Kentucky Arboretum to Appeal Decision Allowing Tiny Gas Pipeline
In May 2021, MDN told you that Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) had won Kentucky state approval to build a new 12-inch, 12-mile pipeline near Louisville to supply gas to homes and businesses that can’t connect to LG&E’s local natgas utility system because it is currently maxed out (see Pass the Jim Beam! Judge Clears Way for Gas Pipe Near Louisville, KY). The local Bernheim Arboretum resisted attempts to build across three-tenths of one percent (0.028%) of Arboretum land–along an existing cleared path where electric lines already go. LG&E took the Arboretum to court, and on March 31, a county court judge ruled in favor of LG&E and its right to build the pipe through a small section of Arboretum land (see Court Allows LG&E to Build Tiny Pipe Thru Kentucky Arboretum Land). The leftists at the arboretum, no doubt using Big Green money, have said they will appeal the decision.
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New research released by The Buckeye Institute models the impact that a new Clean Power Plan–which the Biden Administration is attempting to revive through the regulatory process–would have on jobs, the economy, and customers. In “The Economic Impact of a Potential New Clean Power Plan on Ohio and California” (full copy below), researchers with Buckeye’s Economic Research Center (ERC), using power usage data from government agencies in Ohio and California, found that customers in Ohio would see an increase of $810 on their electric bills per year and that customers in California would see an increase of $665 annually.
The same three radicalized environmental groups that have repeatedly attacked the $1.1 billion Renovo Energy Center (REC), a Marcellus gas-fired power plant planned for Clinton County, PA, have finally won. The Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and the Center for Biological Diversity (all completely radicalized fossil fuel bigots) have repeatedly challenged permits for REC. Last week the builder of the project, Bechtel Corp., announced it is pulling out of the project which has been in the planning stages for eight years. The reason for canceling the project is because of “the ongoing appeals from environmental groups.” What a tragedy.
Last November, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania) began to leak. The well ended up leaking roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see 
Newly-elected Gov. Josh Shapiro, who (we must say) has appeared to be completely ineffective since taking office (which is not necessarily a bad thing), appointed a working group to help guide him on what he should do with respect to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax and the broader issue of global warming. The panel is super-secret. Only two people who belong to the working group have been named, the two co-chairs: one from the radicalized National Resources Defense Council and one from a PA state labor union.
Plastics come from oil and natural gas. You knew that, right? Without plastics, modern life would be 
Diversified Energy (formerly Diversified Gas & Oil), with major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region (other regions too), owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with 65,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells. The company’s business model is to buy lower-producing wells on the cheap and find ways to make them more productive. Last week the company issued its fourth annual ESG report, titled “Decarbonizing While Delivering” (full copy below). Across its 10-state operations, Diversified added more than $1 billion in GDP to various state economies, supported more than 8,600 direct and indirect jobs, and generated $500 million in federal, state, and local revenues. On the environmental front, Diversified Energy reduced methane intensity by 20% overall and by more than 30% in the Marcellus/Utica.
Natural gas pipelines use both gas- and electric-powered compressor units. In fact, around 10% of pipeline compressor stations are powered by electricity. Electrically-powered compressor stations on natural gas transmission pipelines have been identified as a possible contributor to gas shortages because they are vulnerable to electric outages during severe weather events. It turns into a vicious cycle. Lack of electricity to the compressor means flows along the pipeline slow or stop, starving power plants of the gas they need to produce electricity. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently published an article (study) suggesting possible solutions to fix the issue.
Yesterday the 303-mile, 94% complete Mountain Valley Pipeline project received a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Forest Service, clearing the way for the pipeline to get built through a piddly 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest. Ring the bells! Dance for joy! Blow the party noisemakers, right? Wrong. This is the third time this same permit has been issued. Nobody was impressed. We only found a single news story about it. The stock of Equitrans, the builder, moved up one penny on the news. Why the muted response? Because everyone has seen this movie before.
For a moment, we thought we were reading an article in 
There is an ongoing issue with cleanup at a Chesapeake Energy well pad in Bradford County, PA. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) showed up at the site to conduct an inspection earlier this year, in January. The DEP inspector found “multiple pools and puddles on the site contaminated with drilling wastewater and possible fracking chemical fluids.” The DEP issued a notice of violation (NOV) for failing to prevent contamination from being discharged on the site. Chesapeake promised to get it cleaned up. Yet, in multiple repeat inspections since then, inspectors have continued to find contaminated fluids on the ground.
Last time we visited this topic, West Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 188, aimed at making WV’s gas-fired power generation more competitive with its neighbors in Pennsylvania and Ohio, had passed the Senate and was on a fast track for a vote in the House (see 
Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) continues to ramp up the amount of “responsible” gas it purchases to resell to its customers. VNG provides clean, safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas service to more than 300,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeast Virginia. In October 2019, MDN told you that VNG cut a deal with Southwestern Energy to purchase enough supply of responsible gas for 20% of VNG’s customers (see 
This is a story that may (or may not) be directly tied to Marcellus/Utica gas, but it makes a larger point nonetheless. Peninsula Pipeline Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, just completed an 11.3-mile pipeline expansion that will bring additional natural gas capacity to the Vero Beach, Florida, area. The project, which cost approximately $10.5 million to build, interconnects with existing PPC infrastructure in Sebastian and extends to Vero Beach. The new facilities will transport natural gas to five new delivery points, extending service to the communities of Wabasso, Wabasso Beach, Indian River Shores, North Hutchinson Island, and Harbor Isles.