Industrywide Issues

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    Lancaster Hospital Produces Its Own Electricity Using Marcellus Gas

    Hey Lancaster Against Pipelines–you might want to rethink your opposition to the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline that flows fracked Marcellus gas from northeast PA to places like Lancaster. Why? Because you’re own hospital is powered by a new electric plant that uses Marcellus gas to generate electricity. Hospitals are known as “critical infrastructure” in PA–facilities that “deliver essential services and functions during natural disasters, emergency events, or grid outages.” Lancaster General Hospital, critical infrastructure in the Lancaster area, now produces almost all of its own electricity from a new 6.6 megawatt power plant it built right on the hospital campus (gasp!). Lancaster General uses a “combined heat and power” (CHP) system. Here’s the cool part: There are a dozen other hospitals across the Keystone State that already use natgas-powered CHP systems to generate their own electricity too. So tell us again, Lancaster Against Pipelines, how filthy fracked gas is destroying Mom Earth and poisoning the air. Quite the contrary: Natgas and the pipelines that deliver it are saving lives in hospitals across the state, including Lancaster County…
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    Old Hippie/Actor James Cromwell “Escorted Out” of FERC Meeting

    James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact

    Wealthy, old, has-been actor and Manhattanite James Cromwell has a summer playground home in Upstate New York–in Orange County. When he bought his Upstate home he certainly didn’t think a natural gas-fired power plant would be built nearby. That’s like a script from a “B” movie! But such a thing happened. Cromwell, in case you don’t know, is famous for starring in movies like “Babe” and “Star Trek: First Contact.” When Cromwell learned that an electric generating plant that burns evil fossil fuels (natural gas) would be built near his summer home, he thought he would do what all Hollywood stars think will work–shut the project down by protesting. It just has to work because, you know, he’s famous. What a dope. After initial court challenges went nowhere, CPV (Competitive Power Ventures) began building the $900 million Valley Energy Center project in Wawayanda, NY (see Orange County, NY Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant OK’d by Judge). In December 2015, Cromwell and a few star-struck sycophants got themselves arrested for illegally blocking the entrance to the construction site (see Actor James Cromwell Arrested Protesting NY Power Plant Site). The wheels of justice grind slowly, but finally, two years later, the “Wawayanda Six,” as they call themselves, were found guilty and ordered to pay a fine. Some of the six did, but Cromwell and a few others refused. So he was given a one week jail sentence. Cromwell ended up serving just a few days. Being white and famous has its privileges (see “Privileged White” Actor Cromwell Serves < Half of Jail Sentence). Since Cromwell and his sycophants couldn’t stop the plant from getting built, they changed tactics. They thought they could stop a pipeline from getting built to feed the plant natural gas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) saw through that one and moved forward at a recent meeting to allow the Valley Lateral Project (a short 7.8 mile pipeline) to begin construction. Cromwell and a fellow jailbird from Wawayanda (Pramilla Malick) went to to the FERC meeting and disrupted the meeting by standing and chanting “FERC doesn’t work.” Catchy. Security had to escort them out…
    Read More “Old Hippie/Actor James Cromwell “Escorted Out” of FERC Meeting”

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    Canadian Antis Threaten to “Defend” Against Quebec Utica Drilling

    Advocating for anarchy (a doing away of laws and letting the mob rule) is not unique to radical environmentalists in the United States. Such anarchy is alive and well in the Canadian environmental movement too. The Utica Shale, which underlies much of the Marcellus Shale, also underlies part of Canada’s Quebec province. From time to time we highlight news concerning the Utica in Canada. There hasn’t been much news to highlight over the years since Quebec has had a moratorium on fracking since 2012. But as we reported in December 2016, something of a minor miracle happened–the Quebec National Assembly voted to pass Bill 106, ostensibly to support Quebec’s “clean power plan” (see Fracking in Canadian Utica Shale Takes Big Step Closer to Reality). The bill includes a section that “lays out a framework for oil and gas development” in Quebec. Then in September, Quebec did the unthinkable (for radical environmentalists)–they published draft Utica drilling regulations (see Quebec Government Publishes Draft Utica Fracking Regulations). Canadian driller Questerre believes Utica drilling can begin sometime next year (see Questerre Plans 8 Initial Well Pads in Canadian Utica 2018-2019). That news has antis in Canada going berserk. They’re now threatening that “the public will defend itself” if drilling is allowed. What do they mean by that? Sure sounds like a threat to us…
    Read More “Canadian Antis Threaten to “Defend” Against Quebec Utica Drilling”

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    Anarchists Block Frac Sand Trains in Washington; Police Chief Complicit

    Washington State is a strange place. Yes, the state has given us world-changing companies like Microsoft and Boeing. It’s also changed our coffee drinking habits by giving us Starbucks. But Washington State is also home to some seriously demented and dangerous people. We spotted a story in the Washington (DC) Post that confirms what MDN has been saying for years (not that we need confirming): anarchists are some of the core members of the anti-fossil fuel movement. An anarchist, in case you need a definition, is “a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power” (Merriam Webster). In other words, lawless. A law unto themselves. Gangs of bullies. Lord of the Flies. You get the picture. The WashPo story, using flowery and laudatory language, reports that a group of anarchists in Washington State have set up a tent village on top of railroad tracks that come out of the Port of Olympia. Ceramic proppants–artificial beads that are used in place of frac sand–are shipped to the Port and from there, loaded onto rail cars and hauled cross country, mostly to the Bakken Shale play in North Dakota, where they are used to frack shale wells. An encampment was set up on Nov. 17 to block those shipments and it’s still there–because local Police Chief Ronnie Roberts (hired to uphold the law), doesn’t like fracking and won’t arrest these whack jobs and eject them. That’s why we say Washington State is a strange place…
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    NARUC Report: How to Expand NatGas Service to More People

    The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is an organization you may not have heard much about. NARUC is a non-profit organization representing state public service commissions who regulate the utilities that provide essential services such as energy, telecommunications, power, water, and transportation. NARUC has just done us all a favor. On Monday NARUC released a new report on best practices and recommendations for state regulators to promote and support the expansion of natural gas service in unserved and underserved areas, including rural areas. “Report of the NARUC Task Force on Natural Gas Access and Expansion” (full copy below) is a 57-page report for state public utility/service commissions that includes eight recommended ways states can grow natural gas use to those not currently served by it…
    Read More “NARUC Report: How to Expand NatGas Service to More People”

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    PA DEP Makes Another Run at Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs

    In December 2016, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) unveiled new regulations to clamp down on methane emissions and other other air pollution that allegedly comes from shale drilling sites (see PA DEP Releases New Regs re Methane & Air Pollution at Drill Sites). The onerous new regulations, not in effect yet, were originally prompted by bullying from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. Even though EPA pressure has disappeared under President Trump, PA Gov. Wolf still intends to push forward with these onerous (frankly, disastrous) regulations. According to the DEP, the proposed General Permit 5A (GP-5A) and the revised General Permit 5 (GP-5), will “establish updated Best Available Technology (BAT) requirements for the industry regarding air emission limits, source testing, leak detection and repair, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for the applicable air pollution sources.” After some final tweaks, the DEP released draft versions of the new permits (i.e. regulations) in February (see PA DEP Seeks Public Comment on Regs for Methane, Compressor Stns). The Marcellus Shale Coalition, among others, strongly pushed back on these unnecessary and costly regulations (see MSC Tells PA DEP What it Thinks of Onerous New Methane Regs). Following the pushback, there was a lull in activity. The lull is now over. Out of the blue, the DEP announced it would conduct a webinar tomorrow, Thursday. The announcement (below) indicates the DEP will provide “details of the updated GP-5 and new GP-5A general permits.” Is this yet another set of revisions to try and make these onerous regs more palatable? Or just an elaborate snow job to resell the same old onerous regs they already tried to foist on the industry?…
    Read More “PA DEP Makes Another Run at Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs”

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    NJ Radical Organization Sues FERC in Bid to Stop PennEast Pipeline

    PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion, 120-mile primarily 36-inch natural gas pipeline that will stretch from Dallas (Luzerne County), PA to Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington (Mercer County), NJ. The pipeline is an important conduit to move gas from the prolific gas fields of northeastern PA to markets in southeast PA and New Jersey. From the beginning of the project there have been a collection of so-called environmental organizations opposing it–including THE Delaware Riverkeeper, NJ Sierra Club, and the NJ Conservation Foundation. All radical groups, far far out of the mainstream. They also share something else besides an irrational hatred of fossil fuels–they’re part of a conspiracy to defeat PennEast funded by the William Penn Foundation. William Penn funds the aforementioned groups, as well as buying their own “media” in news outlets by funding StateImpact Pennsylvania and a news site called NJ Spotlight. William Penn sits in the background, pretending to be apart and aloof (to protect their IRS non-profit status) while pulling the strings and directing the opposition. Why the IRS turns a blind eye, we can’t say. At any rate, William Penn pulled another string this week–prompting their serfs at the NJ Conservation Foundation to file a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The cockamamie claim is that IF FERC approves PennEast, the pipeline will then be able to invoke eminent domain to allow it to enter properties and complete route mapping for the pipeline. Right now some hardened antis who live along the route refuse to allow PennEast to step one foot on their property. So NJ Conservation Foundation has filed a lawsuit (copy below) to prevent FERC from issuing a final certificate for PennEast because PennEast will then gain the right of eminent domain. The lawsuit claims PennEast using eminent domain to build the pipeline would be an improper “taking” of private property under the Constitution. The only problem (for the William Penn-backed NJ Conservation Foundation) is that no “taking” has actually happened until FERC approves the project. That is, the lawsuit anticipates a harm that hasn’t happened. We expect that little fact will not escape the judge’s notice and that the lawsuit will be tossed in short order…
    Read More “NJ Radical Organization Sues FERC in Bid to Stop PennEast Pipeline”

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    Federal Court Clarifies Ohio Law for Calculating Gas Royalties

    A month ago MDN brought you the news that the U.S. District Court in Akron, OH had made a major ruling that affects all Utica landowners and drillers (see Federal Court Says Chesapeake Royalty Deductions Allowed in Ohio). The case, known as Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, is about whether or not drillers (Chesapeake in this case) are allowed to deduct certain post-production costs from landowner royalty checks. The Ohio Supremes were asked to decide whether Ohio follows the “at the well” rule, which permits the deduction of post-production costs, or if the state follows the “marketable product” rule, which limits the deduction of post-production costs under certain circumstances. The Supremes refused to tackle the ultimate issue, which is: What does “at the well” really mean? How is it defined? Instead, the Supremes bounced the issue back to the U.S. District Court in Akron for further clarification. The federal court defined what is meant by “at the well.” The court’s decision means that Chesapeake Energy (and by extension other drillers) CAN deduct post-production expenses from landowner royalty checks–at least in certain instances. We spotted an explanation of the case and the decision by the Akron court from our friends at powerhouse energy law firm BakerHostetler. They do a great job putting the ruling in language we laypeople can understand…
    Read More “Federal Court Clarifies Ohio Law for Calculating Gas Royalties”

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    Rover Ignores Shrill Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Continue HDD Drilling

    On Monday MDN brought you the news that Captain Ahab, er, a, Ohio EPA director Craig Butler, had demanded Rover Pipeline stop all horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work now under way in the state because another (tiny, 200 gallon) drilling mud spill happened on November 16th (see Ohio EPA Continues Vendetta Against Rover Pipe, Demands HDD Stop). Butler sent a letter to Rover and has also sent it to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in yet another attempt to get FERC to halt work on the Rover project. Yesterday Rover thumbed its nose at Butler and instead asked FERC for permission to not only continue all current HDD work, but to begin new HDD work at several more locations in Ohio. Moby-Dick strikes back. Take that, Captain Ahab!…
    Read More “Rover Ignores Shrill Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Continue HDD Drilling”

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    PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in EQT Wastewater Leak Case

    Buckle up while we explain the background for this story. In October 2014, the DEP fined EQT a whopping $4.53 million for a leaky wastewater impoundment in Tioga County, PA (see PA DEP Levies Biggest Fine Ever, $4.5M Against EQT). While EQT did not say there wasn’t a problem with leaks at the site, they did say the way the DEP calculated the fine is unreasonable and arbitrary. In fact, EQT says the DEP levied the fine and took EQT to court because a few weeks prior EQT had sued the DEP over a different matter–that is, sour grapes. EQT appealed the fine and the case all the way to the PA Supreme Court. In December 2015, the high court handed EQT a “procedural victory” by saying EQT has a point about the manner in which the DEP is calculating the fine (see PA Supreme Court Gives EQT “Procedural Victory” in $4.5M Fine Case). The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court, PA Commonwealth Court, for follow up work, and in January 2017, a three-judge panel ruled that the method the DEP currently uses to assess fines–by how many days pollution lingers, instead of by how many days the initial release of pollution lasted–is not legal nor common sense (see EQT Wins Court Case Against PA DEP re $4.5M Wastewater Leak Fine). The judges said such a method in fining, “would result in potentially limitless continuing violations.” Under the old way of calculating fines, the DEP was considering upping the fine on EQT to an insane $157 million. Calculating it under the new way will mean a fine of around $120,000. Not long after that ruling, the Environmental Hearing Board, a special “court” set up to hear appeals of DEP decisions, decided to reduce the original $4.5 million fine down to $1.1 million (see PA Hearing Board Reduces EQT Fine from $4.5M to $1.1M). We thought that would be the end of it. But no! Both the DEP and EQT appealed the matter back up to the PA Supreme Court and yesterday the Supremes heard the case once again…
    Read More “PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in EQT Wastewater Leak Case”

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    How Low Will They Go? RINOs/Dems Decrease PA Sev Tax Bill to 1.5%

    We’re not sure when this happened, but the dreadful severance tax bill in the Pennsylvania House, House Bill (HB) 1401 went from being a 3.2% tax to now a 1.5% tax on Marcellus production. Even with the lower rate, as we pointed out in a post yesterday, liberal Democrats are already voicing disgust and laying blame in anticipation that the bill will not pass (see Ray of Hope in PA Severance Tax Debate: Lib Dems Attack M-U). We have yet more evidence along those lines. An editorial by John Baer, a lib Dem “columnist” for the Philadelphia Daily News says he smells something “fishy” about the current debate over HB 1401. Baer thinks the bill is going nowhere fast and is nothing more than a fundraiser, to get both sides of the debate charged up and flooding Harrisburg with big bucks to fund political campaigns…
    Read More “How Low Will They Go? RINOs/Dems Decrease PA Sev Tax Bill to 1.5%”

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    Survey Indicates O&G Investing in WV More Attractive than PA or OH

    Each year (for the 11th year running) the Canadian-based Fraser Institute surveys petroleum industry executives and managers (333 of them for 2017) asking them their opinions on the barriers to investing in exploration and production in various geographies across the globe. That is, what makes them more likely or less likely to spend money drilling in a particular location? The Global Petroleum Survey (full copy below), tallies the survey responses and ranks each geography from most desirable place to invest, to least desirable. The rankings for this year are interesting and illustrative that politicians’ words and regulatory environment have a direct bearing on where, and how much, drilling companies are willing to spend. No money spent, no drilling. The barriers to spending in a given geography include: high tax rates, costly regulatory schemes, uncertainty over environmental regulations and the interpretation and administration of regulations governing the petroleum industry, and security threats. Only one state in the Marcellus/Utica ranked in the Top 10 “most attractive” jurisdictions for oil and gas investment–West Virginia…
    Read More “Survey Indicates O&G Investing in WV More Attractive than PA or OH”

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    TransCanada Says FERC Approval for Mountaineer XPress May Slip

    In July 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a favorable final environmental impact statement (EIS) for both the Mountaineer XPress and Gulf XPress projects (see FERC Issues Favorable Final EIS for Mountaineer/Gulf XPress Pipes). Both projects are part of Columbia Pipeline Group (now owned by TransCanada), expansions of the Columbia Pipeline system. A favorable EIS means it’s a foregone conclusion that FERC will issue a certificate for the project to proceed–at some point. Mountaineer XPress includes 165 miles of new pipeline with approximately 2.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of transportation capacity from existing and future points of receipt along or near the Columbia pipeline system–most of it located in West Virginia. Gulf XPress consists of constructing seven new midpoint compressor stations along the existing Columbia pipeline system in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, with the aim of moving an additional 875 million cubic feet (MMcf) of Marcellus/Utica gas per day southward, to the Gulf Coast region. So far FERC has not given these two important Marcellus/Utica projects the final go-ahead. During TransCanada’s annual investor day webcast yesterday, Stan Chapman, president of TransCanada’s US natural gas pipelines business told investors (and the public) that although they had hoped for FERC approval by the end of this year, it’s now likely the approval will “slip into January”…
    Read More “TransCanada Says FERC Approval for Mountaineer XPress May Slip”

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    ME2 Construction Plan Near Philly Changed, Antis Still Not Happy

    Why are we not surprised that antis are NEVER happy. EVER. Sunoco Logistics Partners has, after experiencing problems using underground horizontal direction drilling (HDD) at a couple of locations near Philadelphia while building the Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline, decided to abandon HDD and instead switch to another method to get the pipeline installed. Even with the change in methodology, antis are still fussing and moaning. The only outcome that will make them “happy” is for Sunoco to abandon building the pipeline, which isn’t going to happen. Even if Sunoco did quit building ME2, we doubt the antis would really be happy. Have you ever noticed they’re perpetual sourpusses?…
    Read More “ME2 Construction Plan Near Philly Changed, Antis Still Not Happy”

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    CELDF Ballot Measure Seeks to Ban Utica Shale in All of Ohio

    The ultra-radical group from Pennsylvania called the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is devoted to stirring up anarchy and lawlessness, not only in Pennsylvania but elsewhere, like Ohio. CELDF has launched a campaign to amend the Ohio State Constitution. Two CELDF ballot initiatives (full text below) would amend the Constitution to make it legal for local communities to usurp the state’s role in regulating oil and gas. We’ve written plenty about the CELDF, which is behind a number of bizarre lawsuits like the one claiming that an ecosystem is a “person” with rights (see CELDF Loses Case to Represent Ecosystem – Turtles Disappointed). One of the CELDF Ohio ballot initiatives would give ecosystems standing as people. Yeah, out there. CELDF hasn’t been able to get these kinds of ballot measures passed in Youngstown. They’ve tried and failed six times (see Youngstown, OH Frack Ban Ballot Measure Defeated for 6th Time). If they can’t get it passed once in a single municipality, what makes them think it will pass statewide? Who knows?! They obviously have money to burn and will do so in an effort to pass these two horrible amendments to the State constitution. The net effect of passing them would be to shut down Utica Shale drilling in many locations, and block pipelines in most locations. Passing these initiatives would bring chaos and disaster to the state. We seriously doubt Ohio’s politicians will let it happen–but then we just suffered through eight years of Barack Hussein Obama and a Congress that refused to make him obey the law. So anything can happen, which is why we’re raising the alarm. The unfortunate news is that Ohio’s Attorney General, a RINO, has “certified” both ballot initiatives. What that means is that if the nutters from CELDF get at least 305,591 signatures, the two initiatives will go on the ballot next November. Are there at least 305,591 whack jobs in the Buckeye State? We’re about to find out…
    Read More “CELDF Ballot Measure Seeks to Ban Utica Shale in All of Ohio”

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    4-Wk FREE Training Program Helps Unemployed Get M-U Pipeline Jobs

    If you are unemployed–particularly if you once worked in the coal industry–and you’re interested in getting your foot in the door of a rewarding job in the Marcellus/Utica industry, LISTEN UP! For those who live in southwestern PA and eastern OH, the Washington Greene County Job Training Agency and the Gas Technology Institute have teamed up to provide a FREE 4-week training program just for you (details here). Called “From Black to Blue,” the program includes classroom and hands-on training so you will understand how the natural gas industry works, with an emphasis on natgas utilities and the pipeline industry. Starting salaries for pipeline-related jobs often exceed $50,000 per year, and eventually you may make in excess of $100,000 per year. These are awesome jobs, and this is an awesome opportunity to get trained for it. The first round of classes start Nov. 30 and Jan. 8 in Freeport, PA. Training in Ohio begins Jan. 15 in St. Clairsville. Below are the details, along with an application for the program. DO NOT DELAY, fill it out today and send it in…
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