Regulation

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    FERC Authorizes Tetco TEAL Phase II – Connecting to NEXUS Pipe

    Here’s a project we’ve mentioned in passing as part of other posts, but until now, have not specifically focused on. In August 2017, Enbridge received approval (a certificate) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate the Texas Eastern Appalachian Lease Project (“TEAL Project”). TEAL boosts the capacity along the Texas Eastern Transmission Company (Tetco) pipeline and connects it to the NEXUS pipeline. NEXUS has been under construction since last October (see NEXUS Pipeline Begins Construction in OH, MI). TEAL will bump up volumes of Utica/Marcellus gas along Tetco by an extra 950 million cubic feet per day–nearly 1 billion cubic feet! The markets for the gas are the Midwest and Canada. The justification for the project, when it was filed two years ago, was “offsetting the impact of the decline in traditional western Canadian supplies available to serve these markets.” That was before TransCanada lowered the tolls along its pipeline to bring more western Canadian gas to eastern Canada. Oops. What’s done is done. On December 19, 2017, Texas Eastern received approval to proceed with construction of the Phase I TEAL Project facilities. Last week Texas Eastern requested permission to begin Phase II in Columbiana and Belmont counties (in Ohio), and yesterday FERC said yes…
    Read More “FERC Authorizes Tetco TEAL Phase II – Connecting to NEXUS Pipe”

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    FERC Denies Rehearing Request for Mountain Valley Pipe 3-2

    In May MDN told you that Big Green groups were successful in getting the U.S. District Court of Appeals for D.C. to force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to either move forward with, or reject a rehearing request on their decision to approve the Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Fed Court Forces FERC to Decide on MVP Rehearing, No More Delays). MVP a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA–to move Marcellus/Utica gas south. Last Friday FERC obeyed the court and voted 3-2 against rehearing their previous decision to approve the project. Yes, the two Democrat Commissioners voted to rehear the decision–meaning they want to stop MVP. The two Dems have been co-opted by Big Green and Big Democrats and now apparently don’t/won’t think for themselves. It’s a scary proposition for “someday” when Dems regain the White House and can once again pack FERC with a majority–which will stop any new pipeline projects cold. Scary thought. At any rate, FERC’s Republicans made powerful and persuasive arguments for why the original decision to approve MVP was/is correct and doesn’t need to be revisited. Bottom line: Big Green is no doubt at the courthouse even as you read this filing a lawsuit against FERC and their decision. They could not file the lawsuit prior to a rehearing denial by FERC. Now that FERC has told Big Green to buzz off, a lawsuit to try and stop MVP is 100% certain to follow…
    Read More “FERC Denies Rehearing Request for Mountain Valley Pipe 3-2”

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    PA PUC Overrules Lib Judge – Mariner East 1 Returns to Service

    As MDN predicted, yesterday the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted to overturn a previous action by liberal administrative law judge, Elizabeth Barnes, to shut down the Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline (see Antis Get Lib Judge to Shut Down All Mariner East Pipes, Dems Rejoice). ME1 is back up and running. All five PUC members supported returning ME1 back to service. However, three of the five PUC members agreed with Judge Barnes’ decision to temporarily shut down work on the Mariner East 2 pipeline project in West Whiteland Township (Chester County). Two of the five PUC members wanted all of Barnes’ ruling to be overturned. The reporting on this is somewhat confusing. PUC Chairwoman Gladys Brown put forward a motion to (a) turn ME1 back on, and (b) keep ME2 in West Whiteland stopped, for now, pending more information from Sunoco Logistics. The vote was 3-2 in favor of Brown’s motion. The 2 voting against it did so because it didn’t go far enough (they wanted ME2 construction to resume). So although the vote was 3-2, all 5 of the members wanted ME1 back on. That’s the real nub of the news–the subtlety that’s missed in most media reports. The 3-2 “split decision” that’s being reported is the decision to overrule Barnes on ME1, but keep her ruling intact (for now) on ME2. The PUC has ordered Sunoco to provide more information in the next 20 days: inspection and testing protocols, emergency response plans, and copies of safety training curriculum for employees and contractors. The PUC will then reconsider whether or not to allow ME2 work to resume in West Whiteland. But here’s the thing: Work on the rest of the 300+ mile pipeline continues everywhere else in the state–everywhere but West Whiteland. Overall, yesterday’s PUC action was a crushing defeat for PA State Sen. Andy “Tony Soprano” Dinniman (Democrat) and his Big Green cronies who want to assassinate the entire ME1 & ME2 projects by focusing on one small area…
    Read More “PA PUC Overrules Lib Judge – Mariner East 1 Returns to Service”

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    Green, OH Won’t Allow Nov. 6 Vote to Nix NEXUS Pipeline Deal

    In February the City of Green, OH (Summit County), finally faced the reality that NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada–will come through their paradise (see Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe). Green hired a high-priced Cleveland law firm to try and scuttle the NEXUS project (see Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade). In the end, everyone has their price. For Green, the price was $7.5 million and 20 acres of land that sit next to an existing city park. While Green antis in city government hate the idea of the pipeline getting built at all (especially Green’s anti-pipeline mayor), the writing was on the wall. They would lose and they knew it. To save face, the mayor negotiated a deal with NEXUS that city council voted to accept. However, the mayor and city council’s actions didn’t sit well with some of the more radical elements in Green. The rads launched a petition campaign to put a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot on whether or not the city should settle with NEXUS. The city says the signed settlement is an administrative action, not subject to a popular vote. The rads say otherwise. In a bold move, even though the rads have enough signatures to put the referendum on the ballot, the city has refused to allow the it to appear on the ballot. Which will surely send the radicals into orbit. It’s shaping up to be a battle between left and lefter…
    Read More “Green, OH Won’t Allow Nov. 6 Vote to Nix NEXUS Pipeline Deal”

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    Wackos Gather in Harrisburg to Push for 100% Solar/Wind in PA

    This past Tuesday, hundreds of Pennsylvanians gathered in Harrisburg to “rally for a new vision for the Commonwealth powered by 100 percent renewable energy.” Among those attending including representatives from businesses, various religious leaders, local mayors, and nurses and doctors to advocate for “bipartisan” legislation to force PA to dump fossil fuels and adopt 100% renewable energy. There is no polite way to say this, but say it we must: This so-called “bipartisan” gathering to push House and Senate bills demanding the state dump the use of fossil fuels (like natural gas) and instead stick solar panels on every rooftop and windmills on every hilltop to power the Keystone state’s electricity (and other) power needs is stark….raving….mad. It’s lunatic. Forcing the state to adopt 100% renewables is not “nice” or a “gentle, blessed future that will arrive someday.” Adopting 100% renewables is a deluded fantasy. To pretend otherwise is unkind. We must call this nuttery out for what it is: irrational hatred of fossil fuels. We have nothing against any form of energy. They all have their pluses and minuses. You like a solar panel on your house–good for you! An ugly windmill with it’s whump whump whump sound nearby? Whatever floats your boat. But ending the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity any time within the next 75-100 years is the end of human life as we know it. What was presented at the rally as some benign gathering of average citizens was nothing of the sort. Big Green (radical) groups, including PennFuture, were behind this flummery…
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    WV DEP Fines Rover Pipe $430K for Water Pollution Violations

    Rover Pipeline (Energy Transfer Partners) has agreed to pay a $430,030 fine to the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection for water pollution violations related to construction activities for the pipeline. The “consent order” was dated May 15 but not released to the public until Tuesday of this week. The proposed deal is now open for public comment until July 13. Rover received 18 notices of violation and 2 cease-and-desist orders dating back to April 2017. Most of the violations relate to failure to control erosion and for allowing sediment water to leak out of construction areas. WV DEP has not yet signed (officially accepted) the order, but it certainly appears to be a done deal. Here’s the news and a copy of the consent order…
    Read More “WV DEP Fines Rover Pipe $430K for Water Pollution Violations”

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    Eversource Looks to Reactivate Access Northeast Pipe Project in NH

    In May MDN reported that a recent New Hampshire Supreme Court decision *may* breathe new life into a New England natural gas pipeline project believed to be dead (see NH Supreme Court Decision Puts New England Pipe Back in Play). The Access Northeast pipeline project would cost ~$3 billion and would connect four different pipeline systems: Texas Eastern, Algonquin Gas Transmission, Iroquois and Maritimes & Northeast. One of the backers is Eversource (formerly called Northeast Utilities), a utility company that desperately needs the gas that would flow through the upgraded system. Eversource had filed a rate case in New Hampshire requesting permission to pass along some of the cost of the pipeline to its electricity customers–because they will directly benefit from the pipeline delivering gas to electric power plants operated by Eversource. NH refused, and it was that refusal that was overturned by the State Supreme Court. The new news is that Eversource has withdrawn their original request because they are about to submit a brand new request for the same thing–and this time NH will have to approve it. Bottom line: The Access Northeast project appears to have rekindled to life, at least in NH…
    Read More “Eversource Looks to Reactivate Access Northeast Pipe Project in NH”

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    Despite Court Ruling, Atlantic Coast Pipeline Continues Construction

    In May MDN told you that the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had invalidated (vacated) a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to accidentally kill a few bats and bumble bees (classified as endangered) as it builds the massive $6.5 billion, 600-mile project from West Virginia to North Carolina (see U.S. Fourth Circuit Court Vacates Key Permit for Atlantic Coast Pipe). The Sierra Club and several other radical, far-left groups were behind the court case that led to the decision. However, as it turns out, the decision doesn’t really hurt the project all that much. The vacated permit isn’t so “key” after all. Of the 600 or so miles of pipeline getting built, the vacated permit from Fish and Wildlife only affects about 10 miles of pipeline (see Only 10 Miles of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Affected by Court Ruling). The radicals are back, not happy that only 10 miles of pipeline is idled for now. In a “but, but, but, but, but” request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the antis argue FERC should shut down the whole enchilada–because they don’t like having just 10 miles shut down. Meanwhile, Dominion keeps up steady-and-sure construction of the project. It’s getting built, even as you read this…
    Read More “Despite Court Ruling, Atlantic Coast Pipeline Continues Construction”

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    Quebec’s Utica Frack Ban Forces Junex to Merge with Cuda Energy

    Last week the Canadian province of Quebec announced it plans to commit fracking suicide (see Quebec to Ban Utica Shale Drilling, Most Other Drilling Too). Quebec’s announcement is a virtual death sentence for oil and gas companies in the province. How? By saying they will ban shale fracking, and by making drilling standards so tight for everyone that even conventional drillers will have a difficult, almost impossible time. We are already seeing the results of Quebec’s announcement. And the result isn’t pretty. Junex, a driller headquartered in Quebec with 1 million leased acres in the St. Lawrence lowlands (where there is Utica Shale), has just announced it is selling out to/merging with Cuda Energy, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. It was either sell out/merge, or go out of business. Thanks Quebec! You’re so “business friendly” (NOT). Quebec is quickly becoming a pariah among all the Canadian provinces, like New York State is on the other side of the border…
    Read More “Quebec’s Utica Frack Ban Forces Junex to Merge with Cuda Energy”

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    ME2 Work in Lebanon, PA Halted for Spilling a Single Cup of Mud

    A single cup of drilling mud, bentonite, is nothing. It is beyond nothing. Bentonite is the clay-based compound used to make toothpaste, lipstick and kitty litter. It is completely non-toxic–it goes on and in the human body! And yet when underground drilling work restarted at Snitz Creek in Lebanon County, PA for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project, a single cup of drilling mud (bentonite) came out where it wasn’t supposed to (in the creek), so once again the whole shebang was shut down. Which we find crazy. What’s next–shutting down drilling when a tablespoon of drilling mud comes out? A teaspoon? Look, we get it. There have been other spills at Snitz Creek (see ME2 Construction in Lebanon County Stopped for 50 Gal Mud Spill). If a cup comes out, maybe it will be followed by a gallon coming out. And if a gallon comes out, maybe 10 gallons or even 50 gallons will follow. Immediately halting all underground horizontal directional drilling used to install the pipeline under Snitz Creek is an “abundance of caution” thing. But come on! So what if 10 or even 50 gallons comes out? It’s bentonite and its non-toxic! Spilling 50 gallons of the stuff in the creek is like spilling 10 bags of kitty litter in the creek. A few fish and salamanders might die. So what? That’s the price of progress. Here’s the crazy news that a single cup of drilling mud has once again stopped ME2 work in Lebanon County at Snitz Creek…
    Read More “ME2 Work in Lebanon, PA Halted for Spilling a Single Cup of Mud”

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    Looks Like WNY Coal-Fired Plant Will Never Convert to Gas/Reopen

    In 2013, a coal-fired electric generating plant near Buffalo, NY (in Dunkirk) was slated to be converted to burn natural gas–a win/win for everyone (see Dunkirk, NY Electric Plant Saved – Converting from Coal to NatGas). Radical environmentalists like the Sierra Club opposed it, but that’s to be expected. Everything seemed to be fine until a competitor hauled NRG, the plant’s owner, into court to dispute the change from coal to natgas. They objected to ratepayers kicking in $150 million for the project. NRG said fighting the case in court will take years, so they just closed down the plant instead (see Dunkirk, NY Coal-Fired Electric Plant Closing in January 2016). It was an economic nuclear bomb for that community. The Town of Dunkirk gets 40% of its tax revenue from that single plant! New York State “generously” shucked out $5.5 million so Dunkirk wouldn’t collapse economically. But doing that year after year will get old quick. Other communities can rightly demand state help too. But then the competitor who had objected to converting the old coal plant to natgas (with ratepayer assistance) dropped their objection, and NRG restarted the project in December 2016 (see Coal-to-Gas Plant Conversion in Western NY Back from the Dead). Once again, environmental lunatics would rather bankrupt Dunkirk than let the plant restart as a gas-fired plant. They lobbied the state Public Service Commission to block the deal. That didn’t happen, but what has happened is that because of the delays caused by NY and NRG’s competitor, NRG has to “restart” the project and along with that comes connection costs–the cost to reconnect the plant to the electricity grid. Estimated reconnect costs go as high as $115 million! The cost of “transmission upgrades” according to the NY grid operator. The cost to reconnect would be almost as much as the project cost itself, meaning there’s no way in Hades NRG will build it. So although antis couldn’t get NY to regulate the project out of existence, electric grid bureaucratic claptrap will keep it out of existence. Same result…
    Read More “Looks Like WNY Coal-Fired Plant Will Never Convert to Gas/Reopen”

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    DRBC, SRBC Castigated for Regulatory Overreach @ PA House Hearing

    The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee held a hearing yesterday on the “regulatory overreach” by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). The big guns came out and blew multiple holes in the DRBC and SRBC. One of the big guns was PA State Rep. Jonathan Fritz, who said the DRBC has become “dangerous, unaccountable, and rogue.” Never truer words were spoken! MDN friend Tom Shepstone was there (his testimony below), as was Betty Sutliff from Upper Delaware River Basin Citizens. Marcellus Shale Coalition president Dave Spigelmyer delivered a powerful condemnation of the DRBC, calling their proposed frack ban “absurd.” Not be left out, DRBC executive director Steve Tambini (a major disappointment in that role) tried to defend the indefensible. To his credit, at least he showed up. Here’s a rundown on what happened yesterday, the castigation of the DRBC and SRBC…
    Read More “DRBC, SRBC Castigated for Regulatory Overreach @ PA House Hearing”

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    Antis Rally Near Philly to Permanently Shut Down ME1/ME2 Pipes

    PA State Sen. Andy Dinniman

    In May, anti-fossil fuel pipeline opponents finally found a single, liberal administrative judge to shut down the Mariner East 1 (ME1) NGL pipeline–a pipeline that’s been operating without any problems for more than a year (see Antis Get Lib Judge to Shut Down All Mariner East Pipes, Dems Rejoice). Sunoco Logistics Partners, the owner of ME1, and the builder of the Mariner East 2 (ME2) Pipeline project, appealed the judge’s decision to the full Public Utility Commission (PUC). A decision about the shutdown (whether to lift is) is due any time. In an attempt to pressure the PUC and Gov. Tom Wolf to *permanently* shut down ME1 and ME2, a group of 150 or so rallied near Philadelphia on Saturday. Something you should know: A total shutdown of ME1 and ME2 is not going to happen. But that doesn’t stop self-deluding nutters from trying. Inevitably the protesters are disappointed. They talk themselves into the fictional fantasy that a pipeline that has been fully permissioned and 98% done (ME2) will simply stop and not be allowed to finish construction and begin operations. They tell themselves they can get a pipeline with a perfect safety record (running for more than a year) permanently shut down. Ain’t gonna happen. But they tell themselves these things, over and over, convincing themselves. People like PA State Sen. Andy “Tony Soprano” Dinniman, recklessly feeds his kook nutbase these fantasies. Totally irresponsible. So they gather, as they did this past weekend, to protest and “demand” that the PUC shut down these projects. What will happen when the full PUC overturns the liberal judge’s biased decision? How will the protesters handle the defeat?…
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    2 Bills Affecting Utica Shale Head to Gov Kasich for Signature

    OH Gov. John Kasich

    A pair of bills recently passed the Ohio State legislature and have gone to Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his signature. Both bills affect companies in the oil and gas space, in particular those drilling in the Utica Shale. One bill, House Bill (HB) 430, tightens up the tax code, what is and what is not allowed as deductions for drilling companies. Ohio state auditors have taken advantage of unclear language to aggressively go after oil and gas companies over legitimate tax breaks they receive under Ohio law (to not pay taxes on equipment used directly in producing oil and gas). Lawmakers want to end the tax witch hunts by clearing up language. They did so back in 2016, but Kasich and Democrats successfully spun the issue as a “tax break” under which up to $264 million would have to be refunded to Big Oil. Total lie. But Kasich vetoed that bill and it died (see OH Gov Kasich Vetoed Misnamed ‘Tax Relief’ for Utica Drillers). The bill is back, in a different form, and sent to Kasich for a signature. Will he sign it this time? The second bill, House Bill (HB) 225, addresses the issue of plugging some of the estimated 600 orphan wells in the Buckeye State. HB 225 triples the amount of money set aside to cap orphan wells (money which comes from Ohio’s severance tax, paid for by oil and gas producers). The bill also “creates a more streamlined and efficient process for identifying and plugging” orphan wells. The amazing thing about HB 225 is that both Big Green groups and the drilling industry support it! We predict a quick signature on this one…
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    PA DEP Releasing Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs June 8

    Last December the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued “draft final language” for the proposed General Permit 5A (GP-5A) and the revised General Permit 5 (GP-5)–regulations that supposedly will cut down on fugitive methane from escaping from drill pads and pipelines (see PA DEP Signals Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs Coming 1Q18). The onerous regulations, which for now only apply to *new* sources (not existing) were originally prompted by bullying from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. Even though EPA pressure disappeared under President Trump, PA Gov. Wolf is still pushing these onerous new regs. GP-5 applies to pipelines and compressor stations, while GP-5A applies to well pads and drilling. Following a flood of comments, the DEP tweaked the onerous regs yet again (for the third or fourth time), and in late March published yet another revised final final final final final version of the regs (see PA DEP Releases Draft Final GP-5 & 5A Methane Regulations). The DEP just announced they will issue the final final final final version of the revised regs on June 8, and two months later, on August 8, the new rules will officially go into effect–unless they delay it again…
    Read More “PA DEP Releasing Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs June 8”

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    Quebec to Ban Utica Shale Drilling, Most Other Drilling Too

    It seems the Canadian province of Quebec has decided to ban pretty much all oil and gas drilling, which is a good news/bad news thing. The good news is that Quebec will have to import their hydrocarbons from other places–namely the Marcellus/Utica. The bad news is for Questerre, a Canadian driller who has patiently waited for years to begin drilling on their extensive Utica acreage in the St. Lawrence Lowlands of Quebec. Questerre thought they would begin drilling this year (see Questerre Plans 8 Initial Well Pads in Canadian Utica 2018-2019). Instead, Questerre is now hosed. In addition to a total frack ban, Quebec is instituting a “no drill zone” for conventional (non-shale) drilling of 1 kilometre (.62 miles) from municipalities, 300 metres (984 feet) from private residences, 550 metres (1,804 feet) from schools, hospitals or public buildings, and 200 metres (656 feet) from “ecotourism” sites. In other words, all drilling of any kind will be pretty much banned pretty much everywhere. Quebec is following in the footsteps of New York, where the hydrocarbon industry has been decimated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It’s a sad day for our Canadian cousins in Quebec…
    Read More “Quebec to Ban Utica Shale Drilling, Most Other Drilling Too”