Anti-Govt Radicals Begin 24/7 Tree Sit in PA to Block ME2 Pipe
A group of radical (we’d call them criminal) environmentalists–some of the same ones who broke the law in North Dakota while “protesting” the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)–are now trying to replicate the DAPL “protest” (i.e. illegal action) against Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East 2 pipeline in Pennsylvania. The radical group Earth First! recently issued a “call to action”–their version of ringing the dinner bell for hungry dogs to come running from all other the country (even from other countries). The “call to action” invites hippies and hippie wannabes (those who can put down their bongs for five minutes) to come to Huntingdon County, PA–to Camp White Pine–to stretch wires and ropes from tree to tree and sit, suspended, to prevent crews from clearing trees in the path of the pipeline. According to Mob Rule Now! (aka Democracy Now!), the nutters have now “launched ongoing 24-hour tree-sits” to stop Mariner East 2…
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As in previous years when Ohio’s RINO Gov. Kasich has proposed a super-high boost to the state’s severance tax, calm-headed Republicans (people from his own party!) have come to the rescue. Ohio House Republicans have removed Kasich’s boost in the severance tax rate from the budget. Meaning, it’s dead…
The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY), a group representing over 70,000 landowners with a collective 1 million acres of land that could be leased for oil and gas drilling, only if, has just sent off a letter to President Trump asking for his help. The JLCNY, via the letter, alerts Trump to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s shenanigans in blocking natural gas pipelines. The letter also asks Trump to support legislation we’ve previously highlighted by Congressman Tom Reed to protect landowners in New York (and other states) from government actions that block oil and gas development (see 
For the past couple of years MDN has covered the issue of low and no royalties for landowners in Pennsylvania and other states because of the low commodity price for natural gas–and because drillers are deducting post-production expenses. The problem, from the landowner’s perspective, is that gas is still getting pumped–and they aren’t getting anything in royalties. Who would sign up for that?! The problem, from the driller’s perspective, is that they’ve spent big bucks to drill the well and even if they have to sell the gas at a loss, at least they’re getting some revenue through the door–hoping to hang on until prices go higher again. It is a conundrum. Last month the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) held their annual meeting and convention in State College, PA. A number of interesting bits of information came out of that meeting. One interesting tidbit: A Houston lawyer told attendees that he is now using the strategy of telling drillers if they keep sending royalty statements with no checks (i.e. statements showing the driller is not making a profit)–they have 30 days to terminate their lease with those landowners. Some leases (not all) state that if a well quits producing profitable quantities of gas, the lease is officially ended. While in some respects the lawyer’s innovative interpretation of o&g contracts may be an empty threat, the strategy does appear to be getting results. Another tidbit: There is a concern that drillers may try to deduct losses today from profits in the future–from a landowner’s royalty check. What can landowners do to guard against it?…
Earlier this month MDN brought you the sad (and angering) news that once again Gov. Andrew Cuomo has caved to political pressure from environmental Nazis and instructed the now-corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny stream crossing permits for National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) Northern Access Pipeline project (see 
In April of 2016, Mountaineer NGL Storage announced an open season for a new underground NGL storage facility in Monroe County, Ohio, near Clarington, along the Ohio River (see 
In March 2016–more than a year ago–the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) $86 million Connecticut Expansion project (see 
MDN has previously chronicled bought-and-paid-for research done by Duke University’s Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment (see 
Last year the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, via their Institute for 21st Century Energy intiative, launched a “What If…?” series to counter the radical “keep it in the ground” movement–a movement that irrationally hates the use of fossil fuels. In August 2016, the Chamber released their first such report, titled “What If…Energy Production was Banned on Federal Lands and Waters?” (see 
Last December the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) said it would go on a “listening tour” in early 2017, to focus on so-called environmental justice (see 
Last October EQT announced a deal to buy Trans Energy, Inc., a public pure-play driller in the Marcellus in West Virginia, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQT (see 
MDN friend Tom Shepstone has long pointed out the incestuous connection between THE Delaware Riverkeeper and the William Penn Foundation. William Penn is a nonprofit that, according to its nonprofit charter, cannot use its considerable wealth to engage in political activities. So like an organized crime ring, William Penn uses Riverkeeper as the front organization to do its dirty work–investing millions in the Riverkeeper to carry out its (William Penn’s) radical environmental agenda. All at an arm’s length–to protect William Penn’s tax exempt status (hello IRS and PA Attorney General’s office, are you reading this?). It is a thinly-veiled shell game of money changing hands. The William Penn/Riverkeeper shell game is exposed in a recent article in the Washington Examiner…
Last week the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) released a report by Pace Global about the “critical role” of natural gas in generating affordable (and clean) electricity in the U.S. The report, titled “Natural Gas: Essential to a lower carbon energy future” (full copy below), finds that whether or not the U.S. federal government adopts Obama’s disastrous so-called Clean Power Plan, the shift was already underway and will continue–from using sources like coal to using natural gas to generate electricity. It is the single, biggest factor in lowering carbon dioxide emissions–if you care about that sort of thing (which we don’t). Along with the Pace report the NGSA released four key policy recommendations that will encourage even more use of natgas in power generation, and increasingly important market for Marcellus/Utica gas…