Regulation

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    PA DEP Issues 4th Draft Wastewater Permit for York Electric Plant

    The Brunner Island Power Plant is located in York County, PA, but straddles Lancaster County. It is a huge 1,490 megawatt coal-fired electric generating plant, and has been the target of environmentalists for years. In February 2017, MDN told you that the new owners of the plant are investing $100 million to retrofit the plant so it can, at least part of the time, burn Marcellus Shale gas (see York County, PA Electric Plant Begins Using NatGas as Fuel). The plant was issued a draft permit by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) in April allowing the plant to discharge pollutants (into the atmosphere) and heated water into the Susquehanna River. It was the third such draft permit issued since 2011 when the last official permit expired. The DEP held a public hearing on the draft permit in July (see York, PA Elec Plant Dropping Coal for Now, Burning Marcellus Gas). At that time Talen Energy (the new owner) said it “plans to burn little or no coal until 2019 as part of a ‘site evaluation.’” Meaning almost all (perhaps all) of the fuel powering the plant is Marcellus Shale gas. Which is why we’re interested in the plant and what happens to it. Last Friday the DEP announced it has updated and issued a fourth draft permit and is accepting comments through February 20th. The DEP hopes the fourth time is the charm…
    Read More “PA DEP Issues 4th Draft Wastewater Permit for York Electric Plant”

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    A Sad Milestone: 10 Years Today Since NY First Banned Fracking

    My heart breaks for my fellow New Yorkers. Who could possibly have thought 10 years ago that a decade later there would still be no shale drilling in New York State? MDN’s “right hand man,” Chris Acker, was awake at the stroke of midnight last night and snapped the screenshot below, marking the exact 10-year anniversary for NY’s frack ban. The ban first started as a “temporary” moratorium–as these things always do. “Just give us a little more time to get the regulations right.” The “little more time” turned from months into years, and years have accumulated into (now) decades. It’s the standard liberal/anti playbook: Delay, Deny, and then Defend the indefensible actions taken. Our beloved state is rife with corruption–at the highest levels. Everyone knows our governor, Andrew Cuomo, is corrupt. A number of the people around him, some of his closest confidants, are either in jail or on trial. But somehow he escapes the long arm of the law. Cuomo has caved to pressure from his extreme left in directing the Dept. of Environmental Conservation to not only ban fracking, but also block and obstruct pipelines. It is sick and disgusting. Cuomo has stripped Constitutional property rights away from thousands of New Yorkers–and nobody says or does anything. This is how tyranny takes root and grows. NY is a case study. Look at the country of Venezuela today–that’s what NY will be in 30 years. Come back and read it here on MDN 30 years from now (when we’re dead and gone) to see that we were right. At any rate, as long as we have breath, we will continue to fight the good fight against the forces of evil and darkness here in NY…
    Read More “A Sad Milestone: 10 Years Today Since NY First Banned Fracking”

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    FERC Grants Final Approval for PennEast Pipe – Real Battle Begins

    PennEast Pipeline Route – click for larger version

    It took over three years, but finally (finally!) PennEast Pipeline received a full, final kiss of approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Friday. One of the five FERC commissioners–Democrat Richard Glick (wind lobbyist, hand-picked by Chuck Schumer), voted against approving the project. Why are we not surprised? PennEast is a $1 billion, 120-mile primarily 36-inch natural gas pipeline that will stretch from Dallas (Luzerne County), PA to Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington (Mercer County), NJ. The pipeline is an important conduit to move gas from the prolific gas fields of northeastern PA to markets in southeast PA and New Jersey. From the beginning of the project there have been a collection of so-called environmental organizations opposing it–including THE Delaware Riverkeeper, NJ Sierra Club, and the NJ Conservation Foundation. All radical groups, far far out of the mainstream. Unfortunately NJ elected an authoritarian Democrat as governor–Phil Murphy (see Dem Candidate for NJ Gov Opposes PennEast, After He $upported It). Murphy (a tool of Big Green) intends to obstruct PennEast any way he can (he said so during the campaign). So the fight for PennEast is far from over. The real battle is just beginning. However, with FERC on their side, PennEast can begin construction this year, in 2018. The more pipeline laid in the ground, the harder it becomes for Murphy and his radical supporters to stop it…
    Read More “FERC Grants Final Approval for PennEast Pipe – Real Battle Begins”

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    BLM Auctioning Another 345 Ac. in OH Wayne Natl Forest – March 22

    Wayne National Forest

    Another 345 acres of mineral rights will be auctioned off by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (WNF) on March 22nd. This will be the fifth auction of land in WNF by the BLM. The most recent round was in December, when BLM auctioned 350 acres in Monroe County, OH netting $944,000 (see BLM Raises $944K from 4th Ohio Wayne Natl Forest Auction). This time around there are two parcels–39.65 acres and 305.84 acres. Which may not sound like much–so what’s the big deal? WNF is a “patchwork” of public land scattered among private land. Some 60% of the mineral rights below WNF are privately owned. Those mineral rights owners were denied the use of their property rights for more than a decade–until the BLM finally began auctions of government mineral rights in BLM in 2016 (see BLM Launches Auction to Lease Wayne National Forest for Fracking). The government portions of the patchwork are needed to combine with the private portions in order to form drilling units large enough to drill on/under. That’s why this is a big deal. Below is the information we could find on this next (5th) round of mineral rights auctions in WNF…
    Read More “BLM Auctioning Another 345 Ac. in OH Wayne Natl Forest – March 22”

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    PA DEP Invites Public Comment on Shell 60-Mile Ethane Pipeline

    Falcon Ethane Pipeline proposed route – click for larger version

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is taking a close look at Shell’s proposal to build an ethane pipeline to feed the $6 billion cracker plant now under construction in Beaver County, PA. In fact, the DEP wants public input on the ethane pipeline–by Feb. 20th. Brief history: In February 2016, MDN brought you exclusive news that Shell had begun approaching landowners in Beaver County to get them to sign easements for two ethane pipelines to feed the mighty cracker plant they plan to build in the county (see Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant). At that time Shell had still not fully committed to building the cracker–something they finally did in June 2016 (see Breaking: Shell Pulls the Trigger, PA Ethane Cracker is a Go!). NGI’s Shale Daily broke a story in August 2016 that shed new light on the project–news that Shell is working on an ethane “pipeline system” with two “legs” to feed the cracker, confirming the tip we received in February (see Shell Working on 94-Mile Ethane Pipeline to Feed PA Cracker). Last October Shell filed an application with the PA DEP for the PA portions of the pipeline (see Shell Files PA Application for Ethane Pipe to Feed Cracker Plant). The DEP is now considering those portions–some 60 miles running through the state. Here’s how you can comment on/support the project…
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    NY DEC Asks Court to Toss FERC Order re Millennium Pipe Project

    Millennium Pipeline is building a tiny, 7.8 mile pipeline in Orange County, NY that will connect the main Millennium pipeline to the CPV Valley Energy Center gas-fired electric plant. Both projects are currently under construction. Millennium’s project, called the Valley Lateral Project, was opposed by the corrupt Andrew Cuomo Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC refused to grant necessary permits for the federal project, so the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted to overrule DEC and allow it to be built anyway (see History Made! FERC Overrules NY DEC on Millennium Pipe Permit). The DEC took FERC to court, but in December, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the DEC’s request to block the beginning of construction (see Fed Court Denies NY DEC Bid to Block Power Plant Pipe Construction). Construction subsequently began immediately. The DEC, no doubt goosed on by the corrupt Cuomo, has just come back to the Second Circuit with a different request. This time the DEC wants the court toss out FERC’s approval of the project, saying if the FERC approval stands, any company could file a half-baked (i.e. “incomplete” according to DEC standards) application for a water crossing permit and that doesn’t give DEC enough time to chase in a completed application. In other words, companies would “run out the clock” by saying DEC took more than a year to approve an application. DEC calls it “sandbagging” by delaying important information. Somehow DEC’s protestations ring particularly hollow, since they themselves are famous for sandbagging…
    Read More “NY DEC Asks Court to Toss FERC Order re Millennium Pipe Project”

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    Ohio EPA Continues Campaign to Stop Rover Pipe, Hounds FERC Again

    The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) continues to hound the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) about a potential spill of drilling mud by Rover Pipeline near the Tuscarawas River. Last week we told you that OEPA, which has ZERO regulatory oversight of the Rover Pipeline project, had been told (by informants) that when Rover restarted underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work at the Tuscarawas site, some 146,000 gallons of drilling mud went down the hole but never came back out (see OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River). In April 2017 Rover experienced an inadvertent return (i.e. spill) of some 2 million gallons of drilling mud at the same location (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). Last year’s accident shut down all HDD work for months. It wasn’t until December that FERC allowed Rover to restart HDD work at the Tuscarawas site. After OEPA went blabbing to FERC last week, Rover pushed back by saying there has been no spill or inadvertent return (see Rover Refutes Ohio EPA Claim of 146K Gal. Spill @ Tuscarawas River). We theorize that some (maybe even all 146,000 gallons) of the drilling mud did go down the hole and stayed down the hole. So far it hasn’t come back out, which is not a problem in anyone’s book. OEPA was back at FERC on Friday like an ankle-biting Chihuahua, asking FERC to shut down Rover HDD work because of this unsubstantiated rumor of drilling mud gone missing. Enough is enough! When will FERC slap OEPA around and tell them to back off?…
    Read More “Ohio EPA Continues Campaign to Stop Rover Pipe, Hounds FERC Again”

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    NC Continues to Delay Atlantic Coast Pipe, Rejects Part of Erosion Plan

    North Carolina has a Democrat governor. The state Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is an executive branch agency. So it’s no surprise to learn that the DEQ is antagonistic toward Dominion Energy’s $5 billion, 594-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP)–a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. In October the DEQ rejected a plan submitted by Dominion for the pipeline project, claiming the erosion and sediment control part of the plan is not up to snuff (see NC DEQ Rejects Plan for Atlantic Coast Pipeline – What’s Next?). What’s happened since that time? Dominion resubmitted the plan, and in early January DEQ approved part of the erosion/sediment control plan (for the southern part of the project) but rejected the other part (for the northern part of the project). As we previously pointed out, DEQ is currently playing death by 1,000 questions with Dominion, trying to tie the project up in knots (see NC Plays “Death by a Thousand Questions” with Atlantic Coast Pipe). DEQ’s poor behavior continues. Here’s an update on where things stand, and what Dominion will need to do to get ACP approved in the Tar Heel State…
    Read More “NC Continues to Delay Atlantic Coast Pipe, Rejects Part of Erosion Plan”

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    Adelphia Gateway Pipeline Near Philly Files with FERC

    Adelphia Gateway Pipeline map – click for larger version

    In November MDN shared the exciting news that an old oil pipeline stretching from Northampton County, PA through Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties, terminating in Delaware County at Marcus Hook, had been purchased by a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources and will get converted to flow Marcellus natural gas to the greater Philadelphia region (see Oil Pipeline Near Philly to be Converted to Flow Fracked NatGas). The project/pipeline is called the Adelphia Gateway. Adelphia ran an open season–a period of time when shippers can reserve capacity along the pipeline–and got requests for twice the amount of capacity the pipeline will hold (see Converted Pipeline Near Philly Gets 2X More Interest than Capacity). That was more than enough for NJ Resources to move forward with the project. Last week they filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to convert the existing pipeline to flow natural gas, and add various facilities (like meter stations) along the way…
    Read More “Adelphia Gateway Pipeline Near Philly Files with FERC”

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    Energy Corp of America Fined $1.7M for Drilling Violations in PA

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has just collected a whopping $1.7 million fine from Energy Corporation of America (ECA) for violations at 17 well sites in Cumberland, Jefferson, and Whiteley Townships in Greene County, and Goshen Township in Clearfield County. ECA’s violations? “Failure to properly contains fluids in onsite pits, unauthorized discharge of industrial waste into groundwater, unauthorized disposal of residual waste, failure to restore the pits and well sites, and operating solid waste storage, treatment, and transfer facilities without permits.” Pretty serious stuff. Essentially, ECA (according to DEP) was sloppy in how they handled flowback and brine, using open pits to store it long after their use was outlawed under new Chapter 78a regulations were adopted. Spills from those pits contaminated a water well of one nearby resident. It’s interesting to MDN that as you read the consent order (full copy below), not only is ECA listed, but also “Greylock Production.” You may recall our news from late last year that ECA reorganized itself under a new name–Greylock Energy–shafting existing shareholders in favor of a new investor, ArcLight Capital (see ECA Sells Marcellus/Utica Assets to ArcLight Capital – Shareholders Shafted). The fine was assessed against and paid by ECA and Greylock jointly, confirming our conclusion that ECA had simply changed the nameplate on the door to Greylock…
    Read More “Energy Corp of America Fined $1.7M for Drilling Violations in PA”

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    Rover Refutes Ohio EPA Claim of 146K Gal. Spill @ Tuscarawas River

    Yesterday we brought you the news that the Ohio Dept. of Environmental Protection (OEPA) had made claims, in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), that Rover Pipeline’s restart of underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) near the Tuscarawas River had resulted in a second large spill of drilling mud–146,000 gallons (see OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River). OEPA claims to have spies that told them that while drilling 146,000 gallons of drilling mud had disappeared “down hole.” That typically means the mud will reappear somewhere on the surface. OEPA does not regulate the Rover project–it is a FERC/federally regulated project. And that frosts OEPA’s director, tattletale Craig Butler. Except this time it appears OEPA was mistaken, or perhaps acting on bad information. According to a statement by Energy Transfer, builder of Rover, there has been no “release” or “spill” of drilling mud a second time at the Tuscarawas River site…
    Read More “Rover Refutes Ohio EPA Claim of 146K Gal. Spill @ Tuscarawas River”

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    PA House Advances “Fix DEP & Other Agencies” Plan with 5 Bills

    As part of the Pennsylvania Senate’s misguided and mangled budget bill last year, Republicans managed to slip in fixes to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) chronic delays in issuing permits related to shale drilling (see PA Senate’s “Olive Branch” of “Relaxed Regulations” for Drillers). Unfortunately the fixes came out before the final budget passed. Problems remain for Marcellus drillers. Delays are long in the Keystone State when it comes to permits for shale wells. The problems NEED to get fixed, now. In early January, PA House Rep. Greg Rothman introduced a standalone bill to address the problem (see Bill Introduced to Fix PA DEP’s Extreme Delays Issuing Permits). Rothman’s bill, House Bill (HB) 1959, would give certified third parties the right to review and force the DEP to issue permits when/if the DEP can’t get off it’s duff and do it in a timely manner. Not long after Rothman’s bill was introduced, a second bill was introduced, by State Rep. Brian Ellis (see New Bill Would Force PA DEP to Work WITH the Marcellus Industry). Ellis’ bill, HB 1960, is called the “State Agency Regulatory Compliance Officer Act” and will create a new Regulatory Compliance Officer position in each state agency, including the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). The new Compliance Officer would have the authority “to block an agency from imposing fines and penalties for violations and to rewrite the policies under which fines and penalties are imposed.” The aim of the bill is to force all PA state agencies (including the DEP) to work *with* the people and companies they regulate, rather than play gotcha. Those two bills, plus three more, are part of a suite of bills being offered by the PA House “Common Sense Caucus.” The Caucus, headed by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, released a report yesterday called the 2017-18 Regulatory Overreach Report (full copy below). The report gives examples of egregious regulatory overreach and proposes five bills, including HB 1959 and HB 1960, to fix the problem. Note the Caucus is not just picking on DEP with this proposed fix–they ambitiously want to make all state agencies work better…
    Read More “PA House Advances “Fix DEP & Other Agencies” Plan with 5 Bills”

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    OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River

    Ohio EPA (OEPA) director Craig Butler, aka Captain Ahab, continues his mission to harpoon that rascally great white whale known as the Rover Pipeline. Somehow Captain Ahab, er, a, Mr. Butler has “learned” that underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) Rover was recently allowed (by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to resume near the Tuscarawas River (over the objections of OEPA) has “lost” 146,000 gallons of drilling mud “down hole.” This is at the same location where Rover previously lost 2 million gallons of drilling mud down hole, some of which turned up back on the surface, at a swamp (aka “wetland”) located next to the Tuscarawas (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). That 2 million gallon “spill” in April of last year triggered a shutdown of all HDD work in Ohio. It was only in December that Rover was allowed, by FERC, to resume more HDD work at the Tuscarawas site (see FERC Gives Rover OK to Resume All HDD Work, Incl. Tuscarawas River). Butler’s spies have reported to him that more drilling mud, some 146,000 gallons, has disappeared into the earth during HDD drilling at the Tuscarawas site. Some perspective on this alleged news: First, how did Butler even know of a “problem”? OEPA doesn’t regulate the Rover project! Second, since Rover doesn’t answer to OEPA (which frosts Butler), Butler runs like a tattling child to FERC with every perceived violation he can trump up–even though he doesn’t have all the facts. Third, even though drilling mud may disappear down hole, that doesn’t mean the mud comes back to the surface. Sometimes it stays down there–forever. Fourth, even if the mud does come back to the surface, drilling mud is nontoxic–the same stuff used in kitty litter, cosmetics and toothpaste. The only thing an overabundance of spilled mud can do is smother a few fish. This latest ploy by Butler to tattle on Rover to FERC is his attempt to try and manipulate FERC into shutting down Rover’s HDD work once again…
    Read More “OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River”

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    PA DEP Considers Rule Reducing/Eliminating VOC Emissions for O&G

    On Jan. 24 the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee will hold a meeting in Harrisburg to discuss, among other things, RACT (“reasonably available control technology”) regulations for the oil and gas industry. The new regulations are aimed at further reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions at oil and gas sites. The new regs, scheduled to go into effect in 2021, will require the use of technology to achieve a 95% reduction in VOCs from existing sources, including storage tanks, pneumatic pumps and centrifugal compressors. Supposedly this is a requirement being driven by a Control Technology Guideline (CTG) from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. We’re not sure whether conventional/vertical, or unconventional/shale will be affected by the coming changes. We suspect both will be affected. So it behooves the industry to get involved now, while there’s still time to tweak the new regs…
    Read More “PA DEP Considers Rule Reducing/Eliminating VOC Emissions for O&G”

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    Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC

    This is a bitter and sad day. The five Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a decision yesterday (copy below) that FERC will not overrule an illegal decision by the corrupt Cuomo Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to block construction of the Constitution Pipeline (which FERC approved in 2014). Is this truly “lights out” for the Constitution? It would seem so. Cuomo’s DEC took more than two years to evaluate and eventually reject the Constitution Pipeline–a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into NY and New England (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Constitution went to federal court to overturn that decision, but ultimately failed last August (see Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?). But then a ray of hope appeared in the galaxy. FERC overruled NY DEC in another pipeline case, so Constitution filed a request with FERC to overrule NY DEC in their case (see Constitution Pipeline Asks FERC to Override NY DEC). FERC wanted to overrule DEC again. You can read between the lines and detect it in yesterday’s decision. But ultimately FERC could not overrule the DEC because the DEC rejected the permit with four days left ticking on a one-year clock (we explain it all below). So this question: Are all avenues exhausted for Constitution? Is the ray of hope in the galaxy now extinguished? Will evil (i.e., the Cuomo-corrupted DEC) rule the galaxy? According to Williams, Constitution’s builder, the answer is an emphatic, “NO!” Williams will first file with FERC, asking them to rehear their decision (which we don’t think is likely). If FERC denies the rehearing request, Williams is prepared to appeal FERC’s decision to federal court…
    Read More “Death of the Constitution Pipeline? FERC Refuses to Overrule NY DEC”

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    Dominion Files FERC Request to Expand Pipeline from PA to OH

    On Wednesday, Dominion Energy filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand capacity along the existing Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. (DETI) pipeline from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Why? To flow more gas that will be used to generate electricity for the Midwest market. The project, called the Sweden Valley Project, is projected to cost $48 million and add another 120 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of PA Marcellus Shale gas to the existing flow along DETI. Dominion says all 120 MMcf/d are already contracted and spoken for–by an unnamed customer. Notice the headline says “expand” and not “extend.” This project would build a tiny three miles of new pipeline, with the new pipeline lying next to existing pipeline (in Greene County, PA). The only greenfield construction is building a 1.75-mile pipeline to connect with the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Tuscarawas County, OH. The other main part of the project is updating three units a compressor station in Licking County, OH. In the constellation of pipeline projects that disturb earth and disrupt landowners, this one is pretty minor–yet it will deliver big results by flowing an extra 120 MMcf/d of gas west to a new market…
    Read More “Dominion Files FERC Request to Expand Pipeline from PA to OH”