FERC Bans Gas Pipeline Construction Until Rehearing Decisions Made
Yet another assault on natural gas pipelines coming from the federal agency that’s supposed to promote them: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). When FERC approves a new pipeline project, the very first thing fossil fuel haters do is challenge that decision, requesting a “rehearing” or reconsideration of the decision. FERC under new Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick has just ruled that construction work on pipelines can’t proceed unless and until the rehearing request is no longer pending (FERC decides yes or no), which can take up to 90 days. In other words, FERC has just handed antis the right to delay a project by up to three months (in reality 10 months) just by filing a rehearing request.
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Jim Snell, Business Manager at Steamfitters Local 420 (Philadelphia area) has written a powerful editorial appearing in the Delaware Valley Journal. Snell begins his article by saying President Biden’s “build back better” proposal overlooks the backbone of America’s energy system: pipelines. Snell goes on to make an irrefutable case for how Marcellus Shale drilling in northeastern and southwestern PA benefits Philadelphia and southeastern PA.
An important issue we don’t often think about is pipeline maintenance. Natural gas pipelines have to be inspected and sometimes repaired. When that happens, it takes a portion of the pipeline out of service. When pipelines are taken out of service, natural gas doesn’t have a way to get to the same markets it was flowing to, meaning it begins to pile up in the location where it’s extracted. Further meaning too much supply in a given location, which leads to lower prices. That’s what appears to be happening in northeastern Pennsylvania right now.
Somebody’s head is gonna roll at liberal Columbia University (big lib university located in the heart of New York City). Somehow the truth has just leaked out of Columbia about the necessity and benefits of natural gas pipelines and how they are helping to LOWER the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (if you happen to care about such things–which we don’t). How did this happen? Researchers who care about telling the truth and how doing so enhances one’s reputation, have authored the study “Investing in the US Natural Gas Pipeline System to Support Net-Zero Targets” (full copy below).
The experts at RBN Energy continue their series of blog posts about pipelines that flow Marcellus/Utica gas to other regions with a look at two pipelines that connect directly to Canada: Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Empire Pipeline. In this post we learn that natural gas flows from the M-U over this past weekend hit a new record high of 17.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). We also learn M-U pipelines flowed an average of 16.7 Bcf/d in April–an all-time high for any month! The problem is we’re now maxed out and need more pipelines.
If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) thinks it is going to change the rules for how it approves existing, already-filed applications for pipelines, it needs to think again. That’s according to a group of both Republican and Democrat U.S. Senators who sent a warning letter to FERC last week. The Senators say FERC has no right to change the rules part of the way through the game, which is exactly what FERC, under Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick, is threatening to do.
Radicalized groups including the New Jersey Sierra Club and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance tried their best to abuse the court system to overturn permits to build a 28-mile natural gas pipeline project called the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline project. They have (we’re happy to report) failed. SRL will connect to New Jersey Natural Gas’ (NJNG) distribution system serving customers in Ocean, Burlington and Monmouth counties (in NJ) to provide backup for hundreds of thousands of NJ residents who lost access to natural gas following Super Storm Sandy. The NJ Superior Court’s Appellate Division dismissed appeals by the radicals to overturn state-issued permits for the project.
On April 6 the Weymouth, Mass. compressor station experienced its third “unplanned release” of methane and was shut down (see 
Here’s a connection we hadn’t made until we read about yesterday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in PennEast Pipeline vs. New Jersey. The connection is this: The PennEast case also has huge ramifications for another currently-stalled M-U pipeline. Columbia Gas wants to build a tiny 3.37-mile, 8-inch pipeline under the Potomac River from Maryland to West Virginia. It is being blocked from doing so by the lefties in Maryland (see 
The Biden-controlled U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just granted anti-fossil fuel zealots enough rope to strangle the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project, or enough rope to strangle themselves. We hope it’s the latter, we fear it may be the former. The “rope” in this case is time. The Army Corps announced Friday it will give antis an extra 30 days to comment on (complain, manipulate, lie about) a proposed water crossing permit for MVP in West Virginia and Virginia. Even with the extra 30 days antis still are not satisfied.
Here’s an interesting twist on building new oil and gas pipelines in Ohio. Due to a late filing made by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), from now on interstate pipeline builders will *not* need to seek and receive a federal section 401 water permit under the Clean Water Act from the Ohio EPA to build the pipeline. Instead, the pipeline builder can just ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12). Ohio EPA has been problematic for pipelines in the past (see 
The Chester County, PA District Attorney, Democrat Deb Ryan, has pressured and bullied Energy Transfer (ET) and its Sunoco Pipeline subsidiary into signing a “consent decree” that guarantees if ET spills one cup of drilling mud or creates any kind of “public nuisance” in finishing up work on the Mariner East pipeline, the DA gets to haul the company into county court and charge it with a crime. The consent decree means in addition to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) breathing down their necks, ET now gets a second master (AG Ryan) breathing down their necks too. Joy.
Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (or PIPE) issues grants covering part of the cost for building new natural gas pipelines to connect homes and businesses, typically in rural parts of the state, to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many of the PIPE grant projects in the past (