The Tangled Web of Lawsuits Atlantic Coast Pipe Still Faces
Last week we brought you an update on outstanding litigation and the status for Dominion Energy’s 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (see Dominion Confident Courts Will Restart Atlantic Coast Pipe). We attempted to simplify where things stand in relation to two court cases. Truth be told, there are multiple court cases in two different courts. It is a complex situation. We have a more detailed look at what’s blocking thousands of workers from returning to work on this critical project…
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PBS reporter Reid Frazier should enjoy what is likely to be his one and only trip to Europe on the StateImpact Pennsylvania company dime. He’s gone there to follow Marcellus molecules exported from Pennsylvania, to see how they’re used. Frazier’s first stop is Scotland where they use our ethane to create plastics. Frazier’s report is actually (shock warning, please sit down) pretty fair and balanced–even complimentary of the Marcellus Shale and the plastics industry! Frazier’s overlords inside the William Penn Foundation (big financial backers of StateImpact) are NOT going to be happy with his reports if they continue like this one.
Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas-fired electric plant, Invenergy’s 1,480 megawatt, $1 billion project called the Lackawanna Energy Center, has been completely done and fully online since earlier this year (see 
Nice try, but no cigar for Plainfield Township in Northampton County. The Plainfield Board of Supervisors last week passed a new zoning ordinance that prevents pipelines (and cell phone towers, and solar farms, and wind mills, and and and) from being built near or under the 1.5 miles of the Appalachian Trail as it passes through their township. Thing is, when it comes to pipelines (like PennEast Pipeline) that are federally regulated, Plainfield can’t stop it. Their ordinance isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Last week MDN told you that oral arguments would be heard on Thursday at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in what we believe is one of (perhaps THE) most important shale cases ever in the Keystone State (see 
About a month ago ago Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG project in Lake Charles, La. began to liquefy and export natural gas–some of it coming from the Marcellus/Utica region (see 
The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), a private non-profit organization loosely affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines, performs a comprehensive study of potential supplies of natural gas in the United States every two years. The latest biennial study has just been published and finds natural gas supplies in the “Atlantic” area, which includes the Marcellus/Utica (is primarily the M-U), once again leads the country–now with the highest supplies ever.
Yesterday MDN brought you news of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling that disallows PennEast Pipeline from using the delegated power of eminent domain to cross properties either owned by, or with easements granted to, the state of New Jersey (see 
What’s the status of Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), a 600+ mile pipeline that will run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina? Only 35 miles of pipeline is currently built, and all construction, at the moment, is blocked by the U.S. Fourth District Court of Appeals. Almost all of the workers for the project (thousands of them) have been laid off. Big Green groups with deep pockets have harassed the project from the beginning by filing lawsuits, blocking construction. Yet Dominion Energy, the primary partner and builder of ACP, remains “confident” the pipeline will, eventually, get built. When?
You may recall news from last year that an Ohio Supreme Court ruling requires landmen to have a real estate license in order to get paid–IF they are compensated via a commission and/or royalties for the deals they broker (see 
Any LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility built or planned along the Eastern seaboard or Gulf Coast is critically important for the Marcellus/Utica. Why? Because they are BIG users of natural gas, big important (new) markets for our gas. Yes, M-U gas flows all the way to the Gulf Coast, to both Louisiana and Texas. Our friends at RBN Energy recently published the first in a short series providing an update on where U.S. LNG export demand and new projects stand. First up is a close look at LNG facilities at Elba Island (Georgia), Freeport (Texas) and Cameron (Louisiana).
Two of the eight Pennsylvania House bills that are part of an initiative called Energize PA will be considered and debated before the PA House State Government Committee on September 17. Both bills, House Bill (HB) 1106 and 1107, are aimed at streamlining and speeding up the permitting process at the semi-dysfunctional Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Enviro-leftists are screaming–they don’t want the dysfunction to stop. Having shale permits issued more quickly is not in their game plan.
We recently spotted a column on the Forbes website by one of our favorite authors, Jude Clemente, under the title that “Gov. Cuomo Should Support The Constitution Natural Gas Pipeline.” Well, of course he should! We’ve argued that for years. In digging into the article, we found Clemente uses facts and figures to build his case for *why* Cuomo should support it–indeed, why it would be stark…raving…mad not to support it. For example, did you know that natural gas is the main source of energy in NY–double that of gasoline? Who knew?!