OH Rep. Bill Johnson Destroys EPA “Clean Power” Regs in Hearing
In May, the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The editors of the Wall Street Journal called the new EPA regulations “An EPA Death Sentence for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants,” with the subtitle “The Biden agency’s new rule means the end of natural gas-fueled electricity.” At a U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials hearing yesterday, Chairman Bill Johnson (R-OH) delivered an opening statement that skewers the EPA’s latest attack on fossil energy and electric reliability.
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Last week shale drillers could, for the first time, begin to apply for permits to drill under (not on top of) Ohio state lands and state parks under newly formulated rules established by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management (OGLM) Commission (see 
It literally took an Act of Congress, but the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline will be, according to the builder and main owner, Equitrans, completed and online by the end of 2023. Victory!!! Finally, the good guys win one. The bulk of the credit for this significant victory goes to…House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who listened to the Republicans of West Virginia and stuck his own neck out to ensure this pipeline project gets completed by including it in the debt ceiling bill. Yes, liberal Democrat Joe Manchin gets credit for calling attention to the plight of MVP, but make no mistake–Manchin could not seal the deal. He fumbled the ball and could not get it across the finish line for a touchdown. It was McCarthy who picked up the ball and ran with it. It was Congresswoman Carol Miller (from West Virginia) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (also from WV) who fought and lobbied (behind the scenes). Their work aided McCarthy in securing a place for MVP in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Hats off to the Republican delegation from WV for their success.
Last week shale drillers could, for the first time, begin to apply for permits to drill under (not on top of) Ohio state lands and state parks under newly formulated rules established by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management (OGLM) Commission (see 
Yesterday the virtual ribbon was cut, and drillers could, for the first time, begin to apply for permits to drill under (not on top of) Ohio state lands and state parks. In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
Last summer Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 2644 was passed into law, becoming Act 96 of 2022 (see 
The weather has been fantastic for those of us living in the northeastern U.S. over the past few weeks. Clear blue skies (when they aren’t clouded with wildfire smoke from Canada), really warm temperatures, and absolutely no rain to spoil outdoor activities. Here in the Binghamton, NY area, we went from a surplus of rain and swollen rivers and lakes just a month ago to a rain deficit today. Lawns and fields and beginning to turn brown. Hey, we’re not complaining! But we do need some rain. The lack of rain in the Susquehanna River Basin has triggered water withdrawal restrictions for 42 oil and gas drillers and four other large water users (46 in all) by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). In many cases, the SRBC order is to “cease withdrawal.”
Although U.S. Senator Joe Manchin “absolutely thinks” that Congress will pass the debt ceiling bill negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, it’s still an open question as to whether or not it will pass. There are plenty of people on both ends of the political spectrum who are more than unhappy with the bill and plan to vote against it. At least, that’s what they say now. Today will be the acid test when a finalized bill appears and gets a vote in the House of Representatives. The billed, called the “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023,” contains language that forces the completion of the 303-mile Marcellus/Utica Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Manchin says if the bill passes, all currently open and pending lawsuits against MVP in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will be immediately dismissed.
Will the debt ceiling bill, the “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023,” actually get passed? And, will it retain the sections that deal with completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and so-called permitting reform? That’s the gazillion-dollar question. We should know within the next day or so whether the bill, largely as written, will survive. Let’s assume, for the moment, that it does survive and gets adopted. We brought you the preliminary language of the 99-page bill yesterday (see 
Big news over the weekend. President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to a compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling–into the stratosphere. Part of the deal is a provision in the 99-page “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023” called Section 324, which expedites the completion of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project. MVP will flow 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Marcellus/Utica gas from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA. Needless to say, anti-fossil fuel nutters began howling at the moon and clawing at their faces upon hearing the MVP news.
Olympus Energy wants to drill six wells on a single pad in rural Elizabeth Township, a borough in Allegheny County on the east bank of the Monongahela River. The pad would sit about 2,400 feet (nearly half a mile) away from Elizabeth Forward High School. Some of the parents of students, and some of the administration, pushed back against Olympus’ drilling plan, using the kiddies as an excuse (see 
In September 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its blessing to Eagle LNG to build a small LNG export facility project at a site on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida (see 
After years of litigation, we finally have closure on what is and what is not considered “waters of the United States”–or WOTUS. Yesterday, SCOTUS ruled unanimously on WOTUS. The U.S. Supreme Court came down on the side of rationality and common sense. What a surprise, and a delight! However, we’re still not done with WOTUS. The Bidenistas (like the Obamadroids before them) have tried to rewrite and redefine WOTUS, and two court cases are still pending to deal with that. However, yesterday’s decision in a case called Sackett v. EPA goes a long way to overturning the Bidenistas’ new WOTUS rules.