Fed Appeals Court Overturns Berkeley, CA “First in Nation” Gas Ban
A rare victory for the forces of good. Berkeley, California, a bastion for liberal nuts (there’s a reason the city’s nickname is Berserkely), thought it was all cutesy when, in 2019, it passed the “first-in-the-nation” municipal ban blocking new construction (homes and businesses) from hooking up to natural gas pipelines. Berkeley said it wants to do its part to combat global warming. A few months later, the California Restaurant Association (CRA) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s ability to pass a law banning new natural gas hookups. After a lower court ruled in favor of the city, the CRA appealed it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Yesterday the judges of the 9th Circuit ruled in favor of the CRA, telling the city it’s trying to regulate gas stoves by denying pipeline hookups–something that only the federal government can do.
Read More “Fed Appeals Court Overturns Berkeley, CA “First in Nation” Gas Ban”
Natural gas pipelines use both gas- and electric-powered compressor units. In fact, around 10% of pipeline compressor stations are powered by electricity. Electrically-powered compressor stations on natural gas transmission pipelines have been identified as a possible contributor to gas shortages because they are vulnerable to electric outages during severe weather events. It turns into a vicious cycle. Lack of electricity to the compressor means flows along the pipeline slow or stop, starving power plants of the gas they need to produce electricity. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently published an article (study) suggesting possible solutions to fix the issue.
Yesterday the 303-mile, 94% complete Mountain Valley Pipeline project received a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Forest Service, clearing the way for the pipeline to get built through a piddly 3.5 miles of Jefferson National Forest. Ring the bells! Dance for joy! Blow the party noisemakers, right? Wrong. This is the third time this same permit has been issued. Nobody was impressed. We only found a single news story about it. The stock of Equitrans, the builder, moved up one penny on the news. Why the muted response? Because everyone has seen this movie before.
This is a story that may (or may not) be directly tied to Marcellus/Utica gas, but it makes a larger point nonetheless. Peninsula Pipeline Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, just completed an 11.3-mile pipeline expansion that will bring additional natural gas capacity to the Vero Beach, Florida, area. The project, which cost approximately $10.5 million to build, interconnects with existing PPC infrastructure in Sebastian and extends to Vero Beach. The new facilities will transport natural gas to five new delivery points, extending service to the communities of Wabasso, Wabasso Beach, Indian River Shores, North Hutchinson Island, and Harbor Isles.
You knew it was only a matter of time. On March 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a 297-page biological opinion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s (MVP) potential impact on threatened and endangered species if the 94% complete pipeline is allowed to finish (see 
The left’s insane push to ban the use of all fossil energy, including natural gas, is beginning to bear fruit with large utility companies. Dominion and National Grid–huge electric and gas companies providing service to millions of customers–are rumored to be shopping some of their natural gas pipeline networks. So says the venerable Wall Street Journal. The reason? They believe the end of providing natural gas to customers is now on the horizon, and they want to dump their gas pipeline assets now, while those assets will still fetch big money.
It’s not often we’re rendered speechless, but this is one of those times. To say we are incensed, that we are deeply concerned, outraged, etc. doesn’t begin to cover it. Last Friday, the film “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” a screen adaption of Eco-Marxist Andreas Malm’s book of the same title, was released. The film, which is a fictional story, justifies eco-terrorism. It encourages people to become terrorists and blow up fossil fuel pipelines.
Last week it was a miracle when the three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (i.e. 4th Circuit clown judges) turned back an appeal of a permit issued by the Virginia State Water Control Board allowing Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to cross some 150 streams and wetlands in Southwest West Virginia (see 
We really have seen it all now. A news story appearing in the Washington Free Beacon discusses how a large Democrat Political Action Committee (PAC) is trashing Gov. Ron DeSantis for his support of natural gas. American Bridge 21st Century launched a website on Monday that hits DeSantis over his support for natural gas, the use of fracking, and projects like the Keystone XL pipeline. The PAC, which told DeSantis in its launch post that “we’re coming for you,” suggested DeSantis’s position has harmed the environment and contributed to climate change. Yet a lobbying firm closely connected to the PAC, ABI Associates, has gotten $240,000 from the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)! Words escape us…
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) published notice in the April 1 Pennsylvania Bulletin that it has denied a request by the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) to reconsider the agency’s plan to regulate small, completely safe natural gas gathering pipelines. We have the news of the PUC’s rejection, and what it means, along with an exclusive–the official response from PIOGA.
In our daily perusal of press releases, we spotted an announcement from Yara and Enbridge about a joint venture to build a “world scale” low-carbon blue ammonia project along the Gulf Coast near Corpus Christi, Texas. We thought, “Hmmm, that’s interesting.” But as we read the announcement, our eyes got wide when they landed on this statement: “Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline is expected to provide the transportation service for feed gas that will be used for the production process.” Whoa! Now that’s REALLY interesting! We’ll tell you why…
Just a few days ago, we told you that Pieridae Energy was scaling back the scope of its planned Goldboro LNG export plant project in Nova Scotia, Canada (see 
It’s a miracle, A true blue spectacle, A miracle come true… (Lyrics from Barry Manilow’s tune, It’s a Miracle) In a 3-2 vote taken in December 2021, the Virginia State Water Control Board granted a permit (under the Clean Water Act) for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to cross about 150 streams and wetlands in Southwest Virginia (see