Williams

  • | | | | | | | |

    Atlantic Sunrise Pipe’s Positive Impact in Lancaster Already Felt

    Money–a lot of money–is flowing into Lancaster County because of construction work now being done on Williams’ $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise 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. Local media pitches the revenue and jobs created by the project as “temporary.” MDN once heard a union pipeline worker respond to that very argument at a FERC hearing (for the Constitution Pipeline) by saying he’s had an entire career of “temporary” pipeline jobs that last a few months or a year–making enough money to put his kids through college and make a nice living for himself and his family. Lancaster residents should jump for joy at their “temporary” blessing of this pipeline’s construction. Among the beneficiaries of these “temporary benefits” are “dozens of local businesses” and “more than 100 workers” who are employed full-time working on the project. An estimated $75 million (!) is now flooding into the Lancaster County economy, thanks to Atlantic Sunrise…
    Read More “Atlantic Sunrise Pipe’s Positive Impact in Lancaster Already Felt”

  • | | | | | |

    Lancaster Against Pipelines to be Featured in Propaganda Movie

    A leftist filmmaker is attempting to get enough money via a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new propaganda film called “The Power of Protest,” which looks at five radical/left “protest” movements, one of which is Lancaster Against Pipelines (LAP). LAP is an anti-fossil fuel group founded to try to stop Williams’ $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise project, a 198-mile natural gas pipeline running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County. The married couple who started LAP, Mark and Malinda Clatterbuck, are far-left radicals who pretend to be mom and pop, salt-of-the-earth, neighbor-next-door, aw-shucks common folks who would never engage in “violent” protests. Mark Clatterbuck admits to traveling to North Dakota to participate in the mass action against the Dakota Access Pipeline–a “protest” that turned quite violent and destroyed millions of dollars of property. No, we’re not saying nor implying that Clatterbuck himself engaged in illegal actions while there. We are saying the Clatterbucks’ sympathies lie with protest movements that sometimes result in such actions. There is a very fine line for leftists between violent and non-violent protests–and all too often they tip over into the latter. They simply can’t accept the fact other people disagree with their extreme, outside-the-mainstream positions. In advertising the Kickstarter campaign to try and gin up money to fund the movie, the Clatterbucks and LAP are pushed front and center as examples of “mass protests” and their supposed effectiveness. We recall that Malinda Clatterbuck once claimed LAP has “over 1,000 people” willing to show up and engage in “nonviolent” protests against Atlantic Sunrise. So far, a grand total of 45 of their “committed” 1,000+ members have shown up and gotten themselves arrested (see 5 More Protesters Arrested in Lancaster Co. Blocking Pipeline Work). So much for shutting down work on Atlantic Sunrise. Here’s the pitch that attempts to turn two lefties into mom and pop in an attempt to raise money for yet another faux “documentary”…
    Read More “Lancaster Against Pipelines to be Featured in Propaganda Movie”

  • | | | | | |

    Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court

    U.S. Supreme Court

    “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain (and Constitution Pipeline). Last week it was our duty to report the sad news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found they could not override the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) decision (under pressure from the corrupt Andrew Cuomo) to block the Constitution Pipeline (see Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC). FERC found, after an exhaustive investigation, that the DEC had suckered Constitution into refiling a second time, restarting the one-year clock under which NY could render a decision about the pipeline. With four days left on the reset clock, DEC issued a denial of Constitution’s request for a federal water crossing permit (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Constitution went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn DEC’s decision, but ultimately failed (see Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?). With FERC refusing to act, we asked the question last week, Is this the death of the $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into NY and New England? We reached out to Williams and MDN was first to report that Williams said they would continue to fight. And so they have! In a statement issued Tuesday, Williams (i.e. Constitution Pipeline) said they have appealed the Second Circuit’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court (full copy of the appeal below). Williams maintains if the Second Circuit’s decision upholding the corrupt DEC is allowed to stand, it sets a dangerous precedent for rogue states like NY who refuse to obey the strict interpretation of the law. That is, it allows states like NY to simply reinterpret the law any old which way they want. And that can’t stand…
    Read More “Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court”

  • | | | | | | |

    Lancaster Nuns Demand “Religious Freedom” Trial re Pipeline

    A group of radicalized Catholic nuns whom we refer to as Sisters of the Corn are demanding a trial on the grounds of “religious freedom” in an effort to block Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline from crossing their land in Lancaster County, PA. The order of nuns, called Adorers of the Blood of Christ, have tried several strategies to derail Atlantic Sunrise. One of stunts they pulled, in league with a radical Big Green group, is to stick a few wooden park benches in the middle of a corn field that they own (leased to a local farmer), calling it a “chapel” (see Catholic Nuns Use Radicals to Build Chapel in Path of PA Pipeline). Which is why MDN dubbed them “Sisters of the Corn.” The heck of it is that the Sisters use natural gas to heat an old folks home they operate at the same address! Talk about religious hypocrisy. The Sisters used the chapel-in-the-corn as an excuse to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over their approval of Atlantic Sunrise on the grounds that running the pipeline through their corn field violates their religious freedom (see Lancaster Nuns Sue FERC to Stop Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline). A federal judge in Reading, PA dismissed the frivolous lawsuit in September (see Fed Judge Tosses Lancaster Nuns’ Freedom of Religion Lawsuit re ASP). The Sisters, using Big Green lawyers, have just appealed the dismissal, hoping they can find a liberal judge somewhere, anywhere, to hear the case…
    Read More “Lancaster Nuns Demand “Religious Freedom” Trial re Pipeline”

  • | | | | | | |

    Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC

    This is a bitter and sad day. The five Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a decision yesterday (copy below) that FERC will not overrule an illegal decision by the corrupt Cuomo Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to block construction of the Constitution Pipeline (which FERC approved in 2014). Is this truly “lights out” for the Constitution? It would seem so. Cuomo’s DEC took more than two years to evaluate and eventually reject the Constitution Pipeline–a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into NY and New England (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Constitution went to federal court to overturn that decision, but ultimately failed last August (see Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?). But then a ray of hope appeared in the galaxy. FERC overruled NY DEC in another pipeline case, so Constitution filed a request with FERC to overrule NY DEC in their case (see Constitution Pipeline Asks FERC to Override NY DEC). FERC wanted to overrule DEC again. You can read between the lines and detect it in yesterday’s decision. But ultimately FERC could not overrule the DEC because the DEC rejected the permit with four days left ticking on a one-year clock (we explain it all below). So this question: Are all avenues exhausted for Constitution? Is the ray of hope in the galaxy now extinguished? Will evil (i.e., the Cuomo-corrupted DEC) rule the galaxy? According to Williams, Constitution’s builder, the answer is an emphatic, “NO!” Williams will first file with FERC, asking them to rehear their decision (which we don’t think is likely). If FERC denies the rehearing request, Williams is prepared to appeal FERC’s decision to federal court…
    Read More “Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC”

  • | |

    Williams Marcellus Buildout Leads to Record Transco Pipe Volumes

    Transco Pipeline Map – click for larger version

    Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) is the largest natural gas pipeline (by volume pumped) in the United States. Transco and its various branches stretch from the Texas Gulf Coast all the way to New York City. As MDN previously reported, Transco completed five important expansion projects in 2017: Gulf Trace, Hillabee Phase 1, Dalton, New York Bay, and Virginia Southside II (see Transco Pipeline Update: 5th Expansion Done, More Coming 2018). Because of those expansions, Transco flowed a record-breaking, all-time high of 15.58 million dekatherms (15.58 billion cubic feet, or Bcf) of natural gas in a single day–on Jan. 5, 2018. That’s approximately 20% of all the natural gas consumed in the entire country on that day. Amazing! Two more important expansion projects that are part of the Transco system are due to complete construction and go online in 2018: Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline and Garden State Phase II. Atlantic Sunrise will feed 1.7 Bcf/day of Marcellus Shale gas from northeastern PA into the Transco system, moving it south. As an interesting aside, Cabot Oil & Gas will provide 1 Bcf/d out of the 1.7 Bcf/d on Atlantic Sunrise when it’s completed (see FERC Approves Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline! Cabot Grabs More Capacity). Here’s the Williams statement about their recent Transco record-breaking day…
    Read More “Williams Marcellus Buildout Leads to Record Transco Pipe Volumes”

  • | | | | |

    FERC Launches Review for for Transco “Gateway Expansion Project”

    In November Williams filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade certain facilities in New Jersey along Williams’ mighty Transco Pipeline (see Williams Files FERC Appl for Transco “Gateway Expansion Project”). The $85 million project, called the Transco “Gateway Expansion Project,” will flow an extra 65,000 dekatherms per day (or 65 million cubic feet) of natural gas to a couple of utility companies that have already signed on the dotted line as customers. The upgrades include a new compressor unit at Transco’s existing Compressor Station 303 in Essex County, NJ, a new valve and electric transformer also in Essex County, and equipment upgrades at a metering station in Passaic County, NJ. Both PSEG Power and UGI Energy Services have signed up to receive the extra gas–to be distributed to their customers in the region. On Tuesday FERC announced it has launched an environmental review of the project–the first step in approving such a project. FERC is accepting comments on the project through February 2nd…
    Read More “FERC Launches Review for for Transco “Gateway Expansion Project””

  • | | | | | |

    Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Dismantles Old Barn in Pipeline’s Path

    STOP PRESS! 1/2/18 – 2:00 pm – Below is the full, original post MDN issued two hours ago. Our reporting was based on an article in the very biased Citizens’ Voice, a daily newspaper published in Wilkes-Barre, PA by the same rabidly biased, anti-drilling owners of the Scranton Times-Tribune. We should have known–the article published by the Citizens’ Voice was egregiously WRONG. It left out important facts that completely change the story. Williams reached out to MDN to set the record straight. In a nutshell, Williams’ original route for the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline through Luzerne County totally missed a barn on the property of Dale Wilkie. Wilkie asked Williams to reroute the pipeline across his property–through his barn! Williams obliged, offering him a generous amount for the easement PLUS Williams offered to build Wilke a brand, spanking new barn to replace the old one! Wilke got estimates to rebuild the 100-year old barn as it is, using chestnut wood, making the estimate astronomically high ($400,000). This puts the entire story in a new light. We have more below from Williams responding to the Citizens’ Voice journalistic malpractice…

    Read More “Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Dismantles Old Barn in Pipeline’s Path”

  • | | | | | | |

    FERC Rejects Antis’ Request to “Rehear” Atlantic Sunrise Decision

    In March of this year, a variety of anti-fossil fuel Big Green groups filed a rehearing request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking the agency to reconsider its decision to approve the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project (see Antis Attempt to Stop Atlantic Sunrise Pipe by Attacking FERC Order). Atlantic Sunrise is 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. Before Big Green groups can sue FERC in federal court to try and stop a project, they must first file a request for rehearing. If the antis can get FERC to agree to a re-hearing, it effectively slows, even stops, an active pipeline project. So in an effort to prevent important projects from being slowed or stopped, FERC developed something called a “tolling order” which grants FERC more time to consider whether or not a full rehearing is justified. During the time of the tolling order, work on a pipeline continues. Sometimes the work even gets completed! Which of course drives antis bonkers. By using a tolling order, FERC can drag out the process of deciding to deny a rehearing, avoiding the inevitable frivolous lawsuit that follows. That is, work on important projects actually gets done. Even though a tolling order was in place for the Atlantic Sunrise decision, antis still sued in federal court (several times, for a myriad of reasons), in an attempt to stop Atlantic Sunrise. It hasn’t worked. Construction is going strong. Last week FERC finally responded to the original request for a rehearing lodged back in March. FERC denied the request. When you read through FERC’s response, you’ll find many of the people and groups who requested a rehearing didn’t follow the rules and were simply dismissed as not having standing in the case. For those who do/did have standing, FERC methodically, meticulously, patiently explained why they are full of it…
    Read More “FERC Rejects Antis’ Request to “Rehear” Atlantic Sunrise Decision”

  • | | | |

    Transco Pipeline Update: 5th Expansion Done, More Coming 2018

    Transco System Map – click for larger version

    Williams issued a press release yesterday to (deservedly) crow about completing it’s fifth (of five) expansion projects for the mighty Transco Pipeline–a pipeline that stretches from the Gulf Coast to New York. Transo just completed a pipeline segment in Virginia that will feed Virginia’s largest natural gas-fired electric plant, currently under construction by Dominion Energy (see Dominion Begins Building Virginia’s Biggest NatGas Power Station). Williams will provide the gas required by the plant via its Virginia Southside II project, which started service on Dec. 1. But wait–the Dominion plant isn’t done yet, so where will the extra gas go? We expect either (a) even though the pipeline segment/expansion is done, they won’t begin flowing extra gas through it just yet, or (b) extra gas will flow through the expansion, but someone else will buy it, for now. Regardless, the important news is that this is the fifth of five major expansion projects for Transco completed by Williams this year, joining the Gulf Trace, Hillabee Phase 1, Dalton, and New York Bay projects. As part of Williams’ update, they also project Atlantic Sunrise, another major expansion of the Transco system, will be done in “mid-2018.” Good news indeed! Here’s the full update from Williams, with lots of exciting news…
    Read More “Transco Pipeline Update: 5th Expansion Done, More Coming 2018”

  • | | | | | | | |

    15 of 23 Lancaster Pipeline Protesters Plead Guilty or No Contest

    In October MDN told you about 23 radicalized protesters who tried to block access to equipment being used to construct the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA–on property owned by a sect of Catholic nuns whom we call Sisters of the Corn (see Lancaster Pipeline Protesters ‘Do the Hokey Pokey’ & Get Arrested). The protesters began singing the Hokey Pokey as they waited to turn themselves around into a set of handcuffs. The 23 finally got their day in court yesterday (the wheels of justice grind slowly). Out of the 23 arrested, 13 pleaded “no contest”–which means they neither dispute nor admit they committed a crime. The 13 were sentenced to pay a $100 fine (not nearly enough) and perform 10 hours of community service (not nearly enough). It was a slap on the wrist. Of the 23, another 2 pleaded guilty and have entered a “first time offenders” program which means after they pay a fine and perform community service, the charges will get dropped–as if they never committed the crime they did commit. Which leaves the final 7, who all entered a plea of “not guilty” with the stated purpose of holding a show trial where they can bleat and blat and carry on for the media. So said the clattering Malinda Clatterbuck, one of the organizers of the illegal protest. If they are found guilty, they can be sentenced to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Below we have all of the names of the criminals (and alleged criminals), minus one name withheld because a parent actually dragged his or her 16 year-old to the protest. That case is in juvie court…
    Read More “15 of 23 Lancaster Pipeline Protesters Plead Guilty or No Contest”

  • | | | | | | | |

    Lancaster Farmland Trust Settles Lawsuit Against Atlantic Sunrise

    Lancaster Farmland Trust, a leftist group that seeks to stop all development of land in and around Lancaster County, PA, sued a farmer and Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline after the Lancaster farmer signed an easement on a piddly 1.5 acres of land. The Trust claimed according to the terms of the deed the landowner didn’t have the right to sign the easement (see Atlantic Sunrise Files 13 Eminent Domain Cases in 4 Counties). The previous owners of the property “donated a conservation easement to the trust that specifically stated various man-made activities, and specifically listing pipelines, could not be built on the property.” We think that’s particularly sleazy (and should be illegal)–forever saddling future owners of the property with restrictions. No matter–it’s frequently done, and a lesson to landowners to beware, DON’T buy properties with such restrictions. If enough people refused to buy such properties, property owners would quit doing it because their property is no longer salable. But we digress. Transco Pipeline (of which Atlantic Sunrise is a part) tried to get the case tossed, but a Lancaster County judge refused. So Transco terminated the easement with the property owner, then turned around and filed a eminent domain lawsuit against the property owner and the Trust, which got the Trust’s attention. They’ve just settled the case, fearing (knowing) a judge would rule against them anyway. In the end, it seems to have come down to the Trust wanting money. They got $12,470 for the easement plus another $25,000 to cover their legal fees. The actual landowner got (as near as we can tell), nothing…
    Read More “Lancaster Farmland Trust Settles Lawsuit Against Atlantic Sunrise”

  • | | | | | | | | |

    NY Idiots Demand Cuomo Stop Burning All Fossil Fuels by 2030

    A small group of people whose bubble isn’t in the center of the level staged a “protest” on Saturday in Long Beach, NY (Nassau County), nominally against the Williams Rockaway Delivery Lateral pipeline project. The Rockaway project adds 3.2 miles of new Transco pipeline and related facilities in New York, from the Marine Parkway Bridge in Far Rockaway to offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. The protesters’ stated reason for opposing the project? Not because it may disturb underwater ecosystems. Not because it would temporarily disrupt the lives of those living nearby during construction. Not because of fears over water contamination. No. The stated reason is, “for the end to burning fossil fuels” and because they want NY state “to convert to renewable energy by 2030.” It is, literally, an impossibility to end the use of fossil fuels within the next 100 years. But these idiots refuse to use logic and reason. So now they’re targeting a minuscule 3 mile pipeline in an effort to vent their irrational rage. Meanwhile, up the Hudson in Westchester County, a different small group of nutters also gathered on Saturday to vent their rage for the same reason (anti-fossil fuel extremism), except the focus of their rage is Spectra Energy’s Atlantic Bridge Pipeline project…
    Read More “NY Idiots Demand Cuomo Stop Burning All Fossil Fuels by 2030”

  • | | | | | |

    Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Begins Work in Northumberland County, PA

    Good news for Northumberland County: Atlantic Sunrise is rising in your neighborhood. Work on the $3 billion, 198-mile natural gas pipeline project that will run through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County has begun in Northumberland County. Last week a Williams subcontractor working on that portion of the project gave a tour to a local newspaper. Atlantic Sunrise will pass through approximately 10 miles of Northumberland County, entering from Columbia County and exiting to Schuylkill County. So far, “Everything seems to be going really well” according to the contractor in charge of that portion of the project. They expect to begin welding pipes together by the end of this month…
    Read More “Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Begins Work in Northumberland County, PA”

  • | | | | | | | |

    5 More Protesters Arrested in Lancaster Co. Blocking Pipeline Work

    Five more members of the nutty Lancaster Against Pipelines group have been arrested, including a minor. It’s bad enough putting your own life at risk. We consider it child abuse to put your child’s life in danger by sitting the kid down in front of heavy equipment–in a deluded attempt to stop construction. Just last week we told you about three old ladies who did the same thing (see 3 Old Ladies Cause 3 Hr Delay in Atlantic Sunrise Construction). The latest five were arrested in the same general vicinity as the three old ladies–Martic Township. The five were arrested for sitting down in front of a working backhoe. No doubt they were imagining old Captain Planet episodes in their minds as they did so. You know, the Saturday morning cartoon from decades ago where defenseless kids go up against evil big corporations whose only goal is to destroy Mom Earth? All’s lost until the kids combine their “powers” and magically transform into Captain Planet (Planet…Planet…Planet). Did you hear that echo? At any rate, this latest small group didn’t hold up the works as long as the old ladies did, which is good. The grand total of protesters arrested now stands at 45–quite a few less than the “over a thousand” who supposedly had signed up to sacrifice themselves in front of pipeline construction equipment, according to the leaders of Lancaster Against Pipelines…
    Read More “5 More Protesters Arrested in Lancaster Co. Blocking Pipeline Work”

  • | | | | |

    Williams Files FERC Appl for Transco “Gateway Expansion Project”

    Yesterday Williams filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade certain facilities in New Jersey along the Williams mighty Transco Pipeline, in order to flow an extra 65,000 dekatherms per day (or 65 million cubic feet) of natural gas to a couple of utility companies that have already signed on the dotted line as customers. The project is called the Transco “Gateway Expansion Project” and will cost roughly $85 million. The upgrades include a new compressor unit at Transco’s existing Compressor Station 303 in Essex County, NJ, a new valve and electric transformer also in Essex County, and equipment upgrades at a metering station in Passaic County, NJ. Both PSEG Power and UGI Energy Services have signed up to receive the extra gas–to be distributed to their customers in the region. The extra 65K dekatherms that will flow because of the upgrades is enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of ~300,000 homes. Here’s the lowdown on this latest Williams project…
    Read More “Williams Files FERC Appl for Transco “Gateway Expansion Project””