another smokescreen, a delay tactic by people who irrationally hate all fossil fuels…
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Radical NJ Democrats Want to “Constitution” the PennEast Pipeline

PennEast in NJ
Click map for larger version

Anti-drillers (most of them liberal Democrats) haven’t wasted any time in adopting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tactic of delay, deny and death. Antis in New Jersey took notice of how Cuomo first delayed, then denied the Constitution Pipeline stream crossing permits, effectively killing the project (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). The leaders of radical Big Green groups in NJ, including the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the New Jersey Sierra Club, along with several Democrat members of the NJ legislature, want the state Department of Environmental Protection to deny permits for a different pipeline project–the PennEast Pipeline. Hey, if it worked in NY, why wouldn’t it work in NJ? Problem is, NJ has a Republican governor and the DEP is an executive agency. That won’t stop the antis from trying…
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PennEast Pipeline Requests NJ’s Help with “Green Acres” Process

Green AcresThe PennEast Pipeline, a $1 billion, 118-mile pipeline from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ, continues to bend over backwards, forwards and into yoga knots in order to accommodate the wishes of various special interest groups. The latest in that effort is PennEast’s invitation to several New Jersey municipalities and non-profit groups to provide feedback on PennEast’s open space initiative. Part of the PennEast route will traverse 15 acres of encumbered “Green Acres” parcels–open spaces meant to stay open and not be developed. PennEast plans to lay their pipe four feet down, cover it up, and the green/open spaces will remain green and open, forever. In fact, according to PennEast, when the pipeline installation is done and dusted, there will be “significantly more open space” than there is today. Look for THE Delaware Riverkeeper (Maya van Rossum) and other radical leftists to demagogue this latest effort by PennEast to be a good neighbor…
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PennEast Responds to Sham NJ Lawsuit Re Surveying w/o Permission

PennEast Pipeline Route Map
PennEast Pipeline Route Map – click image for larger version

A couple of radical anti-fossil fuel groups, aided and abetted by a few landowners (members of said groups) have filed a frivolous lawsuit on Monday in New Jersey Superior Court against PennEast Pipeline claiming surveyors have illegally trespassed on private property to conduct surveys–against the wishes of said radicals, some of whom happen to be landowners in the path of the proposed pipeline. PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion, 118-mile pipeline project that will run from near Wilkes-Barre, PA to near Trenton, NJ. The two groups behind this latest sleazy lawsuit are Homeowners Against Land Taking – PennEast Inc. (HALT PennEast) and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. There’s nothing like a good lawsuit to drive more donations. “Help! We’re David and we’re suing Goliath. We need YOUR money.” Pathetic. PennEast has responded that the claims of trespassing to survey are (our words) horse manure. PennEast checks carefully before entering a property to survey. The pipeline company said when they get a copy of the frivolous lawsuit they will mount a vigorous defense. The radicals just may have bitten off more than they can chew this time…
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DRBC’s Lawless Action to Review PennEast Pipeline Apart from FERC

drbc_logo_thumb.gifThe Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), charged with overseeing potential impacts on the Delaware River and the various tributaries that feed it, has once again stepped outside of its legal bounds. The PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion, 118-mile pipeline from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ–part of it 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 that–called the U.S. Constitution. The pipeline is permitted solely by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)–not any other agency, including the quasi-governmental DRBC. PennEast told them 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. Last summer 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). The DRBC has decided it will take its marbles and go home. Yesterday the DRBC informed FERC, by letter, that they will no longer participate in the joint hearing with FERC and will, instead, hold their own hearings (plural) on the PennEast. The DRBC is clearly operating outside of its charter. The DRBC news got THE Delaware Riverkeeper titillated…
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Anti Arrested for Terrorist Threats, Waves Gun at PennEast Workers

handcuffsYet another anti has crossed the line into terrorism–and no, we don’t use that word lightly. Three surveyors working on the PennEast Pipeline in Holland Township (Hunterdon Township), New Jersey were approached by a man with a rifle. The man asked them if they were there working on the PennEast. When the 3-man crew responded “yes,” the man waved the gun in the air, shouting at them that he would stop the pipeline. It was a clearly a menancing threat to the men who were doing nothing more than a survey. Holland Township Police later arrested Lester Kinney Jr., charging him with “making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.” The Sierra Club was quick to respond and distance itself from Kinney, making us wonder if Kinney is a member…
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PennEast Pipeline Spreads Some More Coin in PA/NJ Communities

PennEast Pipeline Route Map
PennEast Pipeline Route – Click for larger version

PennEast Pipeline yesterday released a list of the latest recipients of its “Community Connector” grants–money that goes to local worthy nonprofit organizations like firefighters and first responders. PennEast awarded $85,000 to 17 different groups, saying they are “proud to help support community organizations where we live and work” across both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Cynics would say the company is buying local support for the pipeline. Those in the industry (and yes, we’ve heard from them on this issue) say it shows good faith–a willingness to be good corporate citizens. Industry folks also say this kind of support won’t disappear after the pipeline gets built–these kinds of donations are not just a tactic to gain popular support. We’ll hold them to it. This isn’t the first round for PennEast. With this latest $85,000, the company has donated a total of $325,000 since 2014 (see our previous stories here). Here’s the list of the latest 17 organizations to benefit from the PennEast Pipeline…
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Delaware Riverkeeper Keeps Up Aggressive Attack on FERC, New Angle

THE Delaware Riverkeeper, a radical left-wing group that’s not much more than its director, Maya van Rossum, and a lawyer, continues (with big money funding from NGOs like the Heinz Endowments and the Park Foundation) to aggressively attack the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We warned you last year that Riverkeeper was attempting to overload FERC’s approval process for the PennEast Pipeline by encouraging anti-drilling zealots to register, en masse, as “intervenors” (see Delaware Riverkeeper Scams FERC in Review of PennEast Pipeline). Riverkeeper even asked their wacko followers to register their own children as intervenors–again in an attempt to overload FERC’s workload. Riverkeeper has sued FERC God knows how many times now (see THE Delaware Riverkeeper Sues FERC, Tries to Close it Down). But since none of those efforts are working, Riverkeeper (and van Rossum) are trying yet another tactic. They want the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a “review” of FERC in hopes that somebody–Obama? Congress? another agency?–at the federal level will come down on FERC to prevent the agency from doing its job–reviewing and approving new pipelines. We have evidence…
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FERC Approves NJ Pipeline – More Marcellus Gas on the Way!

In a positive sign for the now-delayed PennEast Pipeline that is scheduled to run from Wilkes-Barre, PA to Trenton, NJ, yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Williams’ $116 million Garden State Expansion Project in New Jersey. Why is it a good sign for PennEast? Because the project is being built to help connect gas that will come through the yet-to-be-built PennEast Pipeline to a yet-to-be-built (but approved in January) pipeline in New Jersey–the Southern Reliability Link pipeline (see Southern NJ NatGas Pipeline Approved by State BPU). FERC wouldn’t approve the Garden State Expansion Project unless it believes it will also approve the PennEast, plain and simple. That’s sure to give THE Delaware Riverkeeper a real bad case of heartburn…
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PennEast Spins FERC Delay as a Good Thing – Optimism or Denial?

We understand the value of a healthy, optimistic attitude. We consider ourselves to be a “glass half full” rather than “glass half empty” type of people. But we’re also realists. Last week the builders of the proposed PennEast Pipeline–a $1.2 billion, 114-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that will deliver approximately 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus gas fields of northeastern PA to locations in southeastern PA and across the border to Trenton, NJ–received what we considered bad news. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told PennEast they would extend the amount of time they are taking until December of this year, rather than August, to complete their Environmental Review. And FERC won’t issue their final decision on authorizing the project until March 2017–at the earliest. PennEast had requested FERC wrap it all up by this August–an 8-month delay. In our book, that’s mildly bad news. But yesterday PennEast issued a press release saying the FERC announcement is an “important milestone,” almost lauding FERC for moving so quickly given a plateful of pipeline applications–even though it means the PennEast project now won’t be completed until 2018 instead of 2017. Is this a “glass half full” optimistic attitude? Or self-deluding denial? We can think of many reasons why it’s a manifestly bad thing that FERC has delayed–not the least of which is are multiple lawsuits sure to be launched by the radicals at THE Delaware Riverkeeper…
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THE Delaware Riverkeeper Sues FERC, Tries to Close it Down

Maya van Rossum - THE Delaware Riverkeeper
Maya van Rossum – THE Delaware Riverkeeper

We thought radical leftists, like Maya van Rossum aka THE Delaware Riverkeeper, loved the heavy hand of Big Government. It appears she and her ilk only love CERTAIN Big Government agencies, like the federal EPA–those they can influence toward their radical anti-fossil fuel agenda. THE Delaware Riverkeeper is attacking a government agency–the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission–the agency charged with reviewing and approving (or not approving) interstate pipeline projects. Maya and company sued FERC on Wednesday with the sole purpose of shutting down the entire agency by defunding it. Delaware Riverkeeper filed their lawsuit against FERC in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia–one of the most liberal jurisdictions across the country. The lawsuit claims FERC can’t objectively make decisions about projects like the Penn East Pipeline (running from the Wilkes-Barre area to New Jersey) because FERC derives some of its operating revenue from the projects it either approves or does not approve. That’s its rationale for attempting to shut down an entire agency of the federal government. This is Riverkeeper’s last ditch “Hail Mary” effort to stop the Penn East Pipeline project…
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THE Delaware Riverkeeper Hosts Class to Stop PennEast Pipeline

THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum, has staked much of her credibility on stopping the PennEast Pipeline. The PennEast, as you may recall, is a $1.2 billion, 114-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that will deliver approximately 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus gas fields of northeastern PA to locations in southeastern PA and across the border to Trenton, NJ (see PennEast Pipeline Files Official Application with FERC, Antis Mad). It’s a pipeline, buried in the ground and after a few years no one even knows where it’s buried without calling 811. And yet van Rossum and her ilk vehemently (we’d say irrationally) oppose it for one reason: it flows a fossil fuel through it. And so she’s staked her own credibility, and the credibility of the organization she leads (with Big Green money backing it) by stopping the PennEast. One way she’s trying to slow it down is by registering children as “intervenors” with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the organization charged with reviewing and approving the project (see Delaware Riverkeeper Scams FERC in Review of PennEast Pipeline). Her latest angle of attack? Conduct a 6-hour “workshop” to train people as “volunteer monitors” to “document natural features that would be in jeopardy” from the pipeline–whatever that means…
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