PA DEP to Hold Final Atlantic Sunrise Hearing, Antis Plan Walkout
For those of us who have long supported the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project, it seems like it has taken FOREVER for the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to issue final water and air permits for the pipeline. Atlantic Sunrise is a $3 billion, 198-mile natural gas pipeline project, most of which will get built in northeast Pennsylvania. In an attempt to get the DEP moving, Williams co-hosted an event a few weeks ago in Wyoming County to pressure the DEP into granting final permits (see Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Rally: ‘Time to Kick Politicians in the Ass’). Perhaps the event helped. On the very same day as the event, the DEP announced a supplemental 30-day public comment period to begin on July 22. During this time, the DEP will hold one final public hearing–for feedback on an Air Quality Plan Approval for construction activities related to Atlantic Sunrise. That final public hearing will be held on Monday, August 14, in Lancaster. The anti-pipeline group Lancaster Against Pipelines (organized by some of the same people who illegally protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota), are planning a mass temper tantrum at the hearing. They will stage a “walkout” at the meeting. Adults behaving like spoiled rotten children. We’ve come to expect it from them. MDN encourages pro-pipeliners (i.e. adults) to show up in large numbers so that when the 10-15 antis walk out, nobody will even notice…
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In March, MDN told you about a small group of radical protesters who established a protest “camp” on a private farm along the path of the Williams $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA (see 
There’s an app for that! Williams is launching an app (for smartphones) latter this month to connect Williams contractors with local businesses–to ensure as much of the work (and supplies) as possible is sourced from local businesses for the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. This is a great sign that Williams believes they are about to receive final permits from the foot-dragging Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to begin work. In August, Williams will launch WillShop Local, a digital application designed to connect local businesses with contractors and construction crews working in the project area. The app is not for local businesses but for the contractors and workers working on the pipeline to locate local suppliers. So how do you, as a local business, get listed on the app? Glad you asked! Just 
Late last week Cabot Oil & Gas, one of our favorite big Marcellus drillers, released their second quarter 2017 update. And man oh man, was it full of interesting items! Daily natural gas production was up 14% over the same period last year. During 2Q17, Cabot averaged 1.77 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of net Marcellus production (2.1 Bcf/d gross operated production). Also during 2Q17, Cabot drilled 13.7 net Marcellus wells, completed 8.0 net wells and placed 6.0 net wells on production. Financially, the company continues to be a cash-making machine, generating positive free cash flow for the fifth consecutive quarter. During the first half of this year, it cost Cabot an average of $2.01 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) to extract and sell the gas. That’s all expenses. And Cabot made an average of $2.51/Mcf selling that gas. That’s a profit of $0.50/Mcf (or 20% profit). If we could invest $1 and get back $1.20 for every dollar invested, we’d be happy to do that all day long! Cabot is currently operating two drilling rigs and one completion crew in the Marcellus. One of the most interesting (and underreported) parts of the Cabot conference call last Friday is CEO Dan Dinges’ comments on the long-delayed Constitution Pipeline. He said, “we feel more optimistic about this project coming online in the next few years than we did say a year ago.” It seems Cabot (and Williams, the builder of the Constitution) are closely watching what happens with the Millennium Pipeline and Millennium’s request to FERC to override the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is blocking the Millennium(and the Constitution). Although the Constitution awaits a court decision from the U.S. Second Circuit Court, they are planning other strategies. Dinges also addressed the PennEast Pipeline project, now stalled in New Jersey. Below is last week’s update, excerpts from the conference call, and the Cabot slide deck full of good information…
Last Thursday some 450-500 supporters, oil and gas industry workers and politicians gathered at the Shadowbrook Golf Course in Wyoming County, PA to express support for Williams’ $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project, most of which will get built in northeast Pennsylvania. The event was organized and sponsored by Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the major beneficiaries of the pipeline, and Williams, which will build and operate the pipeline. The overall purpose of the event was to give a metaphorical kick in the rear-end of Gov. Tom Wolf and his Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), which appears to be intentionally dragging its feet with granting stream crossing permits–about the only thing left before the backhoes fire up and start digging. The event, held from noon to 2pm, began with lunch–barbecue pulled pork and chicken–followed by a series of short speeches by political leaders from the region. With people gathered at tables, and some standing, a half dozen speakers stood on a giant flatbed trailer underneath what has to be the biggest American flag MDN editor Jim Willis has ever seen, hoisted and held between two large cranes (see the pic). The upshot of the speeches can best be summarized in a single statement delivered by Alan Hall, Chairman of the neighboring Susquehanna County Board of Commissioners, when he said: “It’s time to kick the politicians in the ass and get this [pipeline] done.” There were some other great one-liners too…
A group of Catholic nuns who prefer to worship Mother Nature rather than Jesus Christ (the Person they pledged to serve) is suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approving the $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project–because it will run through their cornfield. Perhaps the sisters consider themselves Sisters of the Corn? We previously told you about this small group of nuns–who use the same natural gas that will flow through Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline to heat their own property (see 
In March of this year, Williams filed a full, official application for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (see 
We have a correction to a previous story. In June MDN brought you the news that the Sabal Trail Transmission pipeline, a $3.2 billion, 515-mile interstate natural gas pipeline in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, had been placed into service, flowing natural gas to Florida electric generating plants (see 
Here’s a story of some Catholic nuns who have forsaken their vow to serve Christ, and instead have taken up a vow to serve radical environmentalism–which is apparently their new religion. A group of nuns in Lancaster County, PA invited the radical group Lancaster Against Pipelines (whose organizer participated in the illegal blockage of the Dakota Access Pipeline) to build a “prayer chapel” in the middle of a cornfield that belongs to the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (as they are called). The chapel is meant to stand in the way of Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, slated to go through that field. The so-called prayer chapel is little more than a few portable benches and a pop-up shelter like the one you would use when camping–just about big enough to cover a gas grill and leave enough room for two or three people to stand under it. The “prayer chapel” is obviously a statement thing. Knowing it will get torn down at some point, the sisters and their radical friends didn’t want to waste a lot of money on the project. Essentially this is a setup for a photo op when the bulldozers come through. It’s truly a shame to see how those who have dedicated themselves to the work of Jesus Christ have been co-opted and distracted from their far higher, and much better, calling. Unfortunately, the nuns are rank hypocrites. They themselves use–and promote the use of–natural gas for their own ministry on the very same parcel of property…
Just when you thought you’ve seen how low some anti-pipeline fanatics will go, they surprise you and go even lower. Antis set up a fake graveyard with a half dozen authentic, 19th century tombstones, right next to a pipeline right of way for the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA. Williams is hypersensitive to ensure they don’t violate any “Native American” or other kinds of historic sites. So when they came across the fake graveyard, they thought it was real and proceeded as such, spending time and money to plan a route for construction that would protect the fake site. And antis, with full knowledge, lied to Williams’ people (not telling them is the same as lying in our book). And laughed their considerable derrieres off the entire time, wondering when those poor dunderheads at Williams would figure it out. Now Williams may have the last laugh, because what the antis did is fraud and prosecutable. So-called local Native Americans (i.e. Indians) were in on the “joke.” And now those Indian activists have the gall to say if Williams didn’t recognize something as fake, how will they recognize real Indian artifacts that need protecting? We ask a different question: Who will ever believe these so-called Native American activists again–when they are self-professed liars?…
As we reported yesterday, the first two (of four) public hearings were held on Monday by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to elicit comments on the proposed $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, an expansion of Williams’ Transco Pipeline system (see 
Yesterday saw the first two (of four) public hearings being hosted this week by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to elicit comments on the proposed $3 billion, 198-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, an expansion of Williams’ Transco Pipeline system. One of yesterday’s meetings was held in Lancaster (Lancaster County), and the other in Tunkhannock (Wyoming County). The striking thing about both meetings is that they were not the usual circus freak shows by anti-fossil fuelers we’ve come to expect. Indeed, in both venues, an overwhelming majority of those speaking were there to speak IN FAVOR of the projects. Oh, there were detractors, to be sure. Nonsensical statements made by people like Malinda Clatterbuck, one of the locals in Lancaster who is attempting to turn Lancaster into another North Dakota fiasco. Clatterbuck said “angst over the pipeline has caused premature births, divorces and heart attacks” among people she knows. Complete rubbish. Anyone can say (or do) anything at these hearings. Mark Clatterbuck (Malinda’s husband) also spoke. Mark was a protester in North Dakota against the Dakota Access Pipeline. He warned (threatened?) DEP representatives of a coming “community uprising” against the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. Even though there was some opposition like the clattering Clatterbucks at last night’s hearings, the big news is that their opposition was drowned out by supporters of the pipeline project. And that’s good news for all Pennsylvanians…
We’re going to take a stab at this, and we are not confident we will get it 100% right. With that as a warning, we recently reported that a case brought by landowners in northeastern PA against Chesapeake Energy over unwarranted royalty deductions suffered a bit of a setback (see 
In April MDN provided an update on the Sabal Train Transmission pipeline project (see