Antis Sue ODNR for Approving 2 Injection Wells Near Marietta, OH
Since August, we’ve reported about an ongoing war of words between the City of Marietta officials (mostly Republicans) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) over a permit for a fifth wastewater injection well located close to the city (see Marietta, OH Officials Ask ODNR to Deny Permit for Injection Well). In September, the ODNR rejected Marietta’s appeal and went ahead and issued a permit for the well (see ODNR Rejects Marietta Hearing Request, Issues Injection Well Permit). Not happy with the outcome, in October, the Marietta City Council passed three resolutions to block new injection wells in the area (see Marietta, OH, Passes 3 Resolutions Against Injection Wells). And now, a state environmental group, the Buckeye Environmental Network, backed by lawyers from the controversial Earthjustice, has sued the ODNR over permitting the new well and one other injection well in the Marietta area. Read More “Antis Sue ODNR for Approving 2 Injection Wells Near Marietta, OH”
In January 2023, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a leftist Democrat, floated a plan to ban natural gas hookups in every single new home and business across the “Empire” State (see 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) yesterday. The STEO is the agency’s monthly best estimate of where energy prices and production will head over the next 12 months. In this latest assessment, EIA reversed its months-long trend of lowering its estimates for the Henry Hub spot price for 2025. The agency expects the HH spot price to average $3.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2025, $0.10 higher than last month’s forecast. EIA also raised its 2026 forecast by $0.10 to $4.00/MMBtu. Recent soaring HH prices appear to have influenced the official price dartboard at EIA HQ. 
The Pennsylvania House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee will hold a hearing on November 17 for House Bill 1946, sponsored by Rep. Greg Vitali (Democrat from Delaware County), which proposes to significantly increase setback distances for unconventional shale gas wells to “better protect public health and the environment.” The bill mandates a minimum setback of 2,500 feet from homes and 5,000 feet from schools, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, a substantial increase from the current 500 feet. It also raises setbacks for drinking water sources from 1,000 to 2,500 feet and for natural bodies of water from 300 to 750 feet, affecting everything, from lakes and ponds to mud puddles. Vitali knows his bill would be a de facto ban on new shale drilling in 95-97% of the state. That’s his objective. 
Powerhouse consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has released a new report titled, “The infrastructure imperative: Who benefits from pipeline expansion?” The report digs into some of the key considerations, upsides, and challenges of pipeline expansion for consumers, operators, and beyond. In the report, McKinsey analysts model two hypothetical infrastructure development plans for the Appalachian Basin—northward pipeline expansion and southward pipeline expansion—and compare them to a baseline scenario. The report finds a southward expansion could potentially reduce costs to consumers by $4-5 billion from 2025 to 2030 vs. reducing costs by $2-3 billion with a northward expansion. 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
Donald Trump once famously said, “We’re gonna win so much. You’re gonna get tired of winning. And you’re going to say, ‘Please, please, it’s too much winning. We can’t take it anymore. Mr. President, it’s too much.’ And I’ll say, ‘No, it isn’t. We have to keep winning. We have to win more!'” He’s keeping his promise to win! However, we’re not tired of winning just yet. 😉 Last Friday, Williams announced that both New York and New Jersey have issued the required federal water permits needed to build the Transco pipeline project called the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE). President Trump made a deal (so the rumor goes) with NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, allowing her to continue building a $5 billion offshore wind farm boondoggle in return for building NESE and another project, the Constitution Pipeline (see 
Last week, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved a Tentative Order by a 3-2 vote, proposing a statewide model tariff (tax) to manage the growing impact of large-load customers, such as AI data centers, on the electric grid. The goal is to encourage investment and job growth while protecting existing ratepayers from cost-shifts and ensuring reliability. The PUC failed. The proposed order was passed on a partisan basis, with the three Democrat commissioners voting to make it harder and more expensive for data centers to locate in the Keystone State, potentially jeopardizing $92 billion of investments promised to the state related to data centers (see 
We may finally, after seven long years of torture, have a resolution to the issue of forcing Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. The rumors are swirling around Harrisburg that the Democrats (including Governor Josh Shapiro) and Republicans in the state Senate are close to a budget deal. The budget was supposed to be adopted by July 1st. It’s now over four months late, and school districts and government agencies dependent on state funding are hurting. The rumor is that the budget deal includes a provision to dump PA’s participation in RGGI. Lefty environmentalists are having a CO2-emitting cow at the news. 
In April, we told you that Energy Transfer’s (ET) Lake Charles LNG project had landed a new partner to help pay for the project, MidOcean Energy, which will cover 30% of the cost of building the plant (see 
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count gained rigs again after dropping rigs in the prior week. The national count added two rigs, going from 546 to 548. The BH rig count has added rigs in three of the last four weeks. Rigs in the Marcellus/Utica remained the same last week at a combined 37, the same number for six weeks in a row. Pennsylvania remained unchanged at 17 active rigs (six weeks in a row). Ohio was the same at 13 rigs (seven weeks in a row). And West Virginia maintained its 7 rigs, which it has operated since May 30 (24 weeks in a row). There were 23 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 14 targeting the Utica. 
The mystery may have been solved by MDN… In September 2022, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted to extend a permit to build a special LNG export dock along the shoreline of the Delaware River in New Jersey by an extra three years (see 
Bluegrass Power Generation has proposed an 800-megawatt, $2.5 to $3 billion natural gas-fired electric generation facility in Fayette County, Ohio, pending approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board. The plant is designed to operate “behind-the-meter,” exclusively supplying power to dedicated nearby third-party facilities, like the L-H Battery Company (Honda/LG Energy Solution), for at least 30 years, disconnected from the main power grid. The project is expected to create 500 construction jobs and 30 permanent operational positions, generating significant tax revenue and strengthening Ohio’s high-tech infrastructure to support future industrial growth. Construction is currently slated to begin in February 2026. 
Mon Power and Potomac Edison are local utilities and subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. The two companies recently submitted an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, outlining how they will continue to deliver reliable, cost-effective power to West Virginia homes and businesses over the next decade (see