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Fed Court Quizzes Enviros and NJ re Williams Transco Expansion

A three-judge panel from the federal D.C. Circuit spent two hours on Friday hearing arguments for and against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of Williams’ Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project. REAE is an expansion of the mighty Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to PA, NJ, and Maryland. Part of the project was done and went online last year (see Williams 1Q – Regional Energy Access Pipe Coming Online Early). The balance of the project is scheduled to be completed and online by the end of this year.
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Texas Sues EPA to Block “Radical” Methane Regs Threatening Drillers

EPA Administrator Michael Regan used a considerable amount of fossil energy and emitted tons of carbon dioxide to jet over to Dubai in December to participate in the COP28 confab, where he released a final rule that was “two years in the making” to force the U.S. oil and gas industry to cut methane emissions by using budget-busting new technologies and onerous (frequent) inspections (see Bidenistas Unleash Hellscape of U.S. Methane Regs at COP28). An analysis by Enverus said these onerous new regs will likely force the closure of some one-third (34%) of actively producing gas wells in the country and result in the bankruptcy of many small drillers (see New Biden EPA Methane Rule Will Kill One-Third of Active Gas Wells). The State of Texas has just filed a lawsuit challenging the rule. Texas is the first to sue, but certainly won’t be the last.
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Woke SEC Adopts Modified Version of Climate Disclosure Reg

In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), corrupted by the Bidenistas, said it would begin to force all publicly traded companies to disclose their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the imaginary climate risks their businesses face (see SEC Votes to Force Public Companies to Disclose Mythical GHG Risks). The original plan called for publicly traded companies to disclose their own direct (“Scope 1”) and indirect (“Scope 2”) GHG emissions. It would also require companies to disclose greenhouse gases generated by suppliers and partners, known as Scope 3 emissions. Yesterday, the SEC voted 3-2 (three Democrats vs. two Republicans) to issue a final regulation that will soon go into effect. The final version dumped Scope 3 emissions but kept Scopes 1 and 2 — in a massive 886-page regulatory rule.
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OH Drillers Win Case Against Landowners re Drilling Deeper

Back in the summer of 2020, MDN told you about a lawsuit brought by an Ohio rights owner called TERA, an organization that owns the royalty rights for a number of leases with wells in Belmont County, OH, drilled by different producers, suing the producers for drilling into the Point Pleasant shale layer when the lease only mentions the Utica layer (see OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep). The case took nearly four years and hundreds of filings by both sides, but last week, a jury found in favor of the drillers (the defendants) and against the rights owner (the plaintiffs). This case likely has far-reaching consequences for landowners and drillers in Ohio.
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Cecil Twp Neighbors Complain About Range Flaring, Noise, Smells

Some residents living in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, are frustrated and concerned over drilling activities by Range Resources near their homes — things like flaring, loud noises, and smells. They took their concerns and complaints to the March 4 meeting of the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors. The Board voted to give Range one week to respond with a plan to address the issues, or else the Board promised to file a lawsuit against Range in county court.

We have a Range Resources update below.
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PA Supreme Court Debates State vs. Federal Power Over Pipe Permits

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday debated whether the federal National Gas Act empowers the state to review permits for a pipeline project or bars it from doing so — a question that hinges on whether appeals to a state board are preempted civil actions or administrative proceedings that would fall under the state’s purview. It’s an important distinction. The case can potentially set a precedent that could influence future infrastructure projects and “state-federal power dynamics.”
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Sanctioned Lawyer Meets Cyclone Residents Against Injection Well

In January, MDN brought you the good news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a plan by Catalyst Energy to convert an existing gas production well on Route 646 in Cyclone (Keating Township in McKean County, PA) into a shale wastewater injection well (see PA DEP Approves Shale Wastewater Injection Well in McKean County). More than 40 residents of Cyclone appealed the DEP approval. They met with an attorney over the weekend to help them with their appeal — an attorney that has the distinction of being the first (and so far only) attorney to be sanctioned by the DEP’s Environmental Hearing Board (EHB).
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EPA Allows PA Radicals to Challenge Permit for Plum Injection Well

Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see Plum Boro Injection Well in SWPA Now Open for Business!). In September 2021, Penneco announced plans to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum, located next to the first one (see 2nd Shale Wastewater Injection Well Planned for Plum Boro in SWPA). Last September, the federal EPA issued a permit to Penneco for its proposed second wastewater injection well (see Federal EPA Approves 2nd Injection Well in Plum Borough, PA). That permit was challenged by two green groups. Even though they filed their challenge after the deadline had expired to do so, the EPA is allowing the challenge to proceed.
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Big Oil Asks U.S. Supremes to Shut Down Lawsuits re Global Warming

A coalition of major oil companies is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a key aspect of numerous ongoing nationwide lawsuits filed by cities, counties, and states. The lawsuits by multiple “blue” states and cities accuse Big Oil companies of deceiving the public about their role in causing mythical manmade global warming. The companies being targeted are the biggest of the big, with deep pockets. It’s nothing more than elaborate shakedown. Sunoco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and others have asked the Supremes to intervene in a climate case filed against them by the City and County of Honolulu. The case serves as an important precedent for a number of other cases.
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API Files Legal Challenge to Overturn Biden LNG Export Pause

The American Petroleum Institute (API), which is no friend of independent shale drillers, together with six other O&G groups, filed an application for rehearing on the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) indefinite pause on new and pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) permit approvals for non-FTA countries. The application for rehearing is a legal filing, the first stop on the way to a full-blown court case. The filing asks the DOE to reconsider and stop its pause on advancing requests to export LNG. If the DOE denies the rehearing request, the Bidenistas can expect to be sued in federal court to overturn the pause.
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Dem Judge Shuts Down Anti Effort to Block Drilling Under Ohio Parks

Sometimes, we get a miracle. A liberal Democrat judge from Franklin County, OH, ruled on Friday that anti-fossil fuel fanatics don’t have the right to appeal a decision by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) to meet and award contracts to drill under (not on) several Ohio state parks, including the 20,000-acre Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County. The OGLMC is scheduled to meet today to make announcements awarding contracts for several tracts, including Salt Fork State Park. We expect antis will try to derail the proceedings illegally. Grab the popcorn…
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Antis Ask Court for Emergency Stop to Drilling Under OH State Parks

The money behind Big Green never stops. Where in the heck do they get it all? In November 2023, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under (not on top of) three different state-owned tracts of land: all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and 66 acres of the Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County (see OGLMC Votes to Allow Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park). The vote set in motion a window for drillers to submit official proposals. The OGLMC is scheduled to meet next week to announce the winners. Antis have just filed a court motion to block that meeting.
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Beaver, PA Resident Sues Shell Cracker Claiming Pollution

Although Shell maintains flaring and accidental emissions from its new multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, have not violated state and federal air standards, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they have — on numerous occasions. Shell didn’t argue the point, and in May 2023, the company agreed to pay nearly $10 million in fines and “contributions” to benefit the local community (see Shell Cracker Agrees to $10M Shakedown from PA, Restarting Now). Even though the matter was settled, a new lawsuit was just filed by a Beaver County resident living near the cracker. He alleges that Shell continues to violate the federal Clean Air Act and the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act, harming the health of those “who live, go to school, recreate and work near the plant.” The lawsuit seeks certification as a class action.
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Smoking Gun Discovered – Rockefellers Behind NY AG Exxon Lawsuit

In December 2019, New York Attorney General Tish James and her highly-paid associates were thoroughly, completely, 100% humiliated in court when their case against Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of screwing shareholders by keeping secret knowledge they are toasting Mom Earth, was itself toast (see Judge Finds Exxon Not Guilty in Fraud Case – NY AG Humiliated). James had enough humiliation, and in January 2020, she announced she would not appeal the Exxon case to a higher court (see NY AG Gives Up on Trying to Shake Down Exxon After Court Decision). That is, NY had lost, Exxon had won. After years of litigation to get the AGs office to provide emails and other documentation, it has just come to light that the Rockefellers coordinated the effort and prompted the NY AG’s office to launch an investigation into ExxonMobil back in 2015.
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D.C. Circuit Dismisses Eminent Domain Lawsuit Against MVP & FERC

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) delivered a HUGELY important decision. In April 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court breathed new life into a long-running lawsuit funded by Big Green groups using (abusing) a small group of uppity Virginia landowners who argue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had no right to delegate authority to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to use eminent domain to cross land, including the land owned by the small group of uppity landowners in Virginia. The aim of the lawsuit is to prevent any private company from using eminent domain ever again to build public infrastructure — a true disaster of national importance. The D.C. Circuit said in an opinion yesterday that it lacks jurisdiction to rule on the matter, meaning it’s “case closed,” and MVP can finish up the final little bits (it’s about 99% done now).
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NFG Lawsuit Alleges Fraud, Counterfeit Parts Used at Compressor Stn

Here’s the kind of thing you don’t want to read about. Utility giant National Fuel Gas Company, headquartered in Buffalo and parent to Seneca Resources and NFG Midstream (and Empire Pipeline), is suing a former employee and several vendors for buying and installing counterfeit parts at several compressor stations. One such part caused the temporary shutdown at one compressor station in New York’s Southern Tier when the part failed to work correctly.
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