Regulation

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Washington County

MarkWest Builds/Operates Compressor Station w/o Building Permit
December 10, 2014December 10, 2014

Hmmm. Here’s a story we don’t like to report, and fear there’s more to the story than we now know, but report it we must. MarkWest Energy, arguably the largest and most important midstream (pipelines & processing plants) company in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, was denied a building permit to construct a building to house several natural gas compressors in West Alexander (Donegal Township, Washington County), PA–but they went ahead and built it anyway, without the permit. The rogue compressor station is now up and running but has to use generators to supply power because the town won’t let them hook up electric since they’re still in violation of the building permit…
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Anadarko | Chesapeake Energy | Citrus | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

DOL Action: Several Marcellus Drillers Pay $4.5M in Back Wages
December 10, 2014December 10, 2014

In a multi-year so-called “investigation” that cost more money that was “recovered,” the U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) announced yesterday they’ve forced Chesapeake Energy, Citrus Energy and Anadarko Petroleum (and perhaps others) to pay $4.5 million in back wages to some 5,300 oil and gas workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The apparent “violation” is that these workers, working for subcontractors (not directly for the energy companies themselves), in some cases worked more than 40 hours in a given week but didn’t get time-and-a-half wages. We’re certainly not against playing by the rules, but it sure seems like utter folly to hype this as some sort of victory by Obama’s Labor Department–to work for more than two years and come up with a thimble-full of violations and carp and complain about how fractured the energy industry is–the same industry that, because of all those many subcontractors, has generated several hundred thousands new jobs in PA & WV that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Here’s the press release by the DOL…
Read More “DOL Action: Several Marcellus Drillers Pay $4.5M in Back Wages”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

New Wrinkle in NY: Towns Must Pass Zoning Laws to Allow Fracking
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

Anti-drilling former “reporter” for the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Tom Wilber, is back with an insightful article in the P&SB. Wilbur highlights an issue just now coming to light for residents in New York. Earlier this year the New York Court of Appeals (NY’s highest court) made a disastrous ruling that allows townships to ban fracking (see Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans). The continuing sliver of hope for NY landowners is that Gov. Andrew “can’t make up his mind” Cuomo will make up his mind, lo these 6 years later, and allow fracking to take place. The thinking has been that the fight (for anti-drillers) will now focus on attempting to get town boards to enact a ban–something not likely to happen in places most likely to drill. Wilber’s article points out a big, fat problem with that thinking: the high court’s decision in July did a lot more than just allow towns to ban drilling. In light of the July decision, towns with zoning ordinances (almost all towns in NY) must specially allow drilling–or it can’t take place by default…
Read More “New Wrinkle in NY: Towns Must Pass Zoning Laws to Allow Fracking”
Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Kinder Files with FERC, NED Pipeline Changes Path in NY & MA
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

MDN has chronicled the sad state of Massachusetts and its obtuse opposition to the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project, a pipeline that would make both their natural gas and electricity costs a lot cheaper. We told you Kinder planned to change the path of the pipeline to avoid about half of Massachusetts on its way from New York to the Boston area (see Kinder Morgan Changes Route for Pipeline from MA to NH). What you may not know is that MA doesn’t have sole ownership of obtuseness. New York wants in on some of that action too. NIMBYs in Columbia County, NY have been kicking up a fuss over the pipeline, so when Kinder filed their new preferred route yesterday (see updated map below), they altered the course and shifted it north from Columbia County to Rensselaer County, following an existing right-of-way owned by National Grid…
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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sand/Proppant | Wyoming County (PA)

Deuling Air Quality Studies for NEPA Frac Sand Transfer Station
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

MDN has tracked the case of a proposed D&I Silica (owned by Hi-Crush Partners) frac sand transfer facility in Tunkhannock (Wyoming County), PA and some of the ins and outs along the way. D&I is ready to build the facility but lacks one important permit–from the county. So D&I has sued to get it (see NEPA Town Residents Resist Frack Sand Transfer Station). That lawsuit was settled in November and construction will now go forward. We recently brought you a report from a resident and long-time reader of MDN on the situation (see Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA). We have a new update: Both the county and the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) are proposing air quality studies to ensure nearby residents are not exposed to silica dust which acts a lot like asbestos particles and can, in the most extreme cases, can cause lung cancer. The question is, whose study will get done, or will taxpayers pay for both studies?…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

DRBC Uses MA Company for Water Testing, Anticipates Fracking
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has prevented, through inaction, any Marcellus Shale drilling in its jurisdictional area (the Delaware River Basin in NY, PA and NJ). In particular, shale drilling would no doubt immediately take off in Wayne and Pike counties in PA should the DRBC allow it. There’s hope that with DRBC’s new director, Steve Tambini, perhaps a change will occur to allow drilling. Even though the DRBC has not allowed drilling, that doesn’t mean they’ve been totally inactive. Over the past three years, the DRBC has used a private Massachusetts company to measure baseline water quality in rivers in anticipation that fracking will one day happen in the Basin. The DRBC wants baseline numbers to compare with post-fracking numbers–to ensure nothing has changed (or if it has changed, as evidence). We think baseline testing is a great idea, and we also think it’s great that the DRBC anticipates allowing fracking–at some point…
Read More “DRBC Uses MA Company for Water Testing, Anticipates Fracking”
Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Williams

NY Landowners Get Eminent Domain Threat from Constitution Pipeline
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

As we reported last week, it’s great news that the Constitution Pipeline has now received its final green light and construction is about to begin (see FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY). Some of the hardest work now lies ahead. Unfortunately, some landowners refuse to negotiate a right-of-way and so, just a few days after FERC gave the go-ahead, those landowners have received a “sign now or else” letter threatening the use of eminent domain, from Williams…
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Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Why Does it Take So Long to Build a Pipeline in the Northeast?
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

Blaine Lucas, a lawyer with the Pittsburgh law firm of Babst Calland (one of the northeast’s top energy law firms) gives an overview of some of the difficulties and problems faced by midstream companies (pipelines and processing plants), along with insight into why it just takes so darned long to build pipelines–pipelines which are desperately needed to get the huge and growing supply of Marcellus Shale gas to market…
Read More “Why Does it Take So Long to Build a Pipeline in the Northeast?”
Columbiana County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

FERC Approves OPEN Pipeline in Eastern OH, Gas Goes to Gulf Coast
December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

Christmas continues to come a few weeks early for some of our biggest midstream (pipeline) companies. MDN told you earlier this week that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had approved the Constitution Pipeline from NEPA up into NY. We now have word that FERC has approved Spectra Energy’s OPEN (Ohio Pipeline Energy Network) project in Ohio. Spectra originally announced the project in December 2011, a project that will build 76 miles of new pipeline from Columbiana County to Monroe County to connect to the Texas Eastern Pipeline, and then reverse the flow–make it bidirectional–on the Texas Eastern in order to carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from eastern Ohio to the Gulf Coast. Spectra finally filed a full, official application with FERC in February of this year (see Spectra Energy Files Formal Request with FERC for OPEN Pipeline). On Tuesday, FERC gave its final blessing for the OPEN project…
Read More “FERC Approves OPEN Pipeline in Eastern OH, Gas Goes to Gulf Coast”
Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s “Progress” to Control Bakken Crude Trains Passing Through
December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

The issue of shipping Bakken crude oil on rail cars, many of which pass through New York State on the way to the Port of Albany, continues to be news in the Empire State. MDN told you in July that all New Yorkers are now less safe because of actions by the state government to disclose to the public (not just first responders) routes those shipments take through NY state (see New York Caves to Anti-Drillers Again: Discloses Oil Train Movements). Just coming to light for MDN, in January of this year Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order (EO) 125 directing state agencies to conduct a “coordinated review” of NY’s crude oil incident prevention and response capacity. Earlier this week the agencies provided a status update to Cuomo (full copy embedded below). The upshot seems to be the state is pointing fingers at the railroad industry and the federal government, telling them to get their act together to protect NY residents…
Read More “NY’s “Progress” to Control Bakken Crude Trains Passing Through”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sand/Proppant | Wyoming County (PA)

Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

We’re happy to bring you another perspective on the controversy in Tunkhannock, PA over a proposed frac sand transfer station. In October we told you about residents around Tunkhannock who are pushing back against a facility being proposed by Hi-Crush/D&I Silica (see NEPA Town Residents Resist Frack Sand Transfer Station). What caught our eye was the antics of one of the locals who dressed up in a canary outfit to conjure the image of a canary in the mine shaft. Seemed to us that perhaps anti-drillers were opposing the project. We then referenced the D&I project when we wrote about another frac sand facility where the town and company worked out their problems like adults (see WV Sand Company & Community Work Together to Solve Problem). We were recently contacted by an MDN subscriber who lives in Tunkhannock to say, “Hold there Jim, there is another side to this story…”
Read More “Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Radicals Ask Cuomo to Ban Fracking Because of Global Warming
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Not that it’s been hiding anywhere, but the truth comes out (yet again). A group of 75+ individuals masquerading as “groups of people” have signed and sent a letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (full copy below) requesting that he ban fracking statewide. Why? Because of their belief that mankind is causing global warming by burning fossil fuels. That is, because they hate fossil fuels. They hate the fossil fuels used to manufacture the computers on which they typed the letter to Cuomo. They hate the fossil fuels they use to travel to work. They hate the fossil fuels that are part of the clothes they wear (petrochemical fibers) and the sneakers on their feet. They hate the fossil fuels they use to heat their homes. Yep, the so-called environmentalists who use fossil fuels every day of their lives–hate them. We call it insanity. Fracking Derangement Syndrome (FDS). Left-wing newspapers like the Albany Times Union dutifully report it like its actually news…
Read More “NY Radicals Ask Cuomo to Ban Fracking Because of Global Warming”
Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Susquehanna County

PA DEP Fines Cabot $120K for January Water Tank Explosion in NEPA
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

Here’s one that slipped by us when it happened. On Jan. 11, 2014 there was an explosion at a Cabot Oil & Gas well site in Susquehanna Count, PA. The explosion happened in a brine water storage tank at the site in Jessup Township, caused by a water truck driver (who was injured in the blast). The incident is coming to light now because yesterday the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) levied a $120,000 fine on Cabot. Thanks to the investigative work done by the Scranton Times-Tribune, we know exactly what happened…
Read More “PA DEP Fines Cabot $120K for January Water Tank Explosion in NEPA”
Broome County | Chenango County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Delaware County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Susquehanna County | Williams

FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

We’ve been writing about the Constitution Pipeline for, like, forever! The Constitution is planned to run 124 miles from Susquehanna County, PA up into New York State, all the way to Schoharie County where it will connect to both the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. It will flow some 650,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day (enough natural gas to serve approximately 3 million homes), most of it produced by Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the owners of the pipeline. In October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final environmental approval (see Constitution Pipeline Gets FERC Final Environmental Approval). Yesterday, FERC issued its final approval for the project–meaning the shovels will now hit the ground and construction will now begin. Horray!…
Read More “FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Regulation

Deerfield MA, Kinder Morgan Lawyers Swap Barbs over NED Pipeline
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

Kinder Morgan has put the town of Deerfield, MA on notice that its attempt to block the Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion through the town–the Northeast Energy Direct (or NED) project–will not be stopped by a laughable “ban” enacted by the Deerfield Board of (so-called) Health. You may recall MDN covered the Deerfield BOH “order” in October to “cease immediately all of its activities in Deerfield related to the construction of the proposed pipeline within the boundaries of the town” (see Deerfield MA “Bans” Kinder Morgan TGP Pipeline – Or So They Claim). Kinder says, in so many words, nice try, but no cigar…
Read More “Deerfield MA, Kinder Morgan Lawyers Swap Barbs over NED Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Anti-Drilling Christmas Carols: Climate Change is Coming to Town [Video]
December 2, 2014December 2, 2014

Just when you thought it was the season of peace on earth and goodwill toward men (and women), the season of cheer and good tidings, eggnog and presents–along come wacky anti-drillers to screw up Christmas. Members of the radical Clean Air Council in Philadelphia are rewriting Christmas carols to include messages about nutty man-made global warming. Here’s some real creativity: “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why. Climate Change is coming to town.” Wow. How much did these kids’ parents ~~waste~~ pay for a college education? Watch the video below and marvel at youthful stupidity…
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