Regulation

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    Canadian Regulators Line Up to Support TransCanada Lowball Plan

    TransCanada, one of Canada’s leading midstream/pipeline companies, cooked up a deal last year to pipe natural gas from Canada’s West Coast to the East Coast in order to fend off cheap supplies of Marcellus/Utica gas that will flow into Canada when/if the NEXUS and Rover pipelines get built (see TransCanada Pipe Drops Price 42% to Compete with Marcellus/Utica). TransCanada dropped their pipeline price to lure drillers by (theoretically) making it less expensive to get gas from Western Canada, some 2,400 miles away, than from the Marcellus, just 400 miles away. In October, TransCanada launched an open season to lock up customers for the new, lower-priced option. The open season was a bust because TransCanada insists on a 10-year commitment (see TransCanada Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Using Canada Pipeline a Bust). TransCanada revived their plan in February. The original deal required a 10-year term with a long-term tolling rate between C$0.75/GJ to C$0.82/GJ. In February, the advertised deal was for a 10-year term and a simplified single rate of C$0.77/GJ (see TransCanada Revives Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Using Canada Pipeline). Although it looked almost like the same deal all over again with the same 10-year term and about the same price, TransCanada dropped a minimum amount to be shipped and is letting shippers opt out after five years under certain conditions. The changes worked (see TransCanada Says Plan to Lowball M-U Gas Worked, Shippers Sign Up). The plan needs a bevy of regulatory approvals, not only from the National Energy Board but also provincial agencies as well. Those agencies are now falling into line and giving their blessing, which has to happen by November 1st…
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    Radical Enviro Groups Ask FERC for Full Investigation of ET Rover

    Here is a short list of radical environmental groups that are despicable and loathsome in every sense of the word: Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, Freshwater Accountability Project, Friends for Environmental Justice, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Iowa, Keep Wayne WILD, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Ohio River Citizens’ Alliance, and Oil Change International. They have dedicated themselves to stopping work on, and ultimately blocking, Energy Transfer’s (ET) $3.7 billion, 711-mile Marcellus/Utica Rover natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada. The problem, however, is that ET has given these groups an open door to pedal their anti-fossil fuel nonsense. Indeed, ET has given them an open door to block further progress on building Rover. How? By rushing construction that has led to a string of accidents and incidents, alienating the thin-skinned Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and a number of landowners. One of the accidents, perhaps the most prominent accident that’s been the focus for much of the radical’s efforts, was a 2 million gallon spill of drilling mud into a wetland near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). After receiving a tip, the OEPA tested some of the recovered drilling mud and claim they found diesel fuel mixed in (see OH EPA Says Diesel Fuel Found in Rover 2M Gal Drilling Mud Spill). That finding led the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to launch an investigation. On Wednesday, the radical groups we list above sent a five-page letter to FERC requesting a “formal and full investigation” of the entire Rover project. In other words, shut it all down and give Rover a detailed anal exam. Every day the Rover Pipeline goes over its projected online date, the company loses $10 million. If FERC agrees to the nutters’ request, well, let’s just say it’s not good news for ET…
    Read More “Radical Enviro Groups Ask FERC for Full Investigation of ET Rover”

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    Radical Enviros Now the Tail Wagging the PA DCNR Dog re Funding

    As they so often do, radical environmentalists are creating chaos and confusion–this time in Pennsylvania. As MDN reported, earlier this week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of Appeals, in a sharply divided 3-2 decision, sided with a virulent anti-drilling group, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation, against the state in saying that any revenue generated from leasing and drilling on state-owned land MUST be used solely for conservation and the environment (see PA Supreme Court Hands Antis Partial Victory re State Land Drilling). The aim of the PA EDF is to disrupt Marcellus Shale drilling by any means necessary. This is one of those means. The three liberal justices who rendered the decision say the law is clear on intent–that money raised from leasing state-owned lands for drilling must be used for environmental purposes. Now the PA EDF is arrogantly telling the State of Pennsylvania that the money raised from drilling can’t be used for general operating expenses of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)–the very organization that oversees the state lands and is in charge of said leasing. In the upcoming budget, due to be ratified by June 30th, PA Gov. Tom Wolf and the legislature had planned to use $100 million from the lease and royalty fund to “pay for DCNR’s daily operations or be transferred to another fund for statewide environmental and infrastructure projects.” But in an ominous threat, the EDF lawyer said spending money on DCNR operations “doesn’t comply with the court opinion on how the funds can be used.” Which begs the question: What in the world CAN you spend the $100 million raised from royalties and lease fees on?…
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    Mountain Valley Pipeline Final Enviro Impact Statement Due Today

    The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a $3.5 billion, 303-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA. The project, which filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in October 2015, is being built by EQT, NextEra Energy and several other partners. The project has faced stiff opposition from landowners in both West Virginia and Virginia. Although the project is not yet fully approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the project did get a favorable Draft Environmental Impact Statement from FERC last September (see FERC Gives WV to VA Mountain Valley Pipeline Provisional Thumbs Up). MVP had wanted a final Environmental Impact Statement by March 10th, but that didn’t happen. Instead, FERC delayed a final EIS until today, June 23rd. What happens after MVP gets a (presumably) favorable final EIS? Right now FERC doesn’t have a quorum of commissioners who can vote to allow construction to begin. However, the hope around Washington, DC is that the Senate will take a final vote on two new commissioners before the July 4th holiday. If that happens, FERC may well vote to allow MVP to begin at any time following a quorum…
    Read More “Mountain Valley Pipeline Final Enviro Impact Statement Due Today”

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    RINOsaurs Enlist Help from Big Oil to Push Insane Carbon Tax

    A group of creaking, tottering old RINO (Republican in Name Only) dinosaurs (i.e. RINOsaurs) left the golf course long enough to lobby President Trump on the insane idea of a so-called “carbon tax” back in February (see RINOsaurs Lobby Trump to Enact Socialist “Carbon Tax”). Two of them were from the Ronald Reagan Administration–George Shultz and James Baker III, both former Secretaries of State. A carbon tax is nothing more than a way to slap a regressive tax on every citizen of the country–as if we aren’t already taxed enough. If you live in the great middle class of this country, you already pay close to 50% of your income in various federal, state, local, property, sales and other taxes. Add it up sometime, you’ll see we’re not exaggerating. A group of Republican “elder statesmen” (as fake news source CNN calls them) met with Team Trump at the White House to push this disastrous plan, calling it (be careful not to vomit), “conservative.” There’s nothing conservative about it. We thought perhaps that was the end of it, and the the RINOsaurs lumbered back to the golf course. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Somehow the old farts have now enlisted the help of some Big Oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and BP, to help push a carbon tax in the U.S. We have little doubt Trump will go for it (he’s not stupid, like establishment swamp dwellers around DC). However, we find it troubling that people in our industry are buying into the hype around man-made global warming, and see a tax as the potential fix…
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    Fixing the Nearly Unfixable EPA – Abuses, Collusion & Coverups

    The federal Environmental Protection Agency has been a rogue agency for years under the previous Obama administration. To be fair, the agency has been a problem long before that–pretty much since its inception. Now that President Trump is attempting to reign in the EPA by trimming its budget and focusing it on its original intent–to clean up America’s air and water–leftists are having a cow. In a devastating column published by Dr. Jack Rafuse, a former White House energy adviser, Rafuse exposes some of the egregious collusion and criminal cover-ups perpetrated by the EPA. Rafuse lays bare the swamp that needs draining at the EPA, providing justification for Trump’s actions in reigning in this rogue agency. This is the real news that fake newsers in mainstream media won’t tell you…
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    Duke, Piedmont Ask FERC to Extend Atlantic Coast Pipe Contract

    It takes a lot longer these days to get a big pipeline approved than it used to. In April 2014, Dominion promoted an open season for what would later become the $5 billion, 594-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline–a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. By September 2014, Dominion said they had enough commitment to move forward with the project (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). Little did Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas (now owned by Duke) know that in signing up for the project, it still wouldn’t be built more than three years later. True fact: It only took 410 days to build the Empire State Building, from the first shovel of dirt moved to opening the doors on the completed building. Some 102 stories high, tallest building in the world for decades. Nowadays it takes half a decade just to get a pipeline approved! This is nuts, folks. At any rate, Duke Energy and Piedmont have just filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the contracts they signed to use Atlantic Coast because as of June 30, 2017, those contracts expire if the pipeline isn’t built. Duke is interested in seeing the pipeline get built, so they can use it…
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    Wayne County Landowner Files Brief in Case Against DRBC Frack Ban

    Whatever happened to the lawsuit filed by a Wayne County, PA landowner against the egregious overreach by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) in its ongoing stall/delay/block of any shale drilling within the Basin? In March, MDN reported that U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani ruled against the Wayne landowner in a lawsuit that challenged the right of the DRBC to stop fracking in the Delaware River Basin (see Judge Tosses Wayne County, PA Landowner Lawsuit Against DRBC). At first blush, it may seem like a setback for landowners in Wayne and Pike Counties who have been denied the right to lease and allow drilling under their land for the past 10 years. But looks can be deceiving. As we pointed out in our article, if you read the judge’s decision, he harpoons all of the DRBC’s legal arguments, but in the end rules against the landowner. Why? Because the judge wanted to send the case to a higher court for an ultimate decision–the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In fact, Judge Mariani set up the appeal of the case perfectly, we’d say intentionally, and that has the DRBC and their cohorts at THE Delaware Riverkeeper really nervous (see Wayne Co. Landowner Welcomes Decision in Dismissed DRBC Lawsuit). We have an update. The Wayne landowners filed their court brief in an appeal of the case yesterday. The case turns on the concept of what constitutes a “project” for the DRBC. The DRBC claims that all gas well pads, drilling, etc.–anything that uses water within the Basin–is a “project” as defined under the original compact forming the DRBC, and therefore under their jurisdiction. The lawsuit (an excellent read, full copy below) states such a reading of the original compact, and based on 40 years of history since that time, says otherwise. Just because you push dirt around and use some water, does not mean that activity falls under the DRBC’s current overreach in defining a project. The lawsuit askes the 3rd Circuit to rule on what is, and what is not, a project for the DRBC…
    Read More “Wayne County Landowner Files Brief in Case Against DRBC Frack Ban”

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    WV Leads 11-State Group Supporting EPA’s Move to Delay Obama Rule

    Kudos to West Virginia and its Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, for leading the charge (along with 10 other states) to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s implementation of the Obama methane rule. Earlier this month the Trump EPA filed paperwork to stop implementation of the egregious and illegal rule (see Beginning of the End: EPA Issues 90-Day Stay for Methane Rule). The federal government cannot regulate oil and gas, that’s left up to the states under the Constitution. However, the Obamadroids found a way around that legal limitation by using lawsuits and naked power grabs. The Trump EPA is reversing it. Of course Big Green groups with deep pockets immediately sued to keep the rule going (see Liberal DC Court Asks EPA to Respond to Lawsuit by Radical Enviros). The EPA is defending its right to undo a rule it did, and Morrisey and the other AGs filed a motion to intervene in the case, to help out the Trump EPA…
    Read More “WV Leads 11-State Group Supporting EPA’s Move to Delay Obama Rule”

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    Trump White House Caves, Taps Establishment Insider for #2 Job @ EPA

    We suppose it had to happen eventually. The Trump White House is backing a Washington insider, a swamp dweller, to become Deputy Administrator (#2 person) at the Environmental Protection Agency. Jeff Holmstead, a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush, is as inside Washington as inside gets. He’s a Washington lobbyist and a lawyer (already two strikes against him). His appointment is not yet official, but the rumor mill is working overtime. We find it disappointing that Scott Pruitt, the consummate outsider, is promoting Holmstead, the consummate insider, for the position…
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    Analyst: “Nearly Impossible” for Rover to Get Done on Schedule

    Rover Pipeline, Energy Transfer’s $3.7 billion, 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada, will almost certainly not go online in July as originally planned–at least according to an article on The Street evaluating the project and its builder, Energy Transfer. At the heart of the delay is a series of spills that have occurred while drilling underground, horizontally, under rivers and creeks (and other structures) in which drilling mud has spilled. The largest such spill, to date, happened on April 13 when around 2 million gallons of drilling mud spilled close to the Tuscarawas River (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). That spill, plus the others, set off a chain reaction and ongoing fight with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), who lobbied the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to investigate. Which is now happening (see OH EPA Says Diesel Fuel Found in Rover 2M Gal Drilling Mud Spill). The FERC investigation has stalled forward progress in some (not all) areas. According to an analyst from Genscape quoted in the article, Energy Transfer “seems to have an approach where they stick to the minimum requirements instead of exceeding them” when it comes to drilling and laying pipelines. Energy Transfer strongly disagrees that statement. Regardless, the company’s stock has taken a hit and the article (below) raises concerns about the future of the company’s stock for shareholders…
    Read More “Analyst: “Nearly Impossible” for Rover to Get Done on Schedule”

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    NJ Dem Gov Candidate Wants Permanent Frack Ban in Dela. Basin

    “Lefty” Phil Murphy, candidate for gov in NJ

    Democrats in New Jersey would have you believe whoever wins the upcoming Democrat gubernatorial primary will be the next governor of the state. Republicans don’t stand a prayer of a chance, according to the establishment’s received wisdom. Perhaps. One never knows. Chris Christy won–two terms. But he’s not running again. So there’s a whole field of candidates on the Democrat side. However, the one who appears to be the favorite, at least among mainstream media, is Phil Murphy–an anti-pipeline, anti-drilling troll (see Dem Candidate for NJ Gov Opposes PennEast, After He $upported It). Murphy invested in stocks in the companies that are building the PennEast Pipeline, but when it was discovered and he was ratted out by other Democrats, Murphy disavowed those investments. Typical politician/hypocrite. Now Murphy is stepping up his anti-fossil fuel game, in a bid to appeal to the unhinged, radical environmental movement in the state. Murphy wants the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), of which NJ is a member, to permanently ban drilling in the Delaware River Basin. This is not some empty threat. If he wins, he has the power to heavily influence such a decision. There are five members of the DRBC board–the governors of the four basin states (PA, NY, DE, NJ) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Andrew Cuomo (NY) would certainly vote for a permanent ban. Gov. John Carney (DE) is another radical leftist Democrat who would likely vote for a permanent ban. Gov. Tom Wolf (PA) has said he supports a ban in the Delaware River Basin. And now, if NJ elects a radical like Phil Murphy, it would be a fait accompli. Which is why elections are so important. Here’s the latest by lefty Phil, the “ban all fossil fuels” candidate in NJ…
    Read More “NJ Dem Gov Candidate Wants Permanent Frack Ban in Dela. Basin”

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    Dems Pick Wind Lobbyist for FERC Appointment

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (extreme partisan) has recommended to the White House that Richard Glick, current a Senate staffer and former lobbyist for the wind industry, should succeed Democrat FERC Commissioner Colette Honorable. That’s according to “three industry sources with knowledge of the decision.” So far the White House is mum and refuses to “get ahead of an official announcement.” Our advice to President Trump: Don’t do ANYTHING recommended by Chucky Schumer…
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    NYC Democrats Target Upstate with Proposed Ban on PA Frack Waste

    Every now and again anti-fossil fuel nutters in New York will pop up from whatever hole they live in to claim that the couple of NY landfills accepting drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) from PA shale drilling will result in an environmental apocalypse. One landfill in particular, in Chemung County, seems to be the focus of their ire (see NY Anti Drillers Apoplectic Over Soil in Chemung Co. Landfill). From time to time they attract the attention of some of NY’s less-than-bright legislators who float bills to ban “importing frack waste” into the haughty Empire State. They tried in 2014 (see NY Dem Senators Want to Ban PA Drill Cuttings from NY Landfills). Fortunately, the bill went nowhere. Earlier this year the anti-drilling group Environmental Advocates of New York published a 24-page sham “report” trying to rekindle momentum for a frack waste ban (see Anti-Drillers Try to Ban Drill Cuttings from PA in NY Landfills). Environmental Advocates appears to be in league with Democrats from the New York City area who have floated yet another bill to ban PA frack waste from entering NY. New York City just LOVES to tell us hicks in Upstate what we can and can’t do…
    Read More “NYC Democrats Target Upstate with Proposed Ban on PA Frack Waste”

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    Westmoreland Zoning Challenge Heads to Court, Delays H&H Drilling

    Westmoreland County townships (Click for larger version)

    In May MDN told you that Huntley & Huntley was conducting seismic surveys in Lower Burrell, in Westmoreland County, PA (see Huntley & Huntley Targets New Drilling in Westmoreland County, PA). When a company begins to conduct seismic surveys, you know that applications for drilling permits are not far behind. Next door to Lower Burrell is Upper Burrell. H&H plans to drill there too. A landowner in Upper Burrell filed an appeal against Upper Burrell’s zoning ordinance that allows drilling in rural, agricultural districts. H&H plans to drill a well near where this woman lives, and she’s arguing such drilling will violate the state’s environmental rights clause and (more importantly), “devalue her property.” Of course nothing of the kind has happened in areas where there is drilling. Quite the opposite, in fact. Still, the lawsuit is stopping H&H from sinking any new holes in the ground. The case was supposed to go to township’s Zoning Hearing Board, but all of the (many) lawyers involved agreed to instead move it to county court, making the process faster and less expensive. The only problem with that is the judge may decide to hold off on a decision until two similar cases are heard and decided by the PA Supreme Court. No telling how long that will take…
    Read More “Westmoreland Zoning Challenge Heads to Court, Delays H&H Drilling”

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    Cincinnati Leaders Smear Duke Energy Ahead of Pipeline Meeting

    Duke Energy needs to replace an aging pipeline, built in the 1950s, near Cincinnati, OH–or some people in Cincy will have to go without natural gas (see Hearings Scheduled for Proposed Duke Pipeline in Cincinnati). Duke has proposed a 13-mile, 20-inch pipeline along two potential routes. Both routes are opposed by antis, including a group calling themselves NOPE–Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension. We call them DOPEs–Dummies Opposing Pipeline Extensions. Will the DOPErs volunteer to shut off the natural gas to their homes and businesses if the pipeline doesn’t get built? Not on your life! Two public hearings have now been scheduled, one for tomorrow (June 15), and the other July 12. Just ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, two Democrat politicians–one from the city, the other from the county–are smearing Duke Energy, accusing the company of using “intimidation tactics” to “push through” the pipeline. Which is, of course, nonsense. What kind of intimidation? Did Duke hire thugs with baseball bats to roam the streets? No. Duke had the audacity to send surveyors out to chart the path of the proposed pipeline. For our hyperventilating politicians (displaying mock outrage), such activity is “alarming” and Duke should immediately “cease and desist”…
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