FERC’s Rapid Response in Sabal Trail Case Shuts Down Sierra Club
In August the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled in a case that (we previously thought) may have long-term, very negative consequences for the oil and gas industry related to pipeline development (see DC Court of Appeals Legislates New Law re FERC & Global Warming). The litigious, anti-fossil fuel radicals of the Sierra Club previously filed a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) blaming FERC for not considering mythical man-made global warming as it conducted a review of three pipelines in the southeast. The Southeast Market Pipelines Project (SMP) is an umbrella project for three natural gas pipelines in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The linchpin of the project is the Sabal Trail pipeline, which travels from Tallapoosa County in eastern Alabama, across southwestern Georgia, and down to Osceola County, Florida, just south of Orlando (nearly 500 miles). The Sierra Club said the three projects together didn’t take into consideration an increase in carbon and methane that would result from the three projects serving electric generating plants, and that said carbon and methane will contribute to global warming. The D.C. Court of Appeals agreed and instructed FERC to reconsider its environmental assessment of the three projects–vacating an approval of the main part of the project, the Sabal Trail pipeline. In a brilliant move, last week FERC filed a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to fulfill the court’s order. In it, FERC looks at the potential for extra carbon/methane in the atmosphere from several electric generating plants fed by the SMP pipelines. As for evaluating the overall effect on Mom Earth, FERC said there currently is no accurate method available that can do it. In other words, this lawsuit that the Clubbers so fervently thought would lead to stopping all sorts of projects just fizzled out (we can’t be happier) thanks to FERC’s quick action. FERC has effectively shut down the Sierra Club’s best chance of stopping pipeline projects…
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A group of lawless anarchists–people calling themselves “anti-capitalists” from the Philadelphia area, have admitted in a blog post that they engaged in illegal, criminal (we’d call it eco-terrorist) activities against construction equipment being used in Media (Delaware County), PA for the Mariner East 2 Pipeline project. The criminals, from the anti-American group Philly Anti-Capitalist, said they filled the fuel tanks of a flatbed truck and several excavators with sand and sugar–meant to ruin the engines. They even outline how to inflict maximum damage to the engines by removing the fuel filters. These idiots justify their criminal actions by saying, “Human-caused ecological collapse and mass extinction are upon us.” In other words, they’re loony tunes. Crazy. Driven to commit criminal acts because they’ve been brainwashed into believing mankind is poisoning Mom Earth by extracting and using fossil fuels. And brainwashed against liberty and freedom as personified in the United States. They are serious (and dangerous) nutjobs. We sincerely hope the FBI, Homeland Security and other police organizations hunt them down and jail them for destroying private property…
Police in Lancaster County, PA are trying to get out in front of what they expect may be a tense situation. Big Green groups along with local nutters in the Lancaster area have pledged so-called non-violent action to stop work on the now-fully permissioned Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. 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. Lancaster Against Pipelines, headed up by Mark Clatterbuck (who participated in the ineffective protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline) and his wife Malinda. The clattering Clatterbucks have made threats that they and their “many” followers will enter private land and do whatever it takes–lock arms, chain themselves to something, etc.–to stop the backhoes and bulldozers. Several local town police departments, wanting to be prepared, sent a form letter/survey to residents where the pipeline will cross, to ask them (a) if they (the landowners) plan to allow antis onto their property, and (b) if they don’t plan to allow antis, will they consent to allowing the police to arrest antis on their property. Manor police Chief Todd Graeff says his department is neutral with respect to the pipeline–they just want to know where they have permission to enter and arrest people, and where they don’t. In West Hempfield “many” of the questionnaires have been signed and returned. Every single returned questionnaire gives the police permission to arrest antis on their property. Which is a VERY loud and clear signal to the troublemakers: You WILL get arrested and jailed for your shenanigans…
Two serial, paid protesters, along with a landowner and her daughter have sued Sunoco Logistics and parent company Energy Transfer for breaching their constitutional rights. You may recall our story about the daughter of a Huntingdon County, PA landowner, radicalized by Big Green groups (as evidenced by her association with well known protesters previously arrested), who took to a tree on her mom’s property in March 2016 in order to illegally stop crews working on tree clearing for the Mariner East 2 pipeline (see 
NEXUS Pipeline, a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada, is about ready to begin construction–any time. NEXUS got final approval for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in August, the first major pipeline to get approved following a newly restored quorum at FERC (see 
In August, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled in a case that may have long-term, very negative consequences for the oil and gas industry related to pipeline development (see 
As MDN told you two weeks ago, radicals from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) said they would stage “massive” protests at several Virginia Department of Environmental Quality offices last week to protest against two Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects: the $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline and $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline. Both projects have large segments crossing Virginia (see 
It certainly isn’t journalism. It’s one-sided, anti-fossil fuel advocacy. And it’s profoundly biased. StateImpact Pennsylvania, a Public Broadcasting initiative that’s funded, in part, with taxpayer money, is about to expand by adding another three propagandists to the three it has now. Joy. Four PBS organizations, led by WITF in Harrisburg, PA, is receiving a $652,902 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to expand its propaganda operation and write more anti-drilling, anti-pipeline stories. Stories that are one-sided. Aren’t you glad your taxpayer dollars go to fund this “reporting?” They’ll throw in a little global warming hysteria, just to spice it up…
Last week MDN told you that New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, had just ruled that the New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has the right to demand documents in a court case that accuses Exxon of hiding internal research that shows burning oil and gas leads to catastrophic, man-made global warming (see 
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 
Earlier this year a poll of Virginians found 62% of them support building the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project in the state (see 
Well they did it. Yesterday at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), representatives for the five voting members voted to begin the process of formalizing a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was hotly contested–by both sides in the debate. As we’ve previously chronicled, the DRBC is composed of five voting members: the governors of Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The governors all sent people to represent them at the meeting, with clear instructions. The three Democrat governors–Tom Wolf (PA), Andrew Cuomo (NY), and John Carney (DE) all voted in favor of a resolution to take the next step in the process of a permanent ban, voting to adopt a draft resolution MDN previously shared (see 
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…
We recently spotted an article written by Marian L. Tupy, editor of HumanProgress.org and a senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. He specializes in “globalization and global well-being, and the political economy of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.” He’s a smart guy–and a policy wonk. Tupy had an interesting experience when he gave a speech to college students in Ottawa, Canada. Somebody in the audience asked Tupy a question about climate change (i.e. man-made global warming). Tupy, who considers himself a “lukewarmer” (someone who thinks man may contribute to global warming, but the jury is still out on how much), cautioned the students against excessive alarmism when it comes to climate change. Until that point the students in the crowd were Tupy fans. But when Tupy had the temerity to suggest perhaps we ought to look more closely at the science before jumping to conclusions, they turned on him in an instant–like an angry mob. Which is illustrative, and disheartening. It’s disheartening that many of our college students have been mis-educated–we’d call it brainwashed–into denying science and the scientific process. Because students today have not studied and do not understand history–recent history of the past 70-80 years–they are repeating it, eagerly rushing into totalitarianism under the guise of environmentalism…
Turns out the rumors were true. The Delaware River Basin Commission has now been totally corrupted by Big Green groups and plans to vote tomorrow, Sept. 13, on a resolution that begins the process of implementing a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin. This is not the end, but the beginning of the end, of any hope for landowners in Wayne and Pike counties in PA. Their property rights will (like those of us who live in New York) be stripped away. Except in Wayne and Pike, it will be a permanent stripping away. At least in NY we have the hope of one day ejecting Lord Cuomo from office and reversing the ongoing moratorium. However, even though this should be a total win for radicals like THE Delaware Riverkeeper (aka Maya van Rossum), the radicals are STILL not happy! Can you believe it?! Part of the proposed resolution and rulemaking to follow will consider allowing frack wastewater disposal within the DRBC’s fiefdom. That just can’t stand according to Maya and her rad pals. Here’s the DRBC announcement, news coverage of it (with quotes from radical groups), along with a copy of the proposed resolution that will be voted on tomorrow…