FERC Allows Rover to Use HDD in 4 More Locations, Incl Ohio River
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last Thursday granted Rover Pipeline permission to resume horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at four more locations where it had been stopped. One of those locations is drilling under the Ohio River in the Majorsville area. Rover is a $3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline that (will eventually) run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and on to Canada. A large portion of the pipeline began flowing natural gas on Sept. 1st (see Big Portion of Rover Pipeline Now Up & Running – Thru Most of Ohio). Since then, Phase 1A of the pipeline has steadily increased its throughput and now flows over 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica/Marcellus Shale gas to Defiance, OH (see Rover Pipe Nearly Doubles Flow with Addition of Carroll, OH Compressor). However, it could flow more, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would allow Rover to finish Phase 1B pipeline work in OH/WV to feed more gas to the main part of the pipeline. The problem is that Rover had early missteps, the most serious of which spilled 2 million gallons of non-toxic drilling mud in a swamp (i.e. “wetland”) near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). Following that and several other mishaps, FERC shut down all Rover HDD work–for months. Gradually FERC has allowed Rover to resume HDD work, and with this latest round of four more HDD locations, it appears to us that only two HDD locations remain on the “do not drill yet” list, one of them being the Tuscarawas River location…
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Last week we told you about the hypocrisy of PJM Interconnection–the regional transmission organization (RTO) that operates the electric grid in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, including PA, OH and WV (see 
It’s “game on” between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC had arbitrarily, after more than one year of review, ruled against issuing a federal water crossing permit for a tiny 7.8 mile pipeline Millennium needs to build from its main pipeline to an electric generating plant under construction in Orange County. The power plant is due to be completed in early 2018, and needs a fuel supply. In a historic decision, FERC overruled NY DEC in September (see 
In October the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection held a hearing on a proposed 488-megawatt natural gas-fired electric plant in Birdsboro, in Berks County, near Philadelphia (see 
THE Delaware Riverkeeper is a far-left, radical environmental group that is the self-appointed “caretaker” of the entire Delaware River Basin. It’s run by Maya van Rossum and gets its funding from a variety of foundations, mainly the William Penn Foundation. Riverkeeper’s cause célèbre is a complete, and permanent, ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin. They’d actually like a permanent ban throughout Pennsylvania (and every other state in the Union), but they’ll take a ban in the River Basin as a first step. Unfortunately Riverkeeper has the ear of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and has pressured the DRBC for years to institute a total ban on fracking. The DRBC finally took a step in that direction in September (see 
Yesterday Williams filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade certain facilities in New Jersey along the Williams mighty Transco Pipeline, in order to flow an extra 65,000 dekatherms per day (or 65 million cubic feet) of natural gas to a couple of utility companies that have already signed on the dotted line as customers. The project is called the Transco “Gateway Expansion Project” and will cost roughly $85 million. The upgrades include a new compressor unit at Transco’s existing Compressor Station 303 in Essex County, NJ, a new valve and electric transformer also in Essex County, and equipment upgrades at a metering station in Passaic County, NJ. Both PSEG Power and UGI Energy Services have signed up to receive the extra gas–to be distributed to their customers in the region. The extra 65K dekatherms that will flow because of the upgrades is enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of ~300,000 homes. Here’s the lowdown on this latest Williams project…
We’re wondering if anyone else smells a tad bit of hypocrisy with this one. In March, PJM Interconnection–the regional transmission organization (RTO) that operates the electric grid in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia (including PA, OH and WV), released a study saying even with fewer coal plants producing electricity, PJM’s electric supplies–using more and more natgas and renewables–will be just fine (see 
We told you back in September that the obsequious members of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will obey their radical environmental masters by voting to move forward with a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see 
In March, the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued a federal water crossing permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)–a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA (see 
Sadly, the “leaders” of Richmond County, VA have just voted to commit fracking suicide–a total ban on fracking in the county. They’re not the first. Last year King George County did the same thing, banning it in most of the county (see 
A group of ninny nannies calling themselves Protect PT (Penn Township, Westmoreland County), backed with money and legal help from Big Green group PennFuture, filed a lawsuit to try and stop Apex Energy and Huntley & Huntley (H&H) from drilling wells in the township. We first alerted you to the lawsuit in October, when we were only aware of Apex being in the group’s sights (see 
No doubt being advised and funded by national Big Green groups, a group of backbencher local green groups (Little Green) have taken the first step in what will no doubt turn into a lawsuit to try and stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project from getting built. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Atlantic Coast, a $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, in October (see 
We love Rob Powelson, newly-minted Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member appointed by President Trump. Before joining FERC, Powelson was a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. We love him because he speaks his mind. Although he’s circumspect about what he says, Powelson still finds a way to get in those zingers. You never have to wonder what he thinks. For example, in March of this year (before joining FERC), Powelson said this: “The jihad has begun…At the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission groups actually show up at commissioners’ homes to make sure we don’t get this gas to market. How irresponsible is that?” (see 
When we notice municipal referendums and ballot measures related to blocking shale drilling and pipelines, we always highlight them. Such a ballot measure appeared on the ballot in Bowling Green (Wood County), OH on Tuesday. We honestly were not aware of it prior to reading an article in the Toledo Blade. The ballot measure called for a ban on pipelines that flow natural gas and other fossil fuels over city-owned property. It’s aim is to prevent NEXUS Pipeline from building nearby. Antis got enough signatures for this glittering jewel to appear on the November ballot. And how did the good people of Bowling Green vote? They saw right through this one–voting it DOWN by a huge margin: 61%-39%. That’s a blowout, politically. But you know antis. Nothing, including the truth, will ever change their minds. The Bowling Green ballot measure was the work of out-of-towners–the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)–about whom we’ve written plenty (
In February 2016, MDN told you about Laclede Group, a St. Louis-based natural gas utility, with plans to build a ~60-mile pipeline from St. Louis through southwest Illinois and connect to the Rockies Express (REX) and Panhandle Eastern Pipeline (see