PA DEP Pledges to Keep a Close Eye on Shell Cracker Air Quality
Anti-fossil fuelers continue to pressure the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (and Pennsylvania itself) over the grievous sin of approving the Shell ethane cracker plant project (see Shell Receives Air Quality Permit from PA DEP for Cracker Plant). With the cracker plant now in startup mode, antis want to know, “Who monitors Shell’s cracker plant — and how?” The partisan leftists of so-called PublicSource hit the DEP with that very question. The DEP said that while Shell itself must conduct constant (daily) monitoring of air quality using independent, third-party equipment (sending the data to the DEP), the DEP will also conduct its own regular on-site inspections and testing as well.
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The oil and gas industry has had enough of Joe Biden’s unprovoked and vicious (we’d call them irrational) attacks. Biden demands more drilling, and the next day he says he’ll ban drilling. Biden says Big Oil is making too much money, then threatens to end the use of all fossil energy. Biden routinely does this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine. Recently, Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, held private talks with Big Oil about low inventories of heating fuel and diesel. “The tone was cordial,” say those who participated. The very next day, Mr. Hyde turned up to blast away at “outrageous” profits in the oil industry, demanding companies lower prices at the pump. Big Oil has had enough and is speaking out.
Just 30 fossil fuel companies account for “nearly half” of so-called planet-warming methane emitted by the world’s energy sector. That’s according to a new analysis by Global Energy Monitor. And get this, only three of the 30 are American fossil fuel companies. And those three are WAY down the list. The #1 leakiest methane emitter on the planet is the National Iranian Oil Company. The #2 biggest emitter is Gazprom (Russia). And #3 is China Energy. In fact, the top 10 biggest methane emitters are located in the Middle East, China, or Russia. All of them are enemies of the United States.
A group of so-called environmental organizations that are IRS tax-exempt is really nothing more than a political front for the Democrat Party. We’re talking about PennEnvironment, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, and the odious National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), three groups that have collectively poured nearly $5 million into advertisements this election cycle supporting the anti-drilling, anti-fracking, anti-Marcellus Josh Shapiro. Why these organizations are still tax-exempt is a mystery to us, as they are completely partisan (Democrat), a violation of the federal tax code.
We continue to be impressed with CNX Resources and its CEO Nick DeIuliis. CNX and the CNX Foundation are having a huge impact on the southwestern Pennsylvania (and tri-state) region where the company operates. In the past, we’ve told you about CNX and the work it is doing supporting underserved communities and populations in the tri-state region with $30 million in donations (see 
Anti-fossil fuel zealots in Massachusetts are taking aim at a small “peaker” power plant that would generate up to 55 megawatts of electricity purely as a backup. The plant will be off most of the time, yet antis are attacking the plant like it’s radioactive. The small peaker plant is planned for Peabody, MA. The ultramodern plant (very low emissions) would be located next to two older peaker plants. Yet antis claim (falsely) that it will exacerbate problems in that region that “already experience higher rates of cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease and stroke.” A fake report from the Massachusetts Climate Action Network says the peaker, which will be off most of the time, will make it worse for those living in the region.
Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1059 is legislation to provide $142 million annually in state tax credits for several purposes, including clean hydrogen hubs, use of natural gas, semiconductor manufacturing, and milk processors. HB 1059 was approved by both the state Senate and House last week and sent along to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature (see 
In June, seemingly out of nowhere, a plan to build an LNG export facility on the banks of the Delaware River south of Philadelphia made big headlines in Philly (see 
Rumors are circulating on Capitol Hill that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is eyeing Nov. 15 for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick’s confirmation hearing for a second five-year term. We sincerely hope those rumors are wrong. Glick, a Democrat and former wind lobbyist who is an extreme anti-pipeline radical, was first appointed to FERC under Donald Trump. He was nominated by Joe Biden for reappointment to a second five-year term last May (see 
Last December, Columbia Gas Transmission pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the Virginia Reliability Project that will add 100 MMcf/d of incremental capacity on Columbia’s system to serve delivery points in southeast Virginia, namely Virginia Natural Gas (see