Regulation

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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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Transco | Williams

Dominion Files Application to Move Marcellus Gas to Charleston, SC
March 22, 2016March 22, 2016

According to their own documents and timelines, Dominion Carolina Gas Transmission is behind a few months, but they finally just filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a 55-mile pipeline project called the Transco to Charleston Project. As the name implies, it will be a short pipeline to connect the Transco pipeline, which is in the process of reversing flows to bring Marcellus and Utica Shale gas south, to send that gas to the Charleston, SC area. The projected in-service date is November 2017…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

2 NEPA Members of Pipeline Task Force Want to Know, What’s Next?
March 22, 2016March 22, 2016

In May 2015 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and his underling Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley created a “Task Force on Pipeline Infrastructure Development” (see Disaster on the Horizon: PA Gov Wolf Creates Pipeline Task Force). The stated purpose of the group was “to identify best practices for pipeline siting, permitting and safety.” We won’t recount all of the twists and turns–of how the Task Force was packed with government employees beholden to Wolf, etc. Along the way antis tried to protest and derail the meetings held by the Task Force (see PA DEP Sec. Quigley Calls Pipeline Protesters “Badly Misinformed”). The final meeting was held and the final report was released all 658 pages of it with 184 recommendations (see PA Pipeline Task Force Report: 658 Pages, 184 “Recommendations”). Two members of the task force from northeast PA are now asking the question, “What happens next?” We have the answer: NOTHING…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation | Wastewater | West Virginia

Fayette WV Commissioners Change Ban to Focus on Injection Wells
March 21, 2016March 21, 2016

The Democrat commissioners of Fayette County, WV are scrambling to try and keep their jobs after enacting what is turning out to be a disastrous ordinance to ban all fracking, injection wells, drilling, etc. In January, three liberal Democrat county commissioners from Fayette County, WV, with the backing and help of the radical WV Mountain Party, voted to ban injection wells in the county (see WV County Officially Bans Injection Wells; Children Brainwashed). In fact, the ban is intentionally written so broadly it will also ban the operation of more than 500 vertical oil and gas wells in the county. The next day EQT sued to overturn the ban (see EQT Sues WV County that Banned Injection Wells, Seeks Injunction). Not long after, a U.S. District Court judge slapped an injunction on the county preventing them from enforcing the ban at least until a hearing scheduled for later this month (see Judge Stops WV County from Enforcing Injection Well Ban, For Now). One of the chief architects of the ban, from the Mountain Party, admits the ban is intended to stop all oil and gas activity in the county (see Anti Admits Fayette County, WV Ban Aims to Shut Down All O&G Wells). Facing a lawsuit they will lose, the commissioners have backed away from the position of banning everything to do with drilling in the county. They’ve revised the proposed ban regulation as a tactic to avoid losing their court case–but everyone sees through this latest pathetic attempt. Sensing they won’t win their court case to ban drilling as well as injection wells, they’ve opted to toss the drilling part and go for just banning injection wells. We hope the voters and taxpayers in Fayette County vote the three commissioners out at the next election for their anti-drilling malfeasance…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation

DOL Continues to Harass NE Drilling Industry for “Back Wages”
March 21, 2016March 21, 2016

The Obama Dept. of Labor’s (DOL) harassment of oil and gas-related companies, particularly in the Marcellus/Utica region, goes back years. The DOL’s favorite tactic is to use the full force of the federal government to accuse companies of shorting employees out of wages for overtime (see Feds Slap Appalachian Oilfield Svcs with $129,802 for Back Wages; DOL Action: Several Marcellus Drillers Pay $4.5M in Back Wages; Labor Dept. Unfairly Targets Marcellus Industry in SWPA & WV; and Halliburton Pays $18M in Back Wages, Some Going to PA Workers). The DOL continues their long campaign of harassment. Last week the DOL issued a press release stating they’ve turned up more instances of back wages due in four companies, two of which have major operations in the Marcellus/Utica region: Frank’s International and Stream-Flo USA…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Regulation

FERC Approves Pipeline to Move More Marcellus/Utica Gas to Chicago
March 18, 2016March 18, 2016

In October 2014 Kinder Morgan ran an open season with an eye on expanding the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) system in the Chicago area (see Kinder Morgan Plans Chicago Pipeline Expansion for Marcellus/Utica). The expanded NGPL system, called the Chicago Market Expansion Project, will bring new volumes of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas, heading west on the reversed Rockies Express Pipeline, to over 100 interconnects with Chicago-area local distribution companies, direct-connect power plants, industrial end users, interstate pipelines, and NGPL’s storage and highly liquid pooling points. Kinder originally thought they would beef up capacity by an extra 450,000 dekatherms per day. Somewhere along the way the project was scaled back to 238,000 Dth/d. The good news is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just approved the project, which is on track to be completed by the end of this year. The expansion provides an important new market for Marcellus/Utica gas…
Read More “FERC Approves Pipeline to Move More Marcellus/Utica Gas to Chicago”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Research

FERC Report: Northeast Pipeline Shortage Won’t Resolve Until 2019
March 18, 2016March 18, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) yesterday released its 2015 State of the Markets Report (see full copy below). Among the findings in FERC’s view of the marketplace: Most places across the country have seen a bump up in pipelines over the past 10 years, relieving constrained natural gas transportation. Except for the Marcellus/Utica region. In our neck of the woods lack of pipelines continues to mean a surplus–high inventories and low prices. Is there any hope in sight? Yes, IF the pipelines get approved and built, FERC says by 2019 our gas should be hitting new markets with a resulting boost to the price. Also interesting is FERC’s reluctance to embrace and endorse the prediction made by the U.S. Energy Information Administration just last week that in 2016 natural gas will surpass coal as the #1 source fuel to generate electricity in the U.S. (see NatGas is Killing Coal in Electric Generation Market – 2015 is Proof). FERC very definitely backed away from that prediction in their report. Hmmm…
Read More “FERC Report: Northeast Pipeline Shortage Won’t Resolve Until 2019”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

How Rich White Billionaires Control the EPA – Connecting the Dots
March 17, 2016March 17, 2016

Ever wonder how in the world fossil fuel haters have such success in places like liberal New York? There’s a pretty simple explanation: follow the money. Anti-drilling shills forever bleat about Big Oil and powerful corporations with deep pockets having undue influence. It’s actually the reverse. Rich, white, liberal billionaires are using their money to buy influence over environmental policy adopted by states and the federal government. How do we know? In 2014 the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works published the results of an investigation into how the EPA and other agencies are being influenced by big money in the Big Green movement. The report is titled “The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and Their Foundations Control the Environmental Movement and Obama’s EPA” (full copy below). The report name names and fingers foundations like the odious Park Foundation as being behind many of the anti-drilling efforts in the Marcellus/Utica region. The report connects the dots between billionaires, the tax exempt foundations they fund, and how money gets laundered through those foundations and put into the hands of anti-drilling activist groups. Although the report is from 2014, we only recently became aware of it when an MDN reader pointed it out to us (thanks Frank!). The report exposes the irrefutable corruption that exists in the environmental movement…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Regulation

FERC Approves TGP Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Project
March 16, 2016March 16, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last Friday approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) Connecticut Expansion project. The project includes building 13.42 miles of new pipeline loops in three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. When completed, the new looping will serve an additional 72,100 dekatherms of (mostly) Marcellus Shale gas to three utility companies in Connecticut. The $86 million project is in no way connected to TGP’s Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline project. Below are the details for the project, along with a project map…
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Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Landowners vs Drillers: PA Minimum Royalty Bill Gets a Hearing
March 16, 2016June 20, 2016

There is a renewed push in Harrisburg to pass a minimum royalty bill to protect landowners from getting the shaft by drillers deducting expenses from royalty checks. We’ve tracked this issue for the past few years–an issue that came to the forefront when Chesapeake Energy started to screw landowners in Bradford County (and other locations) out of royalty money (see Bradford County, PA Landowners Sue Chesapeake over Royalties). Bills were introduced in the PA legislature and went nowhere. Last year another new bill was introduced by State Rep. Garth Everett: House Bill (HB) 1391 (see New Bill HB 1391 Will Guarantee PA Landowners 12.5% Royalties). Organizations like the PA chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) fully supports the bill. However, drillers make the counterargument that duly signed contracts which allow for certain deductions should not be swept away with the stroke of a pen. As we’ve previously commented, the issue is one of those rare times when landowners and the industry are on different pages altogether (see Rare Schism Between Landowners & Drillers over PA Royalty Law). HB 1391 is once again being pushed–under discussion yesterday in the PA House…
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA DEP Issues Wastewater Permit for Invenergy Jessup Power Plant
March 16, 2016March 16, 2016

Last week MDN told you that members of the Jessup Borough Council (Lackawanna County, PA) approved several measures clearing the way for Invenergy to begin building Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas-powered electric generating plant (see Jessup Borough Final Approval for PA’s Largest NatGas Power Plant). We thought Invenergy had all of the necessary permits to begin moving earth and building the plant. But it seems there’s no end of government permits for such a project. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection yesterday issued a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to Invenergy so they can discharge treated wastewater used to cool the plant…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Mad Moms Hopping Mad Over Court Decision re Broadview Heights, OH
March 15, 2016March 15, 2016

In 2012 Broadview Heights, OH, a Cleveland suburb, passed an illegal “Community Bill of Rights” law that bans oil and gas drilling in their township. Ohio law specifically and plainly states that only the state–not local municipalities–have the sole right to regulate the oil and gas industry. The law was promptly thrown out by a lower court, which resulted in anti-drilling groups including the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN) and Mothers Against Drilling in Our Neighborhoods (MADION), with Big Green money backing from the odious PA-based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), appealing the decision. It eventually made its way up the chain to the 8th District Court of Appeals. The nutters were so ecstatic when the 8th District agreed to hear the case, they celebrated with “street dramatizations” (see Antis Celebrate OH Appeals Court Hearing with Street Dramatization). They’re not celebrating anymore. The 8th District has ruled against the Broadview Heights law. Not only that, the 8th District is the first court to directly address the so-called “bill of rights” argument. In a crushing blow to the nutters, the 8th District Court said, in essence, “No. Towns don’t have inalienable rights to create laws that supersede the state’s laws.” However, nutters never go away–they blat and bleat and carry on, as they are doing now with this decision. At least we have some resolution in Ohio. This decision is a resounding refutation of the CELDF and their predatory behavior of pressuring towns into passing “bill of rights” laws that ban drilling and fracking…
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