Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Gov-Elect Wolf Selects Anti-Drillers to Head DEP, DCNR
January 13, 2015January 13, 2015

In a huge disappointment, Gov.-elect Tom Wolf has tapped two members of the same anti-drilling “environmental” organization–PennFuture–to head up the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Both also once worked for Gov. Ed Rendell (Wolf is acting more like Fast Eddie every day). Wolf is tapping John Quigley, who was Secretary of DCNR under Gov. Ed Rendell, to be Secretary at the DEP. Lately, Quigley has hung his hat at PennFuture as its government relations manager. His boss at PennFuture, Cindy Dunn (president of that organization), will become the Secretary of DCNR for Wolf. She served as deputy secretary of the DCNR under Rendell. It’s all kind of incestuous, isn’t it? PennFuture has a history of opposing the Marcellus industry–and now these two Rendell retreads are put in charge of managing the Marcellus industry. Unfortunately, we take that has an bad harbinger of what Wolf plans for Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State. His true colors are starting to show…
Read More “PA Gov-Elect Wolf Selects Anti-Drillers to Head DEP, DCNR”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Deerfield, MA Hoping Kinder Morgan Sues Them over Pipeline “Ban”
January 13, 2015January 13, 2015

Grasping at straws, a lawyer for Deerfield, Mass. continues to attempt an illegal “ban” on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and its plans to come through that area (see MA Town Health Board Claims “Unlimited Power” to Stop TGP). The Deerfield Board of Health says most of the gas that will flow through the TGP will be exported. Their proof? They say there’s way more gas that would flow through the pipeline than could be used by New Englanders. And if a single molecule of that gas gets exported, shazam, exporting supports their right to ban it. Yeah, we don’t get quite get the logic either. But let’s back up a step. Deerfield and its zealous lawyer argue from a false premise–that current demand will remain static in New England. Their argument overlooks Obama’s war on coal and his earnest desire to mothball every single coal-generating electric plant on U.S. soil. There are a number of huge coal-generating (and nuclear) electric plants IN NEW ENGLAND that will shut down in the next few years. Would New Englanders welcome rolling blackouts from lack of electricity? Would they enjoy paying 100x the electric rates they pay now? Or might having more natural gas come to the area to convert those coal generating plants to natgas be the wise solution? Deerfield’s attempt to block the TGP overlooks the fact that demand will only increase, dramatically, in the coming years…
Read More “Deerfield, MA Hoping Kinder Morgan Sues Them over Pipeline “Ban””
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Troubling Win in PA Court Victory that Allows State Land Drilling
January 13, 2015January 13, 2015

Last week MDN told you about the crushing defeat of the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) in one of the their many lawsuits to stop drilling in PA (see PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land). What’s kind of funny about it is that the very case they sought to win–the Act 13 case that allows local towns to impose their own zoning on drilling–was used against the PEDF in the decision. Citing the “Robinson” case some 16 times, the Commonwealth Court told the PEDF that yes, the state can lease state land for drilling and yes, the General Assembly can decide how and where they want to spend the money such activity raises. Even though the outcome (for pro-drillers) was a positive, the way the court got there–using the Robinson decision–is troubling for the Marcellus industry…
Read More “Troubling Win in PA Court Victory that Allows State Land Drilling”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Impeachment, Arrest Looms for PA AG Kane, Caught Leaking Info
January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

It seems no one IS above the law, including Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Kathleen Kane. She is, you may recall, anti-drilling and has targeted both large and small companies related to the Marcellus industry. She abused her office by filing criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill that occurred two years before she took office (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). She also abused her office by filing criminal charges against EQT (see PA Attorney Gen. Kane Abuses Office Again, Arrest Warrant for EQT). But it’s not only the big boys she has a vendetta against. She also shut down a small company that does environmental remediation and wastewater disposal (see Minuteman Enviro Says PA AG Office “Terrorized” Family Members, Filing Lawsuit). Now Kane has been caught red-handed leaking privileged grand jury information to a newspaper and she’s resorted to crying about men bullying her. So predictable…
Read More “Impeachment, Arrest Looms for PA AG Kane, Caught Leaking Info”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

League of Women Voters Questions New PA Reps on Fracking
January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

Too funny. The League of [Liberal Democrat and Anti-Drilling] Women Voters held their annual beat-up-on-Republicans, er, a, “legislative coffee” with newly minted state representatives on Saturday at the Hughes Library in Stroudsburg (Monroe County), PA. All of the questions were, apparently, asked by the moderator of the event, the liberal Democrat editor of the Pocono Record, Paula Heeschen. On the hot seat were two newly elected Republicans to the PA House: Rep. David Parker, R-115, and Rep. Jack Rader, R-176. Heeschen tried her best to bait the pair with patently loaded and in many cases questions with false premises, like this one about fracking…
Read More “League of Women Voters Questions New PA Reps on Fracking”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

OH Anti-Drillers Propose Taxing Gas in Interstate Pipelines
January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

Anti-drillers looking to a) stop shale drilling in Ohio and b) barring that, slow it down by taxing the #$@% of out the industry, met with a couple of members of RINO Gov. John Kasich’s staff last Friday to present what they hoped would be a proposal Kasich’s socialist-high-taxing nature would find appealing: tax natural gas flowing through interstate pipelines in Ohio. No word from the staffers whether or not they found merit in the proposal by the Ohio division of Citizens Against the Nexus/?Spectra Pipeline…
Read More “OH Anti-Drillers Propose Taxing Gas in Interstate Pipelines”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Northampton County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

MDN Encourages Counter-Protest at SE PA Compressor Plant on Jan 24
January 9, 2015January 9, 2015

In December the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finally, after a nearly two-year process, approved Columbia Gas Transmissions East Side Expansion project which will add 19 miles of new pipeline in southeastern PA and NJ to help fire a natural gas-fired electricity generating plant with cheap Marcellus Shale gas (see FERC Approves Columbia East Side Project in SE PA). All along there’s been opposition to a compressor station expansion Forks Township, Northampton County (see Columbia Hits Resistance to Compressor Upgrade in SE PA). As we’ve pointed out, it’s not much opposition–look at the picture of the so-called “packed auditorium” of people turning up to oppose it (see picture below). However, the anti-pipeline faithful don’t give up easily. There’s always one more Viet Nam, er, a, pipeline protest left in ’em. Even though the East Side Expansion (and compressor station expansion) is close to being a done deal, a group of anti-drilling/anti-pipeline folks will turn up on Sat., Jan. 24 at noon at the plant to protest. We think pro-drilling folks need to turn up as well. It’s time to fight this nonsense…
Read More “MDN Encourages Counter-Protest at SE PA Compressor Plant on Jan 24”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

In a crushing blow to the litigious anti-drilling group Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF), the PA Commonwealth Court ruled yesterday against the PEDF’s lawsuit that attempts to stop all drilling and leasing of state-owned lands for oil and gas drilling. The court said a) such drilling is just fine and b) the decision of whether or not to allow drilling on state-owned lands (and which parcels) rests with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The court further said that the General Assembly can decide how the monies received from leasing and production royalties will be spent–even as part of the general budget (former Gov. Ed Rendell leased hundreds of thousands of acres so he could use the money to prop up his failing budgets). It was a clean sweep. The PEDF lost all of their points in the lawsuit. The downer is that incoming Gov. Tom Wolf has said he won’t lease any more state lands for drilling…
Read More “PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Reporter Falls for Delaware Riverkeeper Anti-Pipeline Bamboozle
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

THE Delaware Riverkeeper and anti-driller, Maya van Rossum, continues her bamboozling ways. van Rossum finds conspiracy and evil intent behind every new pipeline project (or shale well) she hears about–and she’s only too glad to spread FUD–fear, uncertainty and doubt–about every announced project. The latest “angle” by van Rossum is to say when a huge pipeline company like Williams plans expansions to its largest pipeline system, the mighty Transco (10,200 miles of interstate pipelines), if Williams doesn’t combine all of those expansions in different geographic locations into one big, massive project, they’re trying to hide something. They’re trying to game the system. They’re trying to downplay the so-called environmental impacts all of those projects collectively will have on Precious Mother Earth. It’s just more fast talking by van Rossum…
Read More “Reporter Falls for Delaware Riverkeeper Anti-Pipeline Bamboozle”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

9 Anti-Drilling Groups Sue EPA Hoping to Damage the O&G Industry
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

Here we go again. In what has been a tried-and-true formula for success for anti-drillers, a group of nine far-left anti-drilling “environmental” organizations have sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claiming the agency doesn’t require the oil and gas industry to spend big bucks to fill out reams of paperwork to prove it’s not polluting Precious Mother Earth with nasty chemicals. The lawsuit was filed by the Environmental Integrity Project, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Center for Effective Government, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), the Clean Air Council, THE Delaware Riverkeeper Network (i.e. Maya van Rossum), the Responsible Drilling Alliance, and Texas Campaign for the Environment. The lawsuit by the litigious gang of nine will provide cover and an excuse for the EPA. What happens next is easy to predict. The EPA actually WANTS this lawsuit. They send a junior lawyer to defend themselves in the case, intentionally lose the case, and the court orders the EPA to start doing something they are not otherwise legally empowered by current law to do. That is, a liberal judge just created a new law that the EPA is then only too happy to follow. That’s how this sleaze tactic works…
Read More “9 Anti-Drilling Groups Sue EPA Hoping to Damage the O&G Industry”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Pro-Driller Ortitay Replaces Anti-Driller White in PA House
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

Just a brief note to celebrate yesterday, the first official day of the new Pennsylvania General Assembly and the swearing in of newly-minted Rep. Jason Ortitay, Republican from South Fayette, PA. Jason Ortitay handily defeated the dishonest anti-driller Jesse White, someone who abused his office by using fake online IDs to criticize and impugn some of his own pro-drilling constituents (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). We’d also add that it’s interesting to us that throughout the campaign, the increasingly anti-drilling (and very pro-Democrat) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette supported Jesse White, attempting to prop him up and make excuses for his behavior (see PPG Tries to Prop Up Discredited/Shamed PA Rep Jesse White). Shame on the Post-Gazette. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh’s other major newspaper, supported Jason Ortitay, to their credit. Perhaps businesses in Pittsburgh should reevaluate their ad spending for 2015, eh? Jason’s claim to fame is not simply that he defeated White. Jason is pro-drilling and instead of being a career politician, he’s a small business owner of a cheesecake company. What a breath of fresh air!…
Read More “Pro-Driller Ortitay Replaces Anti-Driller White in PA House”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Lehigh County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Delaware Riverkeeper: Short-Tempered & Outright Rude [Video]
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

MDN friend Tom Shepstone, editor of the superb Natural Gas Now website, appeared a few weeks ago on Business Matters, a weekly business-focused television program on WFMZ in Allentown, PA. Tom was there as part of a four-person debate about pipelines and shale drilling. Also on the panel was the arrogant (and frankly adolescent-acting) Maya van Rossum, aka THE Delaware Riverkeeper (see Delaware Riverkeeper Gets a French Kiss from Phila. Inquirer). van Rossum put on quite the performance–a typical fast-talk and bully-your-opponent performance. Take time to watch the debate (embedded below)…
Read More “Delaware Riverkeeper: Short-Tempered & Outright Rude [Video]”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA | Williams

Earthjustice, Others Ask FERC to Reconsider Constitution Pipeline
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

Thank God the Constitution Pipeline is fully authorized and permitted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY). We still have to sit through nutty anti-drillers parading before the microphones at New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hearings about the Constitution–but that should be just a formality. At least we hope it’s a formality–one never knows with anti-drillers like Joe Martens helming the DEC. It shouldn’t be long now before the backhoes start digging. But what’s that we hear in the distance? The hyena yapping of far-left environmentalist wackos? Yep. Earthjustice, Sierra Clubbers, Catskill Mountainkeeper and other anti-drilling groups have asked FERC to reconsider their permitting of the Constitution, telling FERC they didn’t do their job right…
Read More “Earthjustice, Others Ask FERC to Reconsider Constitution Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Lancaster, PA Antis Request United Nations Interfere in Pipeline
January 6, 2015January 6, 2015

Anti-drillers and anti-pipeliners (typically one and the same) will do just about anything to further their cause–including asking a foreign power to intervene to stop the activity they don’t want. Eight people were arrested yesterday for trespassing as part of an anti-Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline protest in Lancaster County, PA. The eight were part of a group of 30 or so antis who showed up with the intention to stop Williams from breaking ground on the pipeline in that area. One of the eight arrested was Carlos Rivera, chief of the Northern Arawak Tribal Nation. Rivera says Williams should not be allowed to lay pipeline across Native America (i.e. Indian) land located in Lancaster County. So Rivera is filing a request with the United Nations, claiming the land is protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Good luck Carlos…
Read More “Lancaster, PA Antis Request United Nations Interfere in Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

LOL: Anti-Fossil Fueler Says Pipelines are Like ‘Parasitic Worms’
January 6, 2015January 6, 2015

We noticed a letter to the editor, published by the increasingly anti-drilling Pittsburgh Post Gazette, in which the author says pipelines, like the proposed $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline that will run from West Virginia to North Carolina, are “parasitic worms” traveling under the surface. Obviously it’s another case of FDS–Fracking Derangement Syndrome–which has metastasized in the head of someone who grew up watching Captain Planet cartoons. Fossil fuels are evil, don’t ever cut down a single tree, throw away your flyswatter–you get the idea. Rather than pipelines “worming” their way under the ground like parasites that eventually kill its host, we’d say a better metaphor is that pipelines carrying natural gas and oil are like the veins and arteries in your body–delivering life-giving nourishment (energy) to every part of the body. Without them, you’d die. In fact, counter to the notions of this silly letter writer, without natural gas and oil and the pipelines they run through, many millions of Americans would die…
Read More “LOL: Anti-Fossil Fueler Says Pipelines are Like ‘Parasitic Worms’”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Butler County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Rex Energy

Martian Update: Principal Doesn’t want Rex Drilling Near his Home
January 5, 2015January 5, 2015

Between Christmas and New Year, Middlesex Township (Butler County), PA held the second of what may be up to five hearings on the already-granted permits for Rex Energy to drill five wells on a single well pad in the township. You may recall that two agitating “environmental” groups–headquartered on the other side of the state, in the Philadelphia area–along with four parents from the Mars School District, filed an appeal of the legal and legitimate permits granted by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection to Rex in September (see Rex Drilling Operation Near Mars School Put on Hold). The first hearing was held in November and the antis (as they always do) droned on for more than four hours (see Martians & Enviro Groups Continue to Block Rex Drilling in W PA). They continued their whine-fest on Dec. 29th with another five hours of mind-numbing sameness–drilling will kill us, drilling will pollute Mother Earth, yada yada yada. The main excuse is that drilling 3/4 of a mile from a local school will harm the kiddies. No mention that at least two school districts in the state, one close to Mars, has allowed drilling ON SCHOOL PROPERTY with no harm to the kiddies in those districts. At the hearing on the 29th, we get the REAL story behind the (ab)using of children as an excuse. One of the Mars School District principals lives near the drill pad and he opposes drilling near his expensive new home…
Read More “Martian Update: Principal Doesn’t want Rex Drilling Near his Home”