Sen. Ed Markey Bill to Deny Big Oil from Cabinet, but Not Big Green
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Ed “Lackey” Markey (Dem from Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Jeff “Malarkey” Merkley (Dem from Ore.) reintroduced the Banning In Government Oil Industry Lobbyists (BIG OIL) from the Cabinet Act, which would prohibit the appointment of executive officers and lobbyists of fossil fuel entities or trade associations as the heads or political appointees of certain government departments that work on issues related to American energy policy for a 10-year period. Curiously, the bill does not include the same ban on radicalized leftists from Big Green in the 10-year ban. Can anyone say HYPOCRITES? Read More “Sen. Ed Markey Bill to Deny Big Oil from Cabinet, but Not Big Green”
The Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline Company (aka TETCO) recently filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to make a change in its plans related to upgrades at the pipeline’s Entriken Compressor Station located in Todd Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, TETCO (owned by Enbridge) filed to build the Appalachia to Market II Project (A2MII) and the Entriken HP Replacement Project (see 
Going back perhaps more than a decade, we have told you about the shortcomings of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the timely review and issuance of permits used during the drilling process. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation Permit or Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit could take two, three, or even six months for approval — instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. Current Gov. Josh Shapiro made it a goal to “fix” the permit issue when he assumed office two years ago. In November, the DEP announced it had eliminated its permit backlog (see 
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced yesterday that it had issued an oil and gas wastewater injection well permit to Seneca Resources to continue operating well #38268 in Highland Township, Elk County. The EPA permit allows Seneca to inject up to 75,000 barrels monthly (3.125 million gallons). This well is one of two injection wells Seneca operates at that location. It was a long road for Seneca to get these two wells online, and a welcomed development that the EPA is extending the well’s operating permit. 
Maryland is a sad state. It’s completely ruled by leftists who seek to impoverish its residents by forcing them to use expensive and unreliable renewable energy. There is actually some Marcellus/Utica shale under Maryland (in a couple of far-western counties), but the state outlawed shale fracking nearly 10 years ago when then-Gov. Larry Hogan (a RINO and Trump-hater) allowed a Maryland bill to become law that bans fracking in the state (see 
Nothing the Bidenistas do on their way out of power surprises us. The day after Christmas, when nobody was looking, the Bidenistas at the Department of Energy (DOE) published final “climate” regulations that ban most tankless natural gas water heaters. One industry analysis estimates that consumers will pay $450 more on average when purchasing new water heaters, thanks to the regulations. The DOE didn’t issue a press release or announcement or in any way announce the change. The sleazeballs tried to hide it. 
We have news about a disturbing ruling from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued last Wednesday. By a vote of 3-2 along party lines (Democrats in the majority), the PUC commissioners labeled landlords as “pipeline operators” if they have behind-the-meter gas distribution systems on their properties. The move will require, with limited exceptions, landlords throughout the commonwealth — regardless of size — to comply with federal gas pipeline safety laws, including the regulations of the federal Pipeline Safety and Hazardous Materials Administration (PSHMA), in the same manner as natural gas distribution companies and gas pipeline operators. It’s completely bonkers. 
On Jan. 3, the Biden IRS issued its final clean hydrogen tax credit rule, otherwise known as the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. We previously wrote about 45V back in June (see 
RBN Energy recently concluded a two-part series on LNG delays and what’s causing delays in bringing more export capacity online. Friday’s Part 2 of the series looks at recent court rulings and regulatory issues and their impact on U.S. LNG development. Yes, Joe Biden’s ill-timed “pause” on the Department of Energy issuing new export approvals certainly had a big impact (see 
Not only did New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, an extremist liberal, sign a ban on using carbon dioxide to frack wells in the state at the last minute before the end of the current legislative session (see 
Last Friday, Republican Congressman August Pfluger (from Texas) introduced a new bill that will prevent any future president from banning fracking nationally without the consent of Congress. Pfluger’s “Protecting American Energy Production Act” would explicitly require an act of Congress to impose a fracking moratorium and prevent the president from doing so directly. We must ensure future administrations don’t repeat the catastrophic damage inflicted by the Bidenistas over the past four years. This is a good first step. 
Last fall, MDN began tracking the issue of who, ultimately, should pay to build out new electricity sources for data centers (and AI) that increasingly use huge amounts of power (see 
The Pittsylvania County Planning Commission voted on Jan. 7 to recommend against granting Virginia-based Balico permission to proceed with a $8.85 billion project to build a data center complex. Last October, Balico applied to rezone more than 2,200 acres for a proposed campus that would include its own massive on-site gas-fired power plant complex using Marcellus/Utica molecules from the Mountain Valley Pipeline (see 
It’s always a red-letter day here at MDN HQ when we happen across a new pipeline project in the Marcellus/Utica region. Today is one of those days! Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), filed a new project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December to beef up three existing compressor stations in Centre County, Clinton County, and Franklin County in Pennsylvania, and one existing compressor station in Loudoun County, Virginia, with the aim of flowing more Marcellus molecules to the Washington, D.C. area.