Regulation

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    Chester County, PA Town Floats Illegal Pipeline Ordinance

    Uwchlan Township in Chester County (near Philadelphia) has put itself on a path to get sued. The town is in the process of proposing and adopting new zoning ordinances that govern how pipelines can get built within town boundaries. The problem, of course, is that they don’t have that right. Federal pipeline projects are governed by federal law and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. State pipeline projects are governed by the state’s Public Utility Commission. Local yahoos can’t just take it on themselves to overturn federal and state law. Sorry boys and girls, it doesn’t work that way. You’ll need to suppress your inner anarchist. Some of the things the town wants sounds pretty tame: install secure fencing at the site, have an evacuation plan ready. But some things are certain litigation waiting to happen: pipeline operators must compensate the town for “any loss of tax revenue that results from a decline in real estate values” caused by construction the pipeline. And how, prey tell, will the town calculate that? Home values go up and down with the wind–year in and year out. Many factors beyond a pipeline affect property values. This is real hubris on the part of Uwchlan…
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    More Pushback on PA Senate Plan to Fix Slow DEP Permit Reviews

    There is a growing storm of opposition to a plan put forward by the Pennsylvania Senate in the current budget bill to fix the problem of long delays in issuing permits by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Enough traitorous Republicans in the Senate joined with just about all of the Democrats in the Senate to pass a budget bill that slaps new taxes on natural gas–a severance tax on drillers and a gross receipts tax on consumers (see Traitorous PA Senate Republicans Pass Severance Tax Bill). As an olive branch to the industry, Senate Republicans also included (in the budget bill) fixes to the slow DEP, to speed things up (see PA Senate’s “Olive Branch” of “Relaxed Regulations” for Drillers). The DEP has a policy of issuing erosion and sedimentation permits 14 days from the date of application. These types of permits are common and necessary when building roads, well pads, etc. Lately it has taken the DEP 250 days to issue those permits! Permits related to drilling wells are supposed to take no more than 45 days. Those permits now average 93 days. The DEP is hopelessly backlogged–and it’s getting worse. The Senate olive branch was meant to address this serious issue. But of course antis have (and continue) to come out in force to oppose the fix. Now, an assortment of previous Secretaries of the DEP have also voiced their concerns about the plan–including a voice we highly respect, Michael Krancer…
    Read More “More Pushback on PA Senate Plan to Fix Slow DEP Permit Reviews”

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    It Begins: Radical Group Demands FERC Re-Do ACP Pipeline Review

    Yesterday MDN brought you the news that the radical Sierra Club had prevailed in a federal lawsuit against a trio of pipeline projects in the southeast (see DC Court of Appeals Legislates New Law re FERC & Global Warming). The ruling by the D.C. Court of Appeals requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider the projects based on their potential impact on mythical man-made global warming. As we said yesterday, it won’t take long for Big Green groups to use the decision to make trouble at FERC for other projects. Indeed, it’s already begun. The Southern Environmental Law Center (radical leftist group) is calling on FERC to throw out its previous environmental assessment for the Dominion $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP)–a project that will run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. Southern Environmental Law Center says FERC must now weigh the impacts of the pipeline on global warming, because 80% of the natural gas flowing through it will feed clean-burning natural gas-fired electric plants in the South. Apparently the nutters would rather have dirty coal than clean natural gas for electric power generation. Or perhaps they prefer no electricity at all? Just turn off those air southern conditioners and sit in the dark and sweat. This turn of events–a blizzard of FERC challenges–was entirely predictable…
    Read More “It Begins: Radical Group Demands FERC Re-Do ACP Pipeline Review”

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    Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline Advances in PA

    In March of this year, Williams filed a full, official application for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project (see Williams Files with FERC to Expand Transco Pipeline to NYC, NE). The new project is meant to increase pipeline capacity and flows heading into northeastern markets. In particular, Transco wants to provide more Marcellus natural gas to utility giant National Grid beginning with the 2019-2020 heating season. National Grid operates in New York City, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There are a number of components to the project, but the key component, the heart of the project, is a new 23-mile pipeline from the shore of New Jersey into (on the bottom of) the Raritan Bay–running parallel to the existing Transco pipeline–before connecting to the Transco offshore. Much of the Raritan Bay pipeline is located in New York territorial waters. In a case of “here we go again,” the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which has been corrupted and politicized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, sent a notice to Williams in July (to their Transco subsidiary) to declare the application for a 401 water-crossing permit for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project is deemed “incomplete,” pending certain items (see NY DEC Tells Williams NE Supply Water Permit App is “Incomplete”). However, NY isn’t the only state involved. The project wants to build 10 miles of pipeline, build four roads and build a new compressor station (next to an existing compressor) in Pennsylvania. Even though the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been slow in issuing permits for drilling (see today’s story More Pushback on PA Senate Plan to Fix Slow DEP Permit Reviews), the DEP is far less dysfunctional than the NY DEC. The last Saturday the DEP published a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin that the agency will issue the necessary permits for the project in PA after a public comment period that ends on Sept. 18…
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    PA Senate Slips Anti-Landowner Measure into State Budget Bill

    Not only did the Pennsylvania Senate pull a real boner by voting for a severance tax and gross receipts tax (see Traitorous PA Senate Republicans Pass Severance Tax Bill), they also slipped another provision in the PA budget bill that, until now, has gone unnoticed. This new provision has big implications for both landowners and drillers. The Senate slipped in Section 1610 (see the language below) which changes established lease law with respect to oil and gas wells that no longer produce anything. Under existing law, when an oil or gas well stops producing–and the landowner quits getting royalty checks–the lease is considered terminated. Done. Finished. Under Section 1610, drillers can resurrect those dead leases under a couple of conditions. If the landowner doesn’t officially state “your lease is now dead since you’re not producing anything” a driller quick-like-a-bunny restarts production at the well and sends the landowner a check, it would re-start (or continue) the existing lease with its existing terms. Or if the driller sends a notice to the landowner stating its intention to drill a new well on the property, and if the landowner doesn’t object (given a 3-month time limit), the driller is free to begin drilling a NEW well, under the OLD lease terms. Section 1610 really stinks, in our humble opinion. It means a driller can drill a new shale well after an old conventional/vertical well quits producing–without having to sign a new lease or pay a new bonus or negotiate a new royalty rate. Doesn’t seem right to us!…
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    FERC Issues Rover 8 Commandments to Restart Horizontal Drilling

    Rover is a $3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada. While Phase 1A of the pipeline is essentially done and ready to begin service by the end of this month (see Rover Pipe Ready to Flow! Seeks FERC Permission for Aug 31 Start), other important parts of the pipeline are not done. If Rover wants the entire pipeline to be up and running by the end of the year, they must restart underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) in various locations where it is now stopped. In Ohio, Rover experienced a series of mishaps, the most serious of which spilled 2 million gallons of non-toxic drilling mud in a swamp near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). An investigation by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) found the presence of diesel fuel in the drilling mud, which means the mud wasn’t so non-toxic after all (see OH EPA Says Diesel Fuel Found in Rover 2M Gal Drilling Mud Spill). Rover believes sabotage may have been the cause (see ET Says Accident or Anti Sabotage Caused Diesel in Rover Mud Leaks). Since April, FERC has blocked all new underground HDD for the Rover project. Rover has asked (begged, pleaded) FERC, several times, for permission to restart the HDD work–at least in a few select locations. In July FERC gave Rover an initial todo list to get back in its good graces, but still would not lift the ban on HDD (see Frustrated FERC Gives Rover Todo List, HDD Drilling Still Blocked). FERC has finally responded with a list of eight (big) things Rover must do before HDD drilling can restart. We call them FERC’s Eight Commandments…
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    PA State Senator Floats Bill to Make Criminal Protesters Pay

    PA residents in Lancaster County have a keeper in freshman Senator Scott Martin. Back in May MDN reported that Martin was cooking up legislation to send the cleanup bill for illegal protests–to the protesters (see PA State Senator Introducing Law to Send Protesters Cleanup Bill). The bill is now here–Senate Bill (SB) 754 (full copy below). Sen. Martin has refined his ideas. Law and order folks (those of us who are sane, rational people) are tired of the lawless actions by a few who oppose pipelines, drilling, Trump…whatever. Sen. Martin and those in the drilling/pipeline industry fully support free speech the right of antis to make fools of themselves. It provides entertainment! What Sen. Martin and those in the industry don’t support, however, is when paid protesting thugs break the law by destroying property and blocking access to legal businesses attempting to do legal work. We saw how so-called environmentalists (who were actually anarchists) “protested” in South Dakota–leaving behind an environmental disaster that cost millions to clean up–far worse than any pipeline spill would have been. Police and first responders were deployed–at a cost of millions of dollars. South Dakota bore most of the cost. That is, taxpayers paid for it. Under Sen. Martin’s bill, if protesters break the law while protesting in PA, incidents that require police and other first responders to handle the situation, those law-breaking protesters will pay the cost of said police and first responders. WE LOVE IT! It’s about time people were actually held accountable for their illegal actions…
    Read More “PA State Senator Floats Bill to Make Criminal Protesters Pay”

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    KM Plans to Convert Tennessee Gas Pipeline to Flow M-U NGLs South

    TGP – section of pipeline to reverse & convert to NGLs (click for larger version)

    Here’s a story that wasn’t actively on our radar. It’s an old story, but is now in the news again with the recent quorum reestablished at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In August 2013, exactly four years ago, midstream giant Kinder Morgan and competitor midstream company MarkWest Energy (now part of Marathon Petroleum) signed a joint venture agreement to repurpose a significant portion of Kinder’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (964 miles of it) running from the Louisiana Gulf Coast to Ohio. That 964-mile portion of TGP currently flows natural gas from the Gulf northward. Kinder and MarkWest want to reverse the flow and instead flow natural gas liquids (NGL) through the pipeline from the Utica and Marcellus region south to the Gulf Coast. The project would also build a new 200-mile pipeline from TGP in Louisiana to Texas. In order to make the project happen, the first step is to ask FERC for permission to “abandon” (stop using) the 964-mile segment, called Pipeline No. 1, from Louisiana to Ohio. Which TGP did in Feb. 2015. The project progressed. Last November FERC issued a favorable environmental assessment for the project (full copy below). And then FERC lost a quorum of voting members in February of this year, stalling further progress. With a quorum now restored, antis in Kentucky, a state that seems to be allergic to any kind of pipeline for any purpose, have begun bellyaching about it. Which is what caught our attention. We’ve gathered together information we can find on this project–a potentially very important project–to move Marcellus/Utica NGLs to the Gulf Coast…
    Read More “KM Plans to Convert Tennessee Gas Pipeline to Flow M-U NGLs South”

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    Using FOIA, Antis Discover 2 Minor Infractions by Rover in WV

    Anti-fossil fuel activists attempting to stop the unstoppable Rover Pipeline are doing their best to smear and prejudice people against the project. Rover has had its share of problems. We’ve chronicled those problems–like leaking 2 million gallons of drilling mud in Ohio when performing underground horizontal directional drilling (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). The company also had problems with water filling up trenches dug for the pipeline when severe rain hit (see OEPA & Rover at Odds Over Storm Water Runoff, “Fine” Now $714K). Rover also had problems in West Virginia. The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection to stop work in two of four counties after storm water runoff/erosion issues there (see WV DEP Orders Rover to Stop Pipe Construction in 2 of 4 Counties). The stop work order was lifted after a few weeks. Antis, using the Freedom of Information Act, have “discovered” that Rover was cited for similar issues in two other counties. However, WVDEP and Rover worked it out and resolved those issues…
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    Antis Pressure Virginia DEQ to Delay or Deny Permits for 2 Pipelines

    Anti-fossil fuelers, aided and abetted by liberal local media, continues the drumbeat to pressure the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality to either block, or greatly slow down, approvals needed to build both the $5 billion, 594-mile Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project and the $3.5 billion, 301-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Both pipelines start in West Virginia. ACP crosses through Virginia and stretches into North Caroline. MVP terminates in southern Virginia. Some oppose the projects due to an insane hatred of fossil fuels (the same fossil fuels that make their existence and protest possible). Others don’t want a pipeline cutting across their favorite horse pasture. Ruins the look, ya know. There have been a blizzard of lawsuits and legal actions to try and stop both projects (see Corrosive Use of Legal System Attempts to Stop M-U Pipelines). However, antis have learned if they can pressure, coerce or otherwise threaten environmental agencies, that can be the most effective strategy of all. It has certainly worked in New York, where our Dept. of Environmental Conservation, bowing to political pressure, has (so far) blocked three urgent/critical pipeline projects. Virginia antis are hoping for a repeat there. If they can only pressure the DEQ into blocking or delaying ACP and MVP, it would give new meaning to their pathetic lives…
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    Faux “Conservative” Group Campaigns Against Fixing PA’s Broken DEP

    A national group of antis calling themselves “conservative” are attempting to meddle in the affairs of Pennsylvania. If you’ve been reading MDN for any time, you know about the current huge, stinking mess of a budget in Pennsylvania. Republicans, which control both the House and Senate, passed an unbalanced budget of $32 billion. Problem is, there’s only $30 billion of projected revenue. So after passing the spending part of the budget, they now have to “come up with” $2 billion to cover the difference. The pressure has been intense to punish the successful Marcellus industry by stealing even more of their money (PA already takes an overly generous portion of their profits). Senate Republicans caved to the pressure and floated a spending plan that includes a severance tax (see Traitorous PA Senate Republicans Pass Severance Tax Bill). The House, so far, has resisted the siren song that wants to lure them onto the rocks of killing the Marcellus industry. So far. The Marcellus industry has, for years, complained about the sloooooooow response times in approving drilling permits by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). As an olive branch to the industry, Senate Republicans also included (in the budget bill) fixes to the slow DEP, to speed things up (see PA Senate’s “Olive Branch” of “Relaxed Regulations” for Drillers). Now we hear from some national group, calling themselves Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, that the PA Senate plan to fix the DEP will create an environmental holocaust. Let us assure you, there is nothing “conservative” about Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship. They are Big Green liberals pretending to be conservative. They’re now spending big money (from their Big Green friends) to advertise, in a bid to pressure the legislature to dump the “fix the DEP” plan…
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    Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?

    In a disappointing, but perhaps not all that unexpected decision (full copy below), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday ruled against the Constitution Pipeline and their lawsuit against the Cuomo-corrupted New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC dithered, for years, on a decision about whether or not to grant stream-crossing permits (Section 401 permits, a federal Clean Water Act thing) to the Constitution Pipeline, a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY carrying Marcellus gas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized the project in 2014. Since that time the DEC delayed, and eventually denied permits for the project (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). So the Constitution (being built by Williams) sued the DEC in federal court (see Constitution Pipeline Case Goes to Court in 2 Weeks, Briefs Filed). We had hoped that the court would grant Constitution the right to commence building. But they didn’t. So now what? There are three options left for Constitution: (1) appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, (2) file a new case with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (a different court), or (3) request FERC take matters into its own hands by deciding the DEC took too long (which would probably be challenged at the D.C. Circuit). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is a different court than the Second Circuit that just ruled. Our best guess? Williams will take option #3 and ask FERC to overrule NY DEC and grant the permit themselves…
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    Rover Pipe Ready to Flow! Seeks FERC Permission for Aug 31 Start

    Click for larger version of Rover map

    While the Rover Pipeline remains in regulatory limbo with some of its construction, the vast majority of the pipeline as it snakes across Ohio is already done, or will be within the next few days. On Friday, Rover made an official request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin flowing natural gas through Phase 1A of the pipeline by August 31st. Phase 1A is three primary areas in Ohio: (1) the Cadiz Lateral, which is 3.5 miles of 30-inch diameter natural gas pipeline in Harrison County; (2) Supply Connector Line A, which is 18.6 miles of single, 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline from the Cadiz tie-in in Harrison County extending north to Mainline Compressor Station 1 and the interconnection with Mainline A in Carroll County; and (3) Mainline A, which is the bulk of the new pipeline through OH–190.9 miles of single, 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline originating at the Mainline Compressor Station 1 in Carroll County and terminating at the Defiance Compressor Station in Defiance County. In addition, Rover asked that the Panhandle-Rover Interconnect be turned on a few days ahead of the 31st so the gas will be ready to flow through the new Rover pipeline. This is (a) great news, and (b) something of a miracle, given the stiff headwinds Rover has faced with the Ohio EPA and FERC over several construction problems in recent months…
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    WV Legislature Panel on NatGas Dev Meets Tuesday, Forced Pooling?

    The West Virginia Legislature has appointed a new Joint Committee on Natural Gas Development, composed of Senators and Delegates, to put their collective heads together to see how they can encourage more oil and gas development in the Mountain State. The committee will meet tomorrow for the first time. The effort is being supported by the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA). In general, it certainly seems like a good idea–WV needs more drilling. However, WVONGA plans to use the committee as a platform to push its “modernized mineral efficiency laws”–i.e. forced pooling lite. As we reported last week, WVONGA is making an all-out push for new forced pooling laws in 2018 (see WVONGA Makes Plans to Push Forced Pooling Lite in 2018). There are two components to WVONG’s agenda: (1) Co-tenancy. The concept of co-tenancy means if a majority of mineral rights owners of a property (75%) want to lease the property for drilling, they can–even if a small 25% minority doesn’t want to lease. This helps overcome an urgent problem in WV where sometimes not all mineral rights owners can be found–or where someone with a sliver of the rights wants to blackmail (our word) the other rights owners for a larger share of the profits. (2) Joint development. This is the one we have a problem with. Currently there are a number of existing old leases, signed before shale drilling began, that prevents drillers from drilling a horizontal well across an individual property boundary line–until a new lease is signed. Joint development says if the driller already owns the leases on all adjoining properties that they want to combine into a drilling unit, they can do so without signing a new lease. WVONGA says it corrects a loophole that prevents more drilling from happening. Rights owners say joint development legislation lets drillers have a freebie–instead of signing a new lease (for more money), the driller gets something never envisioned when the original lease was signed. Although the topics of co-tenancy and joint development are sure to be raised tomorrow, the committee will look at more than just those issues. They will also consider how to attract more downstream (petrochemical) investment in the state…
    Read More “WV Legislature Panel on NatGas Dev Meets Tuesday, Forced Pooling?”

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    PA Gov. Wolf’s Non-Response Response on Atlantic Sunrise Delays

    Over the past year or more MDN editor Jim Willis has signed numerous petitions supporting the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project–but it wasn’t until he signed one at a recent Williams event that the got a response from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. Atlantic Sunrise is a $3 billion, 198-mile natural gas pipeline project, most of which will get built in northeast Pennsylvania. The project is ready to begin construction, NOW, but still needs a few permits from the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). In an attempt to get the DEP (and Gov. Wolf) moving, Williams co-hosted an event in July to pressure the DEP and Wolf into granting final permits (see Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Rally: ‘Time to Kick Politicians in the Ass’). As guests entered the event, held at the Shadowbrook Golf Course in Wyoming County, PA, they were asked to sign a petition supporting the project. The petitions were delivered to Gov. Wolf and the DEP. Perhaps signing a paper petition, instead of an online/electronic petition, did the trick. MDN received a form letter email response from Gov. Wolf (below). In his response, Gov. Wolf says he supports pipeline development, but that he also supports “strong regulations” to protect people’s health, water, air, blah-biddy blah blah. It is a masterful example of saying nothing at all, while trying to appear you’re saying something. Here’s what we “heard” in Wolf’s response: Screw you–the project will get approved when it gets approved and I don’t care when that is”…
    Read More “PA Gov. Wolf’s Non-Response Response on Atlantic Sunrise Delays”

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    The Legal Dance Between States and FERC in Pipeline Approvals

    MDN has enthusiastically covered the story of Millennium Pipeline’s challenge of the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) refusal to (so far) grant a federal Clean Water Act stream crossing permit for a short, 7.8-mile pipeline from Millennium to natgas-fired electric plant currently under construction in Orange County, NY. States are given a year to respond to a request for such a permit, and the DEC was long past that date. So Millennium took the DEC to court–the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In June the court dismissed the lawsuit by Millennium, which at first blush may seem like a blow. But it was the reasoning and opinion of the judges in dismissing the case that will change everything in New York. The judges said there is no case because if, as Millennium says, the DEC is denying the water permits, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) itself has the power to jump back in and simply override NY DEC and issue the permits (see DC Court Tells Millennium FERC Can Override NY DEC Pipeline Delay). Millennium took the judge’s advice and filed a request with FERC to do just that (see Showdown: Millennium Asks FERC for Permission to Ignore NY DEC). We’re now waiting the outcome of that request. Actually, the DEC said it has until the end of this month, August, to deliver the permit–so perhaps they will do it to avoid losing their power. How does these matters get resolved between states and FERC? Why do the Appeals Courts get involved when there is a dispute? Does the state have more than just a rubber-stamp approval role when it comes to issuing stream crossing permits? A well-written article from an energy attorney explains the process (something we found very helpful in our own understanding of how these things work)…
    Read More “The Legal Dance Between States and FERC in Pipeline Approvals”