Anti-fossil fuelers are on a holy mission to stop a 3.37-mile, 8-inch pipeline from being built under the Potomac River by Columbia Gas (see Maryland Antis Oppose 13th Pipeline Under Potomac as “Dangerous”). The pipeline, from Maryland on one side of the river to West Virginia on the other side, will be built to feed a larger pipeline project from Mountaineer Gas called the Eastern Panhandle Expansion. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the project in July 2018. In August 2018 a group of radicalized anti-fossil fuelers filed a request for a “rehearing” (reconsideration of the decision)–the first step on the way to filing a court case against the project. FERC took its sweet time, but last week the agency finally turned down the antis’ request for a rehearing.
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Category: Statewide MD
16 Democrat State AGs Oppose Trump Plan to Ship LNG via Rail
Last April President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Transportation to write a new rule allowing specially constructed tanker cars for railroads (DOT-113 tank cars) to ship LNG, i.e., liquefied natural gas (see Here Come the “Bomb Trains” – Trump to Allow LNG by Rail). The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), issued a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (draft regulations) to move the process forward in October (see US DOT Gets Serious About LNG by Rail – Publishes Proposed Rules). Monday was the final day for comments on the proposed rules. Unsurprisingly 16 uber-partisan Democrat state attorneys general filed a joint letter opposing the new regs.
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FERC Approves Del-Mar Energy Pathway Pipe Project
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG), a subsidiary company of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Sept. 2018 to build 19+ miles of new pipeline and new meter and delivery stations in Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware, and Wicomico and Somerset counties in Maryland, to carry more PA Marcellus natural gas to locations in Delaware and Maryland. Last Thursday FERC granted final approval for the project.
1/7/20 UPDATE: Chesapeake finally issued a press release on Jan. 7 to tout FERC’s final approval. We’ve included the release below.
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Cove Point LNG in Maryland Loads Milestone 100th Commercial Ship
Seems like just yesterday that Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG export plant opened for business–in April 2018 (see First-Ever Shipment of Marcellus LNG Leaves Cove Point, Maryland). Fast forward a year and a half later and on Monday, November 11, Dominion loaded its 100th commercial LNG ship. Let’s celebrate!
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Fed Judge Upholds Maryland Decision to Block Pipe Under Potomac
In May, Columbia Gas Transmission was forced to haul the State of Maryland into court over the state’s refusal to grant an easement to drill a tiny 3.5-mile pipeline under the Potomac River (see Columbia Gas Sues Maryland to Allow Pipeline Under Potomac). In June, Maryland’s anti-fossil fuel Attorney General, Brian Frosh, asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit (see Maryland Asks Fed Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Questioning Pipe Rejection). Yesterday a liberal judge with the U.S. District Court in Baltimore sided with Frosh, sadly.
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Antis Try to Block Baltimore Power Plant from Converting to NatGas
Global warming fundamentalists (our new term for radical environmentalists who irrationally hate all fossil fuels) are ramping up to oppose a plan to prevent a now-closed coal-fired electric power plant in Baltimore from reopening powered by natural gas. Because you know, global warming. And because we MUST dump the use of all fossil fuels by 2050 (the new “it” date) or earth will explode. This plant would have a useful life much longer than 2050. Can’t have that.
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Maryland Asks Fed Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Questioning Pipe Rejection
A month ago Columbia Gas Transmission was forced to haul the State of Maryland into court over the state’s refusal to grant an easement to drill a tiny 3.5-mile pipeline under the Potomac River (see Columbia Gas Sues Maryland to Allow Pipeline Under Potomac). Earlier this week Maryland’s anti-fossil fuel Attorney General, Brian Frosh, asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit.
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Columbia Gas Sues Maryland to Allow Pipeline Under Potomac
Expressing dismay at needing to do so, Columbia Gas Transmission has been forced to haul the State of Maryland into court over the state’s refusal to grant an easement to drill a tiny 3.5-mile pipeline under the Potomac River. In January, Maryland’s emasculated RINO governor, Larry Hogan, along with two other state officials (both Democrats) who sit on what is called the Maryland Board of Public Works, voted unanimously to deny an easement and permission to build the federally-approved pipeline (see Maryland Pulls a NY, Rejects Pipeline Under Potomac River).
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Del-Mar Energy Pathway Pipe Gets Favorable FERC Enviro Assessment
We have news of a new, small pipeline project with the potential to carry more PA Marcellus natural gas to several locations in Delaware and Maryland. Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG), a subsidiary company of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Sept. 2018 to build 19+ miles of new pipeline and new meter and delivery stations in Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware, and Wicomico and Somerset counties in Maryland. FERC has just issued a positive environmental assessment (EA) for the project.
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PA Sen. Gene Yaw to Intro Bill Blocking NatGas Sales to NY-NJ-MD
Over the years MDN has heard the oft-repeated comment that if New York and other states want to block new pipelines, maybe Pennsylvania should quit shipping its gas to those states. PA State Senator Gene Yaw has also heard those comments and, in a brilliant move, Yaw will soon introduce a bill that does precisely that: block natural gas shipments to states like New York, New Jersey and Maryland–states attempting to (or have) blocked new pipelines from PA.
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East Coast Dominates LPG Exports via Philly’s Marcus Hook
According to RBN Energy, “U.S. production of natural gas liquids is projected to increase by 17% this year, and by another 10% in 2020.” NGLs cover a variety of hydrocarbons. Two NGLs, propane and butane, are further classified as LPG–or liquefied petroleum gas. Of the four “smaller” LPG export facilities here in the U.S., two-thirds of all exported LPGs last year came from one–Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia.
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Maryland Pipeline Rejection Jeopardizes 6,000 Customers, Jobs
The State of Maryland, via its rejection of a tiny 3.5-mile pipeline project that will travel under the Potomac River, is putting more than 6,000 natural gas customers and hundreds of jobs at risk on the other side of the river in West Virginia.
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Maryland Pulls a NY, Rejects Pipeline Under Potomac River
We’ve said it before and will say it again: Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is a major disappointment. Somehow radical leftists have politically emasculated Hogan and now lead him around by the nose (see Maryland Gov. Hogan Pulls the Trigger, Commits Fracking Suicide).
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WV PSC Hearing on Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project
A near-capacity crowd (over 300 people) filled the Storer Ballroom at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV on Wednesday to hear and talk about the Mountaineer Gas Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project–a project to deliver natural gas to a new industrial facility in Berkeley County, WV, and provide gas to other local businesses and residents in the Tri-State area. The meeting (a public hearing) was hosted by the West Virginia Public Service Commission. It was moved to Shepherdstown from Charleston at the request of fussing Sierra Clubbers.
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Dominion Officially Axes Compressor Station Plan Near Mt. Vernon
In July MDN told you that Dominion Energy had decided, at least unofficially, to abandon a plan to build a compressor station across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon–the home and estate of our illustrious first president, George Washington (see Dominion Surrenders to Mt. Vernon – Relocating Compressor Station). Mount Vernon caretakers said the station would junk up their pretty view, which Dominion disputed. Regardless, Dominion said it would work with Mount Vernon on a plan to locate the compressor somewhere else that wouldn’t interfere with the view. Dominion has just made it official. On Monday they said they won’t build the station where originally planned.
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Cove Point LNG Plant Restarts After 3 Wks Offline for Maintenance
On September 21, Dominion Energy stopped pulling gas from pipelines into the Cove Point LNG export facility (on the shoreline of Maryland) in order to conduct scheduled maintenance (see Cove Point LNG Plant Down for 3 Weeks of Maintenance). Cove Point liquefies and exports some 3/4 of a billion cubic feet (Bcf) each day. True to their word, over the weekend (three weeks later) Dominion began pulling gas again. By the way, all of the gas feeding Cove Point comes from the Marcellus/Utica region–most of it headed to Japan and India.
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