Regulation

Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Cheap NatGas Blamed for Higher Electric Rates Coming in Ohio
April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved a plan yesterday that is deeply complex and has us scratching our heads. From the press accounts we’ve read, we would summarize like this: The plan allows American Electric Power Co. and FirstEnergy Corp. to operate coal plants and a nuclear plant that currently (and for the foreseeable future) are uneconomical. The electricity produced by the plants can’t compete with electricity being produced by new natural gas-powered electric plants. But PUCO believes it is in the public interest to keep the old coal/nuclear plants running–so electric resellers will be forced to buy from the old plants at a high rate, and sell that electricity on the open market at a lower rate–and ratepayers (Ohioans) will pick up the difference in the price. Ohioans will subsidize the old plants. Because it’s in the public interest. Somehow. Even though the average Ohioan will pay $100-$130 more for the same electricity. Yes, it’s far more complex than that–there are provisions for more renewable energy sources, etc. baked into the plan. But what it boils down to is subsidizing old forms of energy that can’t compete with natgas…
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Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Pleasants County | Regulation | Ritchie County | Tyler County | West Virginia

WV DEP Fines Antero Resources $93K for “Pollution” of Streams
March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

The West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection has gotten a signed consent order from Antero Resources assessing a fine of $93,000 on the company for “pollution” of waterways in several WV counties related to installing pipelines. So says a single Associated Press article. We can find nothing about this story from another other news source than the AP. Not on the WV DEP website. Not on Antero’s website. We scoured the web. We scoured our own MDN archives. Nada. Just a single AP story currently running in dozens of newspapers and in other media outlets/websites across the country. Here is the entire, very brief AP story with sparse details…
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Air Quality | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Regulation | UGI Energy Services

Dominion & NiSource Bow Down to Lord Obama, Worship the EPA
March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled the Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program at the Global Methane Forum held in Washington, DC. The Methane Challenge is a “voluntary” program for obsequious companies to pretend they’re concerned about so-called fugitive methane escaping into the atmosphere and toasting Mom Earth. Silly, we know–but this is how some billion dollar companies gain favors from the political establishment–and improve their evil fossil fuel image with the nutjobs who believe in this stuff. Tragically, several Marcellus midstream companies, including Dominion, NiSource and UGI signed on to this flummery. There are 41 such companies from across the country who have signed on to the Methane Challenge (we list them all below). Prediction: It won’t be long before this “voluntary” program becomes involuntary–with the jackboots of the EPA on the necks of all oil and gas companies to get them to comply with the unrealistic standards in the program…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Comptroller Attacks Natural Gas Pipelines with Safety “Audit”
March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

New York State’s Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, is a hard-left Democrat who has repeatedly targeted the fossil fuel industry in the Empire State–and beyond. As we’ve previously observed, DiNapoli is an anti-drilling bully (see our extensive list of MDN articles on DiNapoli’s attacks here). His latest attempt to smear the fossil fuel industry is to attack pipeline infrastructure. His office conducted an “audit” of pipeline safety from 1995 through 2014 (full copy below) and has supposedly found 194 pipeline “incidents” resulting in 23 fatalities, 123 injuries and $77 million in property damage. The aim, of course, is to imply pipelines are unsafe. There is no context in DiNapoli’s report. For example, during the same period, how many bridges have had “incidents” and how many deaths have there been from bridge accidents? During the same period how many railroad “incidents” have there been and how many deaths? When you stack up pipelines against any other form of transportation, pipelines are the safest mode of transport by far–it’s not even close. But you wouldn’t know that from DiNapoli’s slanted report…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Climate Change Hucksters, Incl. NY AG & Al Gore, Threaten O&G
March 30, 2016March 31, 2016

A small group of rabidly partisan Democrats who have drunk deeply from global warming Kool Aid–including New York’s corrupt Attorney General Eric Schniederman and global warming huckster Al Gore–gathered yesterday in New York to declare they are ready to litigate from sunup to sundown to ensure Dictator in Chief Obama’s Clean Power Plan (currently being challenged in court) is implemented–both now and by the next El Presidente. It is, of course, a sham. They don’t really believe in global warming–most of them anyway. They’re not that stupid (although Al Gore may be). They want total control over the source of energy you use–because it personally empowers them (in the case of New York Attorney General Schneiderman) and enriches them (in the case of Al Gore who buys and sells energy credits). It’s corruption at the highest levels…
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CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

LNGL Applies to Build Pipeline to Bear Head LNG Export Facility
March 30, 2016June 16, 2016

Yesterday MDN told you that Bear Head LNG in Nova Scotia, Canada continues to make progress toward opening an LNG export facility that will export U.S. Marcellus and Utica Shale gas (see Bear Head LNG Facility Buys More Land, Opens Halifax Office). The very next day (today!) the parent company of Bear Head, LNG Limited (from Australia) issued another announcement to say they’ve registered for an environmental assessment for a pipeline they want to build–the Bear Paw Pipeline. It is the first (and perhaps most important) step in getting a new 39-mile pipeline built that will run from the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline to the new Bear Head LNG facility. Yes it’s a story about Canada, but it’s mostly a story about the Marcellus and Utica…
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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Williams

Constitution Pipeline Reps Met with Cuomo Aide – April Deadline
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

The Constitution Pipeline is a badly needed natural gas pipeline that would run ~125 miles from the gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA up into New York–all the way to Schoharie County, NY–where it would intersect with the Iroquois Pipeline and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. The $683 million project would pump 650 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of PA shale gas to markets throughout the northeast and potentially into New England. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the project in 2014. Pennsylvania cleared the way for the pipeline in 2015. New York is holding it up–the tail wagging the dog–by not issuing stream and swamp crossing permits. We have repeatedly called on Williams, the main sponsor of the project, to take New York to court to strip them of their right to have any say in the matter since Cuomo is intentionally stopping the project for political reasons (see Time to Force NY DEC to Issue Permit for Constitution Pipeline). We’re just now hearing that representatives from the Constitution met with a top Cuomo aide in February to answer questions. The clock is ticking and Cuomo is almost out of time. New York has until April 29 to issue the permits or the application made to the state one year ago will expire. Perhaps that will be the triggering event for a massive lawsuit against the state…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Sand/Proppant

OSHA Publishes New Silica Dust Rule, O&G Must Comply by 2018
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

Last December MDN warned you that the Obama Administration’s latest attempt to regulate the oil and gas industry was coming from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)–via new silica dust regulations (see New Dust Regulation Latest Obama Attempt to Regulate O&G). As predicted, last week OSHA published their new rules (full copy below). We certainly have nothing against being safe and guarding the safety of workers. Silica dust is nasty stuff–effectively like asbestos particles. But once again the Obamadroids have taken a serious issue and have gone to extremes. The “good news” if there is any, is that the new rules don’t take effect for the oil and gas industry for two years…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

Pennsylvania’s small, conventional oil and gas drillers have had enough of Gov. Tom Wolf and his Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley. Last week a trade association representing many of PA’s small, independent oil and gas drillers–the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association (PIPP)–filed a lawsuit against implementation of new rules and changes to existing rules known as Chapters 78 & 78a (see PA DEP Issues “Final” New Drilling Regulations; Industry Pushback and PA DEP On Course to Jam New Regulations Down Drillers’ Throats). PIPP objects to conventional drillers being subjected to many of the same rules as unconventional (shale) drillers. PIPP says the two types of drilling are apples and oranges and to make small drillers jump through the same hoops as big shale drillers will literally eliminate small drillers from the Keystone State–making it unprofitable to continue drilling. So PIPP, on behalf of those drillers, sued to stop the new regulations…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

FERC Denies NY Request to Stop Work on Pipeline Near Nuke Plant
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just delivered a blistering slap across the face of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. You may recall in early March Cuomo asked FERC to stop Spectra Energy’s work on their Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) pipeline project, an $876 million expansion of the existing Algonquin pipeline system that will carry 342 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to New England states that badly need the gas. Cuomo wanted the work stopped because the pipeline will run close to a nuclear plant (see Gov. Cuomo Asks FERC to Halt Algonquin Pipeline Near Nuke Plant). FERC has just said “nope” to Cuomo’s request. The work to build the pipeline continues…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Won’t Renew Permits that Allow Drill Cuttings to be Reused
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

A few years ago (not sure exactly when) three companies were issued permits by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reuse drill cuttings–leftover rock and dirt that come out of a borehole–on construction sites. The three companies were issued the permits on an experimental basis. The permits will expire March 1, 2017. Even though DEP officials openly state, on the record, that “drill cuttings aren’t dangerous,” the DEP has indicated they will not renew the permits after they expire. However, the DEP appears to leave the door open to issuing more permits in the future, once they make a final determination after reviewing the results from these three companies. Who are the companies that were issued permits?…
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Ohio | Pipelines | Public Opinion | Regulation | Statewide MI | Statewide OH

FERC Seeks Input on ET Rover Pipeline – MI Poll Shows 91% Favor
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) wants to know what landowners and residents along the path of the proposed Energy Transfer Rover pipeline think about the project. ET Rover is a 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will serve mostly U.S. customers. The pipeline will cost $3.7 billion to build and run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada. The bulk of the pipeline would run through Ohio (see ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps). We say ET Rover is “for the children” because the pipeline will generate $91 million in taxes for local schools–in its first year alone (see For the Children: ET Rover Pipeline $91M in School Taxes 1st Year). We spotted a story in a Michigan newspaper about the project. The story says FERC is eliciting feedback until April 11 (be sure to comment!). The story is running a poll of its readers asking them if they support or oppose the project. The results aren’t even close. Some 91% (at the time we wrote this) support the project. See a copy of the poll results below…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA Officials Illegally Use Private Email Servers for EPA Business
March 24, 2016March 24, 2016

Recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for correspondence to and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prove out what we’ve been yelling for years: The EPA is a lawless organization, out of control and drunk on its own power. This latest FOIA request, made by the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, finds that EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is guilty of the same federal crimes as Hillary Clinton is–using a private email server for government business in order to avoid having to disclose secret communication back and forth with (in the case of McCarthy) Big Green groups. McCarthy should be indicted–immediately–and removed from office…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Columbia Gas of PA Asks PUC for Permission to Raise Rates
March 24, 2016March 24, 2016

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a division of NiSource, has filed a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to raise rates so it can recuperate costs spent in upgrading its natural gas delivery system for customers. Columbia Gas has spent $1.1 billion from 2007 to 2015. However, they’re only asking for a mere $55 million rate increase…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Medina County | Ohio | Portage County | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Antis Circulate Petitions for Bans Already Tossed by Courts
March 22, 2016March 22, 2016

The Pennsylvania-based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is a radical environmental group backed with Big Green money that exists to fleece local towns into adopting bans on fracking and pipelines. Last year we carried an expose of the group (see PA’s CELDF Unmasked as Troublemakers in Ohio Utica Shale). Much of their community agitating work is done in Ohio. Time after time their so-called “community bill of rights” initiatives are shot down by Ohio courts. The latest instance (and there have been many) was earlier this month when the U.S. 8th District Court of Appeals overturned the CELDF-created bill of rights law passed in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights (see Mad Moms Hopping Mad Over Court Decision re Broadview Heights, OH). You would think towns would learn that a) these initiatives invariably are challenged and thrown out by the courts, and b) if the initiatives interfere with a local business that sues the town, the CELDF is nowhere to be found (see Anti Group CELDF Won’t Help Grant Twp Pay $1M Judgement). But there’s plenty of insane people–like those circulating petitions in Medina and Portage counties to get a CELDF-backed bill of rights initiative on the local ballot. The very same initiative already shot down by Ohio courts in other locations…
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Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Massive Power Grab Proposed by Obama DOT: Regulate Gathering Lines
March 22, 2016March 22, 2016

Last week the Obama Dept. of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released a breathtaking expansion of federal power over the individual states. It is yet another in a long line of power grabs by the federal government under the reign of Our Dear Leader. The PHMSA is charged with overseeing the safety of the nation’s interstate pipelines. Until now, local gathering pipelines–the small lines that run to individual oil and gas wells–has been properly regulated by the individual states in which they reside. In some cases states, like Pennsylvania, don’t regulate gathering lines–a situation the state is attempting to rectify (see NEPA State Senator Introduces Bill to Regulate Rural Pipelines). Regardless–it’s not the proper role of the federal government to usurp a state’s rights to regulate the oil and gas industry, which is what this latest move attempts to do. Last week the PHMSA released a draft of new regulations (i.e. unlegislated laws) to regulate natural gas pipelines–both interstate and local, gathering lines (full copy of the 549-page draft in included below). According to the legal beagles at top oil and gas firm Babst Calland, “PHMSA is proposing to change the definition of an onshore gas gathering line, to partially repeal the longstanding exemption for rural gathering lines, and to extend the federal reporting requirements to all gas gathering lines (whether regulated or not).” Our opinion: whether they say they are regulating gathering lines or not, by requiring reporting, the PHMSA is defacto regulating those lines…
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