Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate
There was an explosion and fire in Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s “Delmont Line 27” pipeline last Friday. The explosion occurred in Salem Township (Westmoreland County), PA, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. One man was seriously burned when his house caught on fire (his house was destroyed). Nine homes in the area of the explosion/blaze were evacuated. As of yesterday six of the nine were able to return to their homes. Texas Eastern Transmission is one of the largest natural gas pipelines in the U.S.–running from the Gulf Coast through Marcellus/Utica country to New Jersey. The really disgusting part was the way the NJ chapter of the radical Sierra Club immediately, with a few hours, used the explosion by implying this is what awaits homeowners if the PennEast Pipeline is built. FYI, the Texas Eastern pipeline was built in 1981 and the portion that exploded was last inspected in 2012. Below are pieces of news accounts and the running response from Spectra about the accident…
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In November, MDN told you about Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings, developing an East Coast pipeline to carry refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and jet and aviation fuel northbound from Linden, New Jersey to Albany, New York (178 miles). In addition, a second Pilgrim pipeline will carry crude oil from Albany south to NJ and other locations. Two pipelines, side by side, liquids flowing through them in different directions (see 
In MDN’s daily trawl of the news, we came across a resource for landowners from Ohio State University (OSU), a program called “Pipeline Easement and Right-of-Way Agreements.” Apparently OSU’s Extension service conducts workshops on occasion for landowners and other interested parties. We don’t have a list of the workshops, but we do have copies of the resources they hand out–very useful resources, including four different fact sheets that we think landowners in any state will benefit from…
In January MDN told you about a $130 million, 30-mile natural gas pipeline proposed by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to connect NJNG’s distribution system serving customers in Ocean, Burlington and Monmouth counties (in NJ) and the interstate pipeline system adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike. The idea came about after Superstorm Sandy. How can NJNG create reliable natgas service in the region, preventing major disruptions like that which happened after Sandy? The “Southern Reliability Link” pipeline project was the result, and in January the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved it 5-0 (see 
A Washington County, OH man is not happy with Blue Racer Midstream’s construction work on a new pipeline in the area. Heavy rain washed out gravel used as fill for the project. The man was on his way home (rural area) and ran into a ditch because, he says, the work was not done well and is “destroying” area roadways. Here’s the story of a man, a car, a ditch and a rainy night…
MDN is certainly not of this opinion, but we spotted a Reuters article that quotes several natural gas market analysts who say recent announcements of pipeline delays may boost natgas prices–and that’s a good thing. Of course being a good thing is in the eye of the beholder. Pipeline delays in the Marcellus/Utica–like the Constitution Pipeline–mean (a) lack of takeaway means natural gas prices in the Marcellus/Utica region will continue to be the lowest in the country, which means (b) drilling in the Marcellus/Utica will continue to slow and won’t restart any time soon, consequently (c) that will lead to less production, and so (d) less supply in the northeast will mean prices for natural gas, and things that natgas produces (i.e. electricity) will go higher in places like New York City and New England. Whether that’s all good news or bad news depends on your point of view…
The partners in the Constitution Pipeline, including Williams and Cabot Oil & Gas, have come roaring back against Gov. Cuomo and his pusillanimous Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) after the DEC lied last Friday in announcing they would not grant stream crossing permits for the pipeline project. Yesterday Cabot, along with Williams, issued a STRONGLY worded rebuttal that says, in part that the DEC’s “stated rationale for the denial includes flagrant misstatements and inaccurate allegations, and appears to be driven more by New York State politics than by environmental science.” Flagrant misstatements is another way of saying the DEC lied, which is exactly what we said yesterday (see 
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s action to stop progress on the Constitution Pipeline has very real, tangible negative effects on jobs in Upstate New York. This is the true story of two large regional employers in New York’s Southern Tier that would benefit from cheap, abundant, and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from northeastern Pennsylvania. Wait. You believed the anti’s lie that all of the gas traveling through the Constitution would be transported to other areas, with much of it exported, and would not in any way benefit local residents? Yeah, that’s a lie. Another 100% lie pedaled by irrational fossil fuel haters. As the Constitution crosses places like Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties in the Southern Tier of New York State (i.e. “Upstate”), the pipeline will be tapped in several locations by Leatherstocking Gas Co.–a small but important local utility company. Leatherstocking will then provide gas to area communities and to two large businesses. One of those businesses is the Amphenol Aerospace plant in Sidney, NY. Amphenol is the largest employer in Delaware County with some 1,100 employees. Amphenol needs cheap Marcellus Shale gas from the Constitution to stay competitive and to keep the plant open. The second business is located in the small Chenango County village of Greene–Raymond Corporation. You know those bright red-colored forklifts you see in warehouses and factories? They’re all built at Raymond, which ships them worldwide. The facility is now owned by Toyota. Raymond also needs natural gas from the Constitution Pipeline. With over 
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), charged with overseeing potential impacts on the Delaware River and the various tributaries that feed it, has once again stepped outside of its legal bounds. The PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion, 118-mile pipeline from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ–part of it through the Delaware River Basin area. In 2014 the DRBC tried to tell PennEast and its sponsors that the pipeline will need their approval before it can be built (see 
Last week midstream giant Kinder Morgan announced they didn’t have enough demand lined up for their proposed $3.3 billion Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline and so they will suspend any more work on the project (see 
You can’t see we didn’t predict this outcome: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made the political decision to not grant the Constitution Pipeline stream crossing permits, temporarily stopping the project from advancing. Cuomo’s lackeys at the totally humiliated and discredited Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) made the announcement on Friday, so-called Earth Day. Virulent anti-drillers erupted in spontaneous (and multiple) orgasms at the news. The DEC claims Williams, the builder of the Constitution, did not provide detailed information about pipe burial that the DEC had requested. This is a blatant, 100% lie. Gov. Cuomo is corrupt and is being led, as our friend Tom Shepstone points out, by the nose by Rockefeller money. Prosecutor Preet Bharara–are you paying attention? MDN now calls on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to bypass New York State, as is its right under the U.S. Constitution. FERC has the power to bypass Cuomo and the DEC and authorize the pipeline without NY’s stream crossing permits. Yes, hoops will need to be jumped through with various courts, but now is the time to permanently remove NY from such decision-making. The state has proven it is incapable of making independent, science-based decisions on the topic of oil and gas drilling and pipelines. Time to overrule the state and move on. Below we have the DEC’s pathetic political cover-up, along with various responses to the news…
Last June MDN told you about Compass Natural Gas, a company that compresses natural gas and trucks it to locations not served by a pipeline, cool concept called a “virtual pipeline” (see 
Yet another anti has crossed the line into terrorism–and no, we don’t use that word lightly. Three surveyors working on the PennEast Pipeline in Holland Township (Hunterdon Township), New Jersey were approached by a man with a rifle. The man asked them if they were there working on the PennEast. When the 3-man crew responded “yes,” the man waved the gun in the air, shouting at them that he would stop the pipeline. It was a clearly a menancing threat to the men who were doing nothing more than a survey. Holland Township Police later arrested Lester Kinney Jr., charging him with “making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.” The Sierra Club was quick to respond and distance itself from Kinney, making us wonder if Kinney is a member…
New York City’s largest utility company–Consolidated Edison Inc.–has formed a 50/50 joint venture to purchase ownership of pipelines and storage facilities from Crestwood Equity Partners (formerly Crestwood Midstream) in the PA and NY Marcellus region. ConEdison is ponying up $975 million for assets Crestwood says are really worth $2 billion. The newly formed jv, called Stagecoach Gas Services, will continue to be operated by Crestwood and includes four natural gas storage facilities (Stagecoach, Thomas Corners, Steuben and Seneca Lake) with a combined storage capacity of approximately 41 billion cubic feet; and three natural gas pipelines (MARC I, North/South and the East Pipeline) with a combined throughput capacity of 2.96 billion cubic feet per day. Here’s the details…