Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Franklin County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH
OH Court to Rule on Challenge of Law Allowing Drilling Under Parks
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see OH Gov. Signs Bill Expanding Drilling in State Parks, NatGas “Green”). The new law allows shale drilling under (but not on top of) Ohio state-owned land. HB 507 encourages (pushes for) more drilling under state-owned land. Even though drilling on state-owned land is about to become a reality thanks to this law, it was another provision of HB 507 that torqued off the Big Green Left even more–officially recognizing natural gas energy as “green” energy. It still bothers them, and they’ve gone to court to get it changed.
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This story reinforces what we have said FOR YEARS: The radicalized environmental left will NEVER be satisfied that fossil energy is acceptable, no matter what we do to ensure it’s “clean and green.” As we have said so many times before, the environmental left is unreasonable–not able to be reasoned with. Irrational. Haters. We have new evidence for our claims. There are four major certification schemes to ensure natural gas produced in the U.S. is “responsible”–or clean and green. In March, the Bidenistas began to sniff around the certification authorities to grab that authority for themselves. A cabal of some 150 “environmental” (leftist Communist) groups are telling the Bidenistas not to bother. Gas will never be acceptable.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is a typical politician. That is, he lies. His latest whopper concerns a measure he advanced to “prohibit” the Biden administration from “banning gas stoves,” which he touted in a recent video. However, just two years ago, Manchin opposed an amendment from Wyoming Republican senator John Barrasso that prohibited federal funds from being used to ban natural gas in new construction, saying the measure wasn’t necessary and that such bans would never happen. Joe-then and Joe-now appear to be two different people. Funny how Joe gets more “conservative” the closer he gets to an election year.
As we point out in another story today about Olympus Energy selling its “responsible gas” via a deal with Tenaska, what the left means by ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) and what the shale industry means by ESG, are two different things. When companies like BlackRock talk about forcing the companies they invest in to toe the line with respect to ESG, it means forcing those companies to divest from fossil energy. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing back hard against investor ESG nonsense because it threatens the retirement funds of this country’s massive middle class.
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) is warning of a shortfall in electric generating capacity for New York City in 2025 when peaker plants–on-demand electric-generating plants that use fossil energy–are due to retire. Each quarter NYISO issues a short-term assessment of reliability. In April, the NYISO quarterly report warned about coming blackouts in 2025 (see 
In early June, 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 
Here we go again. During the Trump administration, a group of 45 Republicans worked “across the isle” with 45 Democrats to launch the Climate Solutions Caucus, a group seeking to find bipartisan compromise on green energy and climate initiatives. You know how we feel about so-called climate change (i.e., man-caused global warming). It’s nonsense and a waste of time. Yet some Republicans feel the need to “address” this “global crisis.” Whatever. After the 2018 mid-term elections, when there was a bloodbath of Republicans losing, the group became defunct and has not operated since–until now. Last Friday, Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02) and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Co-Chairs of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, announced that the bipartisan caucus is composed of an equal number of Members from each party (29 each, a total of 58) for the first time since the end of the 115th Congress, and will relaunch and renew its efforts.
In 2021 as he was running for the office of Governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin pledged if he won, he would remove the state from the onerous carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Following his recent review of a new regulation to remove the state from RGGI, Youngkin is on the cusp of keeping his promise.
Yesterday MDN told you that on Monday, the clown judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (i.e., the 4th Circus) illegally stayed a THIRD permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to traverse a piddly 3.5 miles of the federally-owned Jefferson National Forest (see 
What a disappointment Rich Negrin has turned out to be as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection. During a DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting held yesterday in Harrisburg (and remotely, via teleconference), several virulent anti-fossil fuelers addressed the council, making wild claims against the DEP. Negrin simply accepted their babbling and told them he agreed with them and would investigate any perceived problems. It was a shameful performance.
Although Shell maintains flaring and accidental emissions from its new multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, have not violated state and federal air standards, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they have–on numerous occasions. Shell didn’t argue the point, and in May, the company agreed to pay nearly $10 million in fines and “contributions” to benefit local communities (see 
In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Infrastructure bill, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the help of turncoat Republicans (see 
In April, Williams filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade Transco pipeline’s capacity in Alabama and Georgia. The Alabama Georgia Connector Project involves upgrades to five compressor stations that will increase capacity in the region by an extra 63.8 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). The mighty Transco pipeline is a 10,200-mile natural gas transportation system that extends from south Texas to New York City. Transco is the nation’s largest-volume natural gas pipeline system, transporting about 15% of the natural gas consumed in the United States. Williams reversed the flow on Transco years ago to flow Marcellus/Utica gas to the south.