SRBC Warns PA Shale Drillers to Plan Alt. Water Sources re Drought
Last Friday (Nov. 8), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) sent a heads-up to shale drillers and other large water users in the basin to warn them to be on the lookout for a Plan B to source water. Northeastern Pennsylvania (and other states in the northeast) are experiencing drought or near-drought conditions. The streams and rivers that some drillers use to source water for drilling and fracking are getting low in some areas. The SRBC is about to clamp down and block new withdrawals until the situation improves. Read More “SRBC Warns PA Shale Drillers to Plan Alt. Water Sources re Drought”
In May, MDN told you that several Republican Pennsylvania State Senators were planning to introduce a bill to cut off millions of dollars in impact fee revenues to municipalities that set protective standards on the development of natural gas that “imposes a standard or condition on well development that conflicts with or exceeds those contained” in state law (see 
In January, Joe Biden announced he would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants, with over a dozen requests in the pipeline, for at least one year while his people fart around pretending to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve projects (see 
Earlier this week, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see 
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have a monumental task ahead in fixing all of the things broken by the current administration, especially with regard to energy policy. A complete remake of the EPA would be a great place to start. A good house cleaning at the Department of Energy (DOE) would be another. What about policy issues? What should be the top issues to tackle that would have an immediate impact on the country and begin to restore our lost energy security? We have a few suggestions… 
Nearly eight months ago, the New York Senate passed a bill the Assembly had previously passed to ban the use of carbon dioxide in shale drilling (so-called “CO2 fracking”). Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, a reliable anti-fossil fueler, still has not signed the bill into law. What the heck is going on? Why is she missing in action? We’ve written about this a few times, beginning two months after the bill was passed (
One of the reasons Kamala Harris lost (and lost big) is a complete tone deafness on energy issues, including the “pause” she and her boss put on approving new LNG export requests all the way back in January (see 
In a very short period of time, data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) appeared on the radar as very large potential customers for natural gas due to their need for power. Out of the blue, we began to read about drillers and pipeline companies talking with potential data center customers about flowing Marcellus/Utica molecules to their operations so they can generate their own electricity (for example, see 
Wow! What a night!! We’re so proud of Pennsylvania regarding the election. Of course, the big story of the night was PA going for Trump. But there’s much more to the PA story. Once again, Republicans have taken a majority in the State Senate. The PA House looks to us like it’s dead even right now and will take another day or two to tabulate the outstanding votes and perhaps to recount several races. There’s a decent chance Republicans will claim a PA House majority. Conservative Republicans swept the statewide offices. In the Attorney General race, Dave Sunday beat Eugene DePasquale (a real putz) in an open contest. For Auditor General, Tim DeFoor beat Malcolm Kenyatta, keeping his seat. And for State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity bested Erin McClelland to keep her seat. Best of all, although it’s still too close to call, it appears (to us) that Dave McCormick will unseat Biden-voting, swamp-dwelling Bob Casey in the U.S. Senate. Hooray! 
CNX Resources filed a request with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) in April 2023 to build two pipelines—two for natural gas—along a 13.9-mile route in Bell, Loyalhanna, and Salem Townships in Westmoreland County. An additional 4-mile pipeline would be built for water. Called the Slickville Trunkline Project, the DEP originally told CNX its application was “incomplete.” The DEP later told CNX (in March of this year) the agency considered the application “withdrawn” because it hadn’t received any more information (see 
Williams’ Transco Regional Energy Access Expansion (REAE) project expands the mighty Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to deliver an extra 829 MMcf/d of Marcellus gas to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. About 450,000 MMcf/d of the total capacity went online in late 2023 along Transco’s Leidy Line in Pennsylvania. Another 160 MMcf/d went online in PA and NJ in early July. On July 26, FERC granted Williams’s request to bring online the final 219 MMcf/d ahead of schedule (see 
Look for the steady flow of people moving out of Massachusetts to become a stampede. The state is floating new legislation that will outlaw the use of natural gas as energy. The first step is to block any new customers from connecting to gas. The next step is to forbid repairing gas infrastructure, forcing broken pipes to be replaced with alternatives like electricity or geothermal. Eventually, the liberal crazies running the state want to turn off all natural gas. We call it the clinical definition of insanity. Get out while you still can! 
If you want the shale miracle to continue, if you want reliable energy supplies, and if you don’t want rolling, periodic blackouts, there is a clear choice of whom to vote for today. We’ve heard all the arguments against Donald Trump (and Kamala Harris). But honestly, there is only one candidate who supports real energy security for our country: Donald J. Trump. We’re not voting for a best friend. We’re not voting for a pastor. We’re not voting based on someone’s (bad) manners and (over)use of social media. We’re voting for a LEADER, for a President, for someone who will stand up for America (first, last, and always) and someone who truly, in his bones, supports the oil and gas industry. Today is the day. You MUST go out and vote if you haven’t already (we voted on the first day of early voting here in New York State). PLEASE make it a priority to vote. Don’t let anything keep you from the ballot box. Cast your ballot not for a friend or buddy but for the person who will proudly lead this great country over the next four years.