Regulation

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    Frenemies: Millennium & NY DEC Fight Riverkeeper on Pipeline Upgrade

    THE Delaware Riverkeeper herself is back with more of her overlord’s money to file yet another frivolous lawsuit against a pipeline project in New York State. In August 2016, Millennium filed an application for what it calls its Eastern System Upgrade (see Millennium Pipe Asks FERC to Approve Eastern System Upgrade in NY). The ESU would add 7.8 miles of extra looped pipeline in Orange County, upgrade a compressor station in Delaware County, build a new compressor in Sullivan County and make some minor tweaks to metering stations in Rockland County. DON’T confuse this with another story appearing today on MDN–Millennium building a NEW 7.8 mile pipeline to a power plant in Orange County. That’s a completely separate/different project from this one. Although the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) refused to grant a water crossing permit for the 7.8 mile pipeline to connect a power plant, in September the DEC granted the same type of permit for the 7.8 mile looping project, the ESU (see NY DEC Grants Permit for Millennium Pipe Eastern System Upgrade). Here’s the new news: Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted a final OK for the ESU. The even newer new news: Immediately following FERC’s approval, THE Delaware Riverkeeper filed a request for rehearing with FERC and at the same time filed a lawsuit against the DEC’s September water permit approval for the ESU project. Which puts Millennium and the DEC on the same team opposing Riverkeeper. In one case (the power plant pipeline project) Millennium and the DEC are bitter enemies, suing and countersuing. In this case, they’re frenemies–forced to work together to oppose the nutjobs from Riverkeeper…
    Read More “Frenemies: Millennium & NY DEC Fight Riverkeeper on Pipeline Upgrade”

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    PA DEP Fines Cabot $99K for Paperwork Violations, Air Emissions

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is picking on Cabot Oil & Gas–or more properly, shaking them down for some cash. Yesterday the DEP announced it had reached an “agreement” with Cabot whereby Cabot will pay the DEP $99,000 “for air quality violations related to equipment at natural gas wells throughout Susquehanna County.” But that’s not all, Cabot failed to file some paperwork–a far more egregious violation for the DEP: “Cabot failed to submit complete compliance demonstration reports for 20 gas wells.” Bad, bad Cabot. Here’s news of the DEP’s latest shakedown of a company that has (so far) invested over $4.6 billion in a single northeast PA county…
    Read More “PA DEP Fines Cabot $99K for Paperwork Violations, Air Emissions”

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    More of Rover in Eastern Ohio Coming Online in Time for Star Wars

    The mighty Rover Pipeline project marches on toward 100% completion, even though the Ohio EPA is doing its best to stop it (see Rover Ignores Shrill Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Continue HDD Drilling). Because of previous issues with underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) first put the brakes on Rover, then later eased off the brakes, but still keeps Rover on a tight leash, preventing Rover from moving at the faster pace they’d like move at. Especially with respect to work in eastern Ohio. 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, designated Phase 1A, began flowing natural gas on Sept. 1st (see Big Portion of Rover Pipeline Now Up & Running – Thru Most of Ohio). However, Phase 1B work in eastern OH and WV, which will feed more Marcellus/Utica gas to the main part of the pipeline, has been stymied by slow HDD work. At least some of 1B is now ready to begin. Yesterday Rover asked FERC for permission to begin service on three lateral pipelines totaling nearly 62 miles, and to start up three compressor stations and seven metering stations–in Ohio’s Noble, Monroe and Harrison counties. Rover is asking FERC to hurry it up so they can begin service by next week, in time for the Star Wars: The Last Jedi premier on Dec. 14…
    Read More “More of Rover in Eastern Ohio Coming Online in Time for Star Wars”

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    FERC Clears TGP Orion Expansion to Begin Service to New England

    In October 2015, Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) filed their official, full application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking approval for their Orion Project (see Tennessee Gas Pipeline Files PA Orion Project with FERC). The $109 million project consists of 13 miles of new “looping” pipeline in Pike and Wayne counties, Pennsylvania. The project will boost capacity on the TGP by another 135 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), allowing TGP to pump more yummy Marcellus Shale gas to Mid-Atlantic and New England states. FERC gave final approval for the project in February of this year (see TGP Orion Project in NEPA Gets Final Approval by FERC). In March, Big Green group THE Delaware Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District requesting the court overturn a Clean Water Act permit granted to the project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In August, the Third Circuit rejected Riverkeeper’s request in a humiliating defeat (see Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Fed. Court Case Against NEPA Pipeline). According to the original plan, the TGP Orion upgrade will be complete and in-service by June 2018. December 2017 is certainly “by June 2018” and that’s a good thing, because Orion is now done and FERC has just given TGP the green light to start it up…
    Read More “FERC Clears TGP Orion Expansion to Begin Service to New England”

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    Marcellus/Utica Gas Soon Heading to Canadian Capital of Ottawa

    Iroquois Gas Transmission System is a natural gas pipeline that brings gas from eastern Canada to the New York City area. It is owned by TransCanada Corporation, Dominion Resources, KeySpan Corporation, New Jersey Resources Corporation, and Energy East Corporation. There have been plans, for years, to connect the Constitution Pipeline to the Iroquois and flow Marcellus/Utica gas to Canada by converting Iroquois to be bidirectional. As we all know, the Constitution has been stalled since 2014 because of the corrupt State of New York blocking it. There’s still hope that Constitution will get built. In October they asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to override the New York and allow the project to proceed (see Constitution Pipeline Asks FERC to Override NY DEC). Iroquois is no longer waiting on the Constitution. They’ve pushed forward and recently Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) voted to approve changing the Iroquois on their side of the border to be bidirectional, allowing Marcellus/Utica gas to begin flowing into Ontario–eventually all the way to the capital city of Ottawa by hitching a ride on TransCanada’s pipeline network. How cool is that? Marcellus/Utica gas supplying the capital of Canada. A report by the Ontario Energy Board says Marcellus/Utica gas is projected to supply up to 74% of Ontario’s natgas demand!…
    Read More “Marcellus/Utica Gas Soon Heading to Canadian Capital of Ottawa”

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    FERC Says Emails Prove Rover Lied About Demolishing This Old House

    In May 2015, Rover purchased a house in Carroll County, OH, located near where the pipeline, and a compressor station for that pipeline, is due to run. Rover bought the house to use for offices for several Rover affiliate companies. After buying it, Rover determined the house was “ill-suited for its intended purpose” and decided to demolish it. Problem was/is, that house was under consideration to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. The house was not yet on the list of Historic Places, but was on a list of properties under consideration. Their action in demolishing the house landed Rover in hot water with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Rover Pipeline in Hot Water Over Demolishing Historic House in OH). FERC said Rover should have reported their decision to demolish the house. Rover had to pay a “fine” of $2.3 million “to a fund administered by the Ohio History Connection Foundation and the State Historic Preservation Office” (see Rover Pipeline Paying $2.3M for Knocking Down Historic OH House). FERC issued a “Staff Notice of Alleged Violations” related to this old house in July of this year (see Rover Still in Hot Water w/FERC Over Demolishing This Old House). The notice says Rover “did not fully and forthrightly disclose all relevant information.” FERC also said, “Rover falsely promised it would avoid adverse effects to a historic resource that it was simultaneously working to purchase and destroy.” Because of the house demolition, FERC refused, and continues to refuse, to issue a blanket authorization for routine construction. In a FERC communication from last week, FERC says they have a smoking gun–copies of emails that prove Rover bought this old house with the intention of demolishing it right from the beginning…
    Read More “FERC Says Emails Prove Rover Lied About Demolishing This Old House”

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    DRBC Drops Permanent Frack Ban Bomb – Public Hearings in January

    We knew it was coming. We told you back in September that the obsequious members of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will slavishly obey their radical environmental masters by voting to move forward with a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see DRBC Votes Tomorrow on Permanent Frack Ban Resolution). The final ban language/regulation was dropped like a bomb yesterday by the DRBC. In dropping their bomb, the DRBC said (with no proof) that fracking “poses significant, immediate and long-term risks” to the waters in the basin. Then they declared, by fiat, that “High volume hydraulic fracturing in hydrocarbon bearing rock formations is prohibited within the Delaware River Basin.” Of course the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit may have another take on that (see DRBC Lawyer Nearly Faints 2nd Time When Questioned by Fed Judges). What happens now? Aside from the lawsuit cooking in the background to challenge the DRBC’s jurisdiction over fracking, the bureaucrats will hold a series of four public hearings in two locations–i.e. circus freak shows–where THE Delaware Riverkeeper herself and others will make pompous jerks of themselves and try to drown out landowners who want to express opposition to this injustice. Below we have a copy of the proposed regulation the lawless DRBC intends to adopt by fiat early next year, the list of public hearings (pro-gas needs to show up in force!), and reaction from antis and the industry…
    Read More “DRBC Drops Permanent Frack Ban Bomb – Public Hearings in January”

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    PA DEP Signals Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs Coming 1Q18

    Yesterday 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. The onerous regulations were originally prompted by bullying from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. Even though EPA pressure has disappeared under President Trump, PA Gov. Wolf still intends to push forward with these onerous and unnecessary regulations. Unnecessary? Really Jim? Yes, really. See our companion story today that a new Penn State study has found very small amounts of methane escape from Marcellus well pads and pipelines (see Penn State Study Finds Very Little Methane Leaks from Shale Infra.). Makes no difference. Wolf is set on this course and will attempt to ram it through, to win brownie points with his unhappy enviro left supporters, ahead of next year’s election. The DEP held a webinar yesterday to discuss this latest version of GP-5 & 5A, and lay out a timeline (early next year) for adopting it…
    Read More “PA DEP Signals Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs Coming 1Q18”

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    NC Plays “Death by a Thousand Questions” with Atlantic Coast Pipe

    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 has turned antagonistic toward Dominion’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 the plan submitted by Dominion for the pipeline project, claiming the erosion and sediment control plan is not up to snuff (see NC DEQ Rejects Plan for Atlantic Coast Pipeline – What’s Next?). Since that time Dominion has been back and forth with the DEQ. On Wednesday the DEQ sent Dominion a fourth round of questions. Dominion has 30 days to respond, and the DEQ another 60 days after that to respond to the response. Bingo, another 90 days gone, just like that. What this appears to be is “death by a thousand cuts,” or in this case, “death by a thousand questions”…
    Read More “NC Plays “Death by a Thousand Questions” with Atlantic Coast Pipe”

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    FERC Acting Chairman Vents About Big Green Groups Blocking Pipes

    FERC Acting Chairman Neil Chatterjee

    You know why Donald Trump is so popular out here in “flyover country,” where there are real, hard-working Americans? Because he’s not afraid to speak his mind. He doesn’t bother with appearances and inside-the-Beltway decorum where swamp dwellers never say what they really mean or think. Trump just says it–Tweets it, says it in speeches, in meetings. We love it! And we think more people in government should behave like Trump and just say what they really think. It looks like we have someone doing just that–a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) member, no less! Acting Chairman of FERC, Neil Chatterjee, had the temerity to tell the truth at an industry meeting yesterday. Chatterjee said that national enviro groups (antis) are using the legal system to delay approval of natgas pipeline projects. Er, a, OK. There’s really no mystery there. No revelation. No speaking out school. But the very fact that he said it has enviro antis up in arms–that he dared to simply utter the truth. Reuters is all concerned because uttering such truths is “rare for a regulator”–like maybe we should check Chatterjee to see if he has a fever. Since some of the worst of the worst–the Sierra Club and 350.org–have been repeatedly suing FERC (dozens of lawsuits!), it stand to reason (says Reuters), Chatterjee is talking about (gasp) those very groups! Ding ding ding ding. Give that Reuters reporter a prize. Chatterjee does, however, see a silver lining to all of these lawsuits: “Ultimately, lengthier approvals mean projects are better able to withstand legal challenge.” And that just ticks off the radicals all the more…
    Read More “FERC Acting Chairman Vents About Big Green Groups Blocking Pipes”

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    Canadian Antis Threaten to “Defend” Against Quebec Utica Drilling

    Advocating for anarchy (a doing away of laws and letting the mob rule) is not unique to radical environmentalists in the United States. Such anarchy is alive and well in the Canadian environmental movement too. The Utica Shale, which underlies much of the Marcellus Shale, also underlies part of Canada’s Quebec province. From time to time we highlight news concerning the Utica in Canada. There hasn’t been much news to highlight over the years since Quebec has had a moratorium on fracking since 2012. But as we reported in December 2016, something of a minor miracle happened–the Quebec National Assembly voted to pass Bill 106, ostensibly to support Quebec’s “clean power plan” (see Fracking in Canadian Utica Shale Takes Big Step Closer to Reality). The bill includes a section that “lays out a framework for oil and gas development” in Quebec. Then in September, Quebec did the unthinkable (for radical environmentalists)–they published draft Utica drilling regulations (see Quebec Government Publishes Draft Utica Fracking Regulations). Canadian driller Questerre believes Utica drilling can begin sometime next year (see Questerre Plans 8 Initial Well Pads in Canadian Utica 2018-2019). That news has antis in Canada going berserk. They’re now threatening that “the public will defend itself” if drilling is allowed. What do they mean by that? Sure sounds like a threat to us…
    Read More “Canadian Antis Threaten to “Defend” Against Quebec Utica Drilling”

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    PA DEP Makes Another Run at Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs

    In December 2016, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) unveiled new regulations to clamp down on methane emissions and other other air pollution that allegedly comes from shale drilling sites (see PA DEP Releases New Regs re Methane & Air Pollution at Drill Sites). The onerous new regulations, not in effect yet, were originally prompted by bullying from the Obama Environmental Protection Agency. Even though EPA pressure has disappeared under President Trump, PA Gov. Wolf still intends to push forward with these onerous (frankly, disastrous) regulations. According to the DEP, the proposed General Permit 5A (GP-5A) and the revised General Permit 5 (GP-5), will “establish updated Best Available Technology (BAT) requirements for the industry regarding air emission limits, source testing, leak detection and repair, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for the applicable air pollution sources.” After some final tweaks, the DEP released draft versions of the new permits (i.e. regulations) in February (see PA DEP Seeks Public Comment on Regs for Methane, Compressor Stns). The Marcellus Shale Coalition, among others, strongly pushed back on these unnecessary and costly regulations (see MSC Tells PA DEP What it Thinks of Onerous New Methane Regs). Following the pushback, there was a lull in activity. The lull is now over. Out of the blue, the DEP announced it would conduct a webinar tomorrow, Thursday. The announcement (below) indicates the DEP will provide “details of the updated GP-5 and new GP-5A general permits.” Is this yet another set of revisions to try and make these onerous regs more palatable? Or just an elaborate snow job to resell the same old onerous regs they already tried to foist on the industry?…
    Read More “PA DEP Makes Another Run at Onerous New GP-5 & 5A Methane Regs”

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    Rover Ignores Shrill Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Continue HDD Drilling

    On Monday MDN brought you the news that Captain Ahab, er, a, Ohio EPA director Craig Butler, had demanded Rover Pipeline stop all horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work now under way in the state because another (tiny, 200 gallon) drilling mud spill happened on November 16th (see Ohio EPA Continues Vendetta Against Rover Pipe, Demands HDD Stop). Butler sent a letter to Rover and has also sent it to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in yet another attempt to get FERC to halt work on the Rover project. Yesterday Rover thumbed its nose at Butler and instead asked FERC for permission to not only continue all current HDD work, but to begin new HDD work at several more locations in Ohio. Moby-Dick strikes back. Take that, Captain Ahab!…
    Read More “Rover Ignores Shrill Ohio EPA, Asks FERC to Continue HDD Drilling”

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    PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in EQT Wastewater Leak Case

    Buckle up while we explain the background for this story. In October 2014, the DEP fined EQT a whopping $4.53 million for a leaky wastewater impoundment in Tioga County, PA (see PA DEP Levies Biggest Fine Ever, $4.5M Against EQT). While EQT did not say there wasn’t a problem with leaks at the site, they did say the way the DEP calculated the fine is unreasonable and arbitrary. In fact, EQT says the DEP levied the fine and took EQT to court because a few weeks prior EQT had sued the DEP over a different matter–that is, sour grapes. EQT appealed the fine and the case all the way to the PA Supreme Court. In December 2015, the high court handed EQT a “procedural victory” by saying EQT has a point about the manner in which the DEP is calculating the fine (see PA Supreme Court Gives EQT “Procedural Victory” in $4.5M Fine Case). The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court, PA Commonwealth Court, for follow up work, and in January 2017, a three-judge panel ruled that the method the DEP currently uses to assess fines–by how many days pollution lingers, instead of by how many days the initial release of pollution lasted–is not legal nor common sense (see EQT Wins Court Case Against PA DEP re $4.5M Wastewater Leak Fine). The judges said such a method in fining, “would result in potentially limitless continuing violations.” Under the old way of calculating fines, the DEP was considering upping the fine on EQT to an insane $157 million. Calculating it under the new way will mean a fine of around $120,000. Not long after that ruling, the Environmental Hearing Board, a special “court” set up to hear appeals of DEP decisions, decided to reduce the original $4.5 million fine down to $1.1 million (see PA Hearing Board Reduces EQT Fine from $4.5M to $1.1M). We thought that would be the end of it. But no! Both the DEP and EQT appealed the matter back up to the PA Supreme Court and yesterday the Supremes heard the case once again…
    Read More “PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in EQT Wastewater Leak Case”

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    TransCanada Says FERC Approval for Mountaineer XPress May Slip

    In July 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a favorable final environmental impact statement (EIS) for both the Mountaineer XPress and Gulf XPress projects (see FERC Issues Favorable Final EIS for Mountaineer/Gulf XPress Pipes). Both projects are part of Columbia Pipeline Group (now owned by TransCanada), expansions of the Columbia Pipeline system. A favorable EIS means it’s a foregone conclusion that FERC will issue a certificate for the project to proceed–at some point. Mountaineer XPress includes 165 miles of new pipeline with approximately 2.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of transportation capacity from existing and future points of receipt along or near the Columbia pipeline system–most of it located in West Virginia. Gulf XPress consists of constructing seven new midpoint compressor stations along the existing Columbia pipeline system in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, with the aim of moving an additional 875 million cubic feet (MMcf) of Marcellus/Utica gas per day southward, to the Gulf Coast region. So far FERC has not given these two important Marcellus/Utica projects the final go-ahead. During TransCanada’s annual investor day webcast yesterday, Stan Chapman, president of TransCanada’s US natural gas pipelines business told investors (and the public) that although they had hoped for FERC approval by the end of this year, it’s now likely the approval will “slip into January”…
    Read More “TransCanada Says FERC Approval for Mountaineer XPress May Slip”

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    CELDF Ballot Measure Seeks to Ban Utica Shale in All of Ohio

    The ultra-radical group from Pennsylvania called the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is devoted to stirring up anarchy and lawlessness, not only in Pennsylvania but elsewhere, like Ohio. CELDF has launched a campaign to amend the Ohio State Constitution. Two CELDF ballot initiatives (full text below) would amend the Constitution to make it legal for local communities to usurp the state’s role in regulating oil and gas. We’ve written plenty about the CELDF, which is behind a number of bizarre lawsuits like the one claiming that an ecosystem is a “person” with rights (see CELDF Loses Case to Represent Ecosystem – Turtles Disappointed). One of the CELDF Ohio ballot initiatives would give ecosystems standing as people. Yeah, out there. CELDF hasn’t been able to get these kinds of ballot measures passed in Youngstown. They’ve tried and failed six times (see Youngstown, OH Frack Ban Ballot Measure Defeated for 6th Time). If they can’t get it passed once in a single municipality, what makes them think it will pass statewide? Who knows?! They obviously have money to burn and will do so in an effort to pass these two horrible amendments to the State constitution. The net effect of passing them would be to shut down Utica Shale drilling in many locations, and block pipelines in most locations. Passing these initiatives would bring chaos and disaster to the state. We seriously doubt Ohio’s politicians will let it happen–but then we just suffered through eight years of Barack Hussein Obama and a Congress that refused to make him obey the law. So anything can happen, which is why we’re raising the alarm. The unfortunate news is that Ohio’s Attorney General, a RINO, has “certified” both ballot initiatives. What that means is that if the nutters from CELDF get at least 305,591 signatures, the two initiatives will go on the ballot next November. Are there at least 305,591 whack jobs in the Buckeye State? We’re about to find out…
    Read More “CELDF Ballot Measure Seeks to Ban Utica Shale in All of Ohio”