New York

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    Orange County, NY Electric Plant to Start Up in June

    As the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Valley Energy Center natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY gets ready to begin service, some of the neighbors are not happy with noises coming from the plant. They hope local town officials can meet with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and convince him to lean on the Dept. of Environmental Conservation to revoke permits for the plant that CPV just spent almost a billion dollars to build. We told you a month ago the only sliver of a hope antis have to prevent the plant from starting up is to convince the DEC to block it (see Big Green Begs NY DEC to Revoke Orange Co. Power Plant Permits). It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but also not likely that the DEC will step in now. At a Wawayanda Town Board meeting last Thursday residents and town leaders discussed the noise issue and what to do about it, which is the focus of the article below. However, one tiny reference in the article is what caught our attention. The plant is waiting for a pipeline “lateral” from the Millennium Pipeline to be completed to flow natgas to the plant, which is what will fire the plant. You may recall the DEC tried to block that pipeline and was overruled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The DEC took FERC to court and the DEC lost (see Court Rejects NY DEC Attempt to Stop Short Power Plant Pipeline). The short 7.8-mile “Valley Lateral” pipeline is now almost complete. According to the article below (and the thing that caught our attention) is that CPV expects the pipeline to be done and flowing natural gas to the plant in June. When it does, the plant will start up…
    Read More “Orange County, NY Electric Plant to Start Up in June”

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    Anti-Fossil Fuel NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Resigns!

    Former NY AG Eric Schneiderman

    One of the plagues we’ve had to endure in the Empire State is a totally out-of-control, mad drunk with an abuse of legal power, Attorney General Eric Schniederman. There isn’t a shale pipeline or drilling project in New York that Schneiderman hasn’t harassed. Apparently the oil and gas industry isn’t the only thing he harasses. Following a bombshell story in the ultra liberal The New Yorker magazine that accuses Schneiderman of rough sex and slapping woman around, he abruptly resigned as of today. Schneiderman’s resignation has nothing to do with the Marcellus/Utica, but his departure is cause for celebration in New York. Schneiderman was one of the ring leaders in a cabal attempting to shake down Exxon Mobil and other oil companies for billions of dollars, accusing them of “knowing” that oil causes mythical man-made global warming and is harming the environment. The fossil fuel projects in NY that Schneiderman opposed are legion–too many to count. No one in the industry will shed any tears over his departure now that Schnedierman has now been “exposed” (pun intended), hoist with his own petard. One example from the bombshell story: An ex-girlfriend (originally from Sri Lanka) told the New Yorker that Schneiderman, that paragon of ultra-liberal values, called her his “brown slave” and ordered him to call him “Master.” And if she didn’t? He slapped her, hard, until she did…
    Read More “Anti-Fossil Fuel NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Resigns!”

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    Home Rule Chaos Reigns in NY – Towns Vote to Block Wind, Solar

    In June 2014, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, reaffirmed two lower court rulings that empowers townships and municipalities across the state to strip away property owners’ rights to allow drilling and other energy projects (see Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans). NY’s high court ruled in the “Middlefield” and “Dryden” cases that local municipalities have the right to regulate energy development within their jurisdictions–where it can and cannot happen. The seeds planted with the “Dryden” and “Middlefield” cases has sprouted and is now in full bloom–like spring daffodils. So-called “renewable” energy projects are now being blocked using the very same decisions meant to block natural gas drilling–delicious irony that puts a big, fat smile on our face. On the other hand, it points out the truly horrific consequences by NY’s highest court in allowing each community to, in effect, regulate energy production. It is utter folly and lunacy. Welcome to New York…
    Read More “Home Rule Chaos Reigns in NY – Towns Vote to Block Wind, Solar”

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    Supreme Court Rejects Constitution Pipe Request to Overrule NY

    In January 2018, Williams, builder of the proposed Constitution Pipeline–124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into NY and New England–took their last, best shot at overturning a politically-based decision by the corrupt New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny the Constitution necessary water permits to build (see Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court). Williams appealed an appeals court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping against hope that the high court would hear the case–and overturn the appeals court decision, thereby forcing NY to allow pipeline construction. Sadly, the attempt has failed. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition to hear the case. Let’s be honest, it was a long shot to begin with–the Supremes only hear a handful of cases each year. But still, the decision is disappointing. Unlike antis, when our side loses a court case like this, we acknowledge and accept it. If it had gone the other way, antis would have claimed the court decision was illegitimate and launched illegal actions to block construction–like sitting in the tops of trees. They resort to anarchy, mob rule and bullying when they don’t win. We accept the rule of law and pledge to soldier on and fight another day. That’s the difference between unmoored radicals and people with their heads screwed on straight. So what happens now? Is this truly the end of the line for the Constitution? The project has one, possibly two very slim chances left…
    Read More “Supreme Court Rejects Constitution Pipe Request to Overrule NY”

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    The Miseducation of Our Youth: Global Warming Brain Disorder

    As supporters of the fossil fuel industry, we must deal with the issue of catastrophic, man-made global warming head-on. Our kids now grow up believing this lie, and they turn into activists demanding action–sometimes to the point of violence–in support of this lie. We recently read an opinion column by a young woman who appears to be bright, earnest, talented, dedicated–and she believes the lies taught to her about fossil fuels and their role in society. She recently protested in Albany, willing to risk arrest, all in the name of demanding Gov. Cuomo end the use of all fossil fuels in New York State. She’s deathly afraid (we’d call it a phobia) of a common occurrence: the construction and operation of a natural gas-fired power plant in Orange County, NY. What this young woman apparently doesn’t understand is that New York would be plunged back into the Dark Ages if we were to forgo all fossil fuel use–as she is demanding via her protests. Wall Street would move to another state with no electricity to operate its computer networks. Disease and death would be rampant throughout the state. Reliable electricity (used to charge the phone she uses to snap selfies of her protest marches and arrests) would be a thing of the past. It’s really quite sad that this young woman has been completely and incontrovertibly miseducated. Lied to. Education malpractice. The real shame is that she parades her abject ignorance for the world to see. The miseducation of our youth–the intentional lies told to them about man-made global warming, must stop…
    Read More “The Miseducation of Our Youth: Global Warming Brain Disorder”

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    Cuomo-Corrupted DEC Denies Permit for Williams NESE Pipe Project

    A new fight is shaping up in the (crumbling) Empire State. Once again Andrew Cuomo, at the prompting of Big Green groups (corrupted by their big donations to his campaign war chest) has instructed his lackeys who run the Dept. of Environment Conservation (DEC) to reject a modest pipeline expansion proposal by Williams’ Transco Pipeline subsidiary. The project, which we’ve previously written about and are actively promoting, is called the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project (see Time to Support Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement Project). The project is meant to increase pipeline capacity and flows heading into northeastern markets. Transco wants to provide more Marcellus natural gas to utility giant National Grid beginning with the 2019-2020 heating season. National Grid operates in New York City, Long Island, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There are a number of components to the project, but the key component, the heart of the project, is a new 23-mile pipeline from the shore of New Jersey into (on the bottom of) the Raritan Bay–running parallel to the existing Transco pipeline–before connecting to the Transco offshore. In a pattern we’ve seen before, the DEC claims, falsely, that an application for a state water crossing permit is “incomplete.” The DEC, like Lucy with her football in the old Charlie Brown cartoons, offers the promise that “if only” the pipeline company will submit a “complete” application THEN they will approve it. But just like Lucy with the football, when the company gets close, the DEC pulls it away yet again. Fool me once… The DEC used this same tactic to defeat the Constitution Pipeline project. It sure feels to us like “here we go again”…
    Read More “Cuomo-Corrupted DEC Denies Permit for Williams NESE Pipe Project”

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    New York Frack Ban a Result of Russian Collusion? Yes!

    A blockbuster article appearing in the Heritage Foundation’s publication The Signal connects the dots to show how a Russian-funded and backed front group called the Sea Change Foundation funneled (money laundered) millions of dollars of Russian money to Big Green groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, and then how those groups used that funding to pressure Gov. Andrew Cuomo into banning fracking in the Empire State. It is a case of either knowing, or unknowing, collusion with Russia to shut down the shale industry in MDN’s beloved home state. And yet mainstream media actively blocks any reporting of this story. It is complicated and tough to show enough evidence to take to a prosecutor or judge, but when has that ever stopped mainstream/liberal media? The biased press has hounded Trump mercilessly for two years over collusion with Russia–something that never happened. And yet we now have a story about money laundering in Bermuda and a trail that shows Russian money influencing a frack ban in New York–and it’s silence. Crickets. The press is curiously uncurious about a connection between Russia and Cuomo and the frack ban. Why is that?…
    Read More “New York Frack Ban a Result of Russian Collusion? Yes!”

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    Sauce for the Goose: NY Town Considers Moratorium…on Solar!

    In June 2014, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, reaffirmed two lower court rulings that empowers townships and municipalities across the state to strip away property owners’ rights to allow drilling and other energy projects (see Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans). NY’s high court ruled in the “Middlefield” and “Dryden” cases that local municipalities have the right to regulate energy development within their jurisdictions–where it can and cannot happen. As we said at the time, “In our opinion it means there will never be any meaningful shale drilling in New York. No driller in his right mind will roll the dice, lock up thousands of acres by spending millions of dollars, just to see it all disappear at the next town board election with a vote by 3 of 5 people.” But what’s sauce for the goose is now sauce for the gander. The Town of Delaware Town Board in Sullivan County, NY is seriously considering, and about to adopt, a one-year moratorium on solar farms. It seems a company has expressed serious interest in plastering ugly solar farms all over the beautiful countryside, and town regulations are not yet in place to control what may turn into out-of-control solar farm development. So Delaware plans to adopt a moratorium to slam the breaks on–for at least a year. Can anyone say poetic justice? This action by Delaware does not fit Lord Cuomo’s wishes. You see, in NY, only elitist snobs like Cuomo get to choose what kind of energy source we serfs who live under his rule can use. Natural gas is out, solar is in–because Cuomo wants it. Yet the Court of Appeals ruling from 2014 has now risen up to bite Cuomo and his thuggish Big Green cronies on their fat rear-ends. We love it!…
    Read More “Sauce for the Goose: NY Town Considers Moratorium…on Solar!”

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    Time to Support Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement Project

    In March the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a favorable draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Williams Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project (see Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipe Gets Favorable DEIS). The project is meant to increase pipeline capacity and flows heading into northeastern markets. In particular, Transco wants to provide more Marcellus natural gas to utility giant National Grid beginning with the 2019-2020 heating season. National Grid operates in New York City, Long Island, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There are a number of components to the project, but the key component, the heart of the project, is a new 23-mile pipeline from the shore of New Jersey into (on the bottom of) the Raritan Bay–running parallel to the existing Transco pipeline–before connecting to the Transco offshore. This project needs *your* help. Please join MDN in supporting the project by signing this online petition to FERC. A second way you can support the project is by attending and speaking at one of four regional FERC hearings, which begin next week…
    Read More “Time to Support Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement Project”

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    Marcellus Electric Plant Proposed for Meadowlands to Power NYC

    The red line shows the border of the proposed power plant in North Bergen. The yellow line is a transmission cable to ConEd’s substation on West 49th St. in New York City. Click for larger version.

    A subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi wants to build a huge, new $1.5 billion natural gas-fired electric generating plant in the Meadowlands (New Jersey), just outside of New York City. The North Bergen Liberty Generating Project, at 1,200 megawatts, will help replace the electricity lost when the Indian Point Nuclear plant closes down in 2021. Indian Point provides roughly 25% of NYC’s electricity. Something has to replace that big hole in the power grid. You can’t build solar panels and windmills fast enough (not to mention the sun doesn’t always shine nor does the wind always blow). Natural gas will save the day in NYC–and the North Bergen plant will go a long way toward helping. Of course the plant is being opposed by radicals in the nutty Sierra Club and other Big Green groups who despise all fossil fuels and demand that you and I end our use of fossil fuels because they irrationally hate them. Meanwhile, the adults in the room continue to advance plans to replace Indian Point with projects like this one and the CPV Valley Energy Project in Orange County. No, Marcellus gas is not specifically mentioned as powering North Bergen Project, but since the plant will be hooked up to the mighty Williams Transco Pipeline, a pipeline which flows mostly Marcellus molecules these days, at least in the northeast, it’s a safe bet the plant will be powered almost exclusively by PA fracked Marcellus gas…
    Read More “Marcellus Electric Plant Proposed for Meadowlands to Power NYC”

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    Big Green Begs NY DEC to Revoke Orange Co. Power Plant Permits

    As the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) $900 million Valley Energy Center natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY gets ready to begin service THIS MONTH, antis, including Big Green group Riverkeeper, are desperate to stop it from entering service. Since they couldn’t win any lawsuits to stop it, and since they couldn’t convince the federal government (FERC) to stop it, Riverkeeper and some politicians in Riverkeeper’s back pocket (via campaign contributions) have turned their attention to the Andrew Cuomo-corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), hoping they can convince the corrupt DEC to revoke the permits issued for the plant. On what basis does Riverkeeper and their colluding politicians claim the permits should be revoked? On the basis that a CPV lobbyist paid money to Cuomo’s closest confidante and aide as a bribe to get the project approved. There’s no evidence that the project got approved because of the bribe, but the stench is certainly there, and hey, if corrupt bribes got it approved, maybe corrupt politicians colluding with Big Green can get it unapproved, right?…
    Read More “Big Green Begs NY DEC to Revoke Orange Co. Power Plant Permits”

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    Constitution Pipe Files Brief with Supreme Court, Exposes Cuomo/DEC

    In January, the Constitution Pipeline–a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into NY and New England–filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to overrule a lower court decision and allow the pipeline to get built in New York State (see Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court). The Andrew Cuomo-corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) suckered Constitution into refiling an application for a state-issued (but federal) water crossing permit a second time, restarting a one-year clock under which NY could render a decision about the pipeline. Constitution fully cooperated with the DEC, changing plans at the DEC’s request. With four days left on the clock in the second one-year period, DEC, in bad faith, issued a denial of Constitution’s request for the permit (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). In January Constitution filed the lawsuit with the Supreme Court, but earlier this week Constitution filed a “reply brief” in the case. In the brief, Constitution exposes the DEC’s actions as nothing more than a political move orchestrated by Andrew Cuomo himself. It is a devastating brief, laying bare the naked corruption of Cuomo and those who run the DEC…
    Read More “Constitution Pipe Files Brief with Supreme Court, Exposes Cuomo/DEC”

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    NG Advantage Virtual Pipeline Project Near Binghamton is Dead

    In March MDN brought you the news that NG Advantage, which had big plans to build a virtual pipeline (gas compression & trucking facility) on the outskirts of Binghamton, NY, appears to have given up on the Town of Fenton location for the planned project (see NG Advantage Looks Beyond Fenton, NY to Build Virtual Pipeline). That impression is now further strengthened by comments coming from the Fenton town attorney at a meeting last week when he said, “My sense is that they [NG Advantage] are abandoning the project.” Abandoning in Fenton, yes. But not outright abandoning the project. Fenton, and indeed perhaps Broome County, is the biggest loser. But rumor has it that NG is looking elsewhere, nearby, for an alternative location. MDN’s sources keep whispering Hancock, NY as a possibility (in Delaware County). We’ve also heard Deposit, NY mentioned (sitting on the border of Broome and Delaware counties, not far from Hancock). MDN remains a top cheerleader to have NG bring their project to MDN’s own neighborhood, truck traffic and all, in the Town of Windsor. Sadly, no word on a Windsor option from our sources. So what did Fenton and surrounding communities achieve with their “victory” in defeating NG’s project in Fenton?…
    Read More “NG Advantage Virtual Pipeline Project Near Binghamton is Dead”

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    NG Advantage Looks Beyond Fenton, NY to Build Virtual Pipeline

    In a sad postscript, it appears that NG Advantage, which had once hoped to establish a virtual pipeline operation (compressing natural gas from the Millennium Pipeline) in the Town of Fenton (suburb of Binghamton), has finally given up on building the project in Fenton and is instead looking elsewhere. At least that’s our impression based on a couple of sources. We have no confirmation nor comment from NG–so this is purely our own speculation. However, a local television station in Binghamton recently noticed that NG is loading pipes onto a trailer, moving them out of the former construction site. The Town of Fenton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) ruled in February that the facility does not qualify as an allowed use under existing zoning regulations (see NG Advantage Loses Zoning Vote for Virtual Pipe Near Binghamton). The Fenton Town Board is in no mood to overrule the ZBA decision, according to Suervisor Dave Hamlin. Case closed–unless NG plans to sue the town to recover costs, or try to force the issue of building the plant–which we don’t see happening. At any rate, MDN has heard scuttlebutt around the virtual water cooler that NG is looking at several other locations–in and out of Broome County. It would be a tremendous loss for Broome if NG locates outside the Greater Binghamton area. Meanwhile, MDN continues to spot XNG trucks (from a virtual pipeline in Susquehanna County, PA) passing through the Vestal, NY area–through densely populated centers–each and every day. They are the very same kind of trucks NG had proposed to use in Fenton. Yet not a peep about the XNG trucks that pass through our community…
    Read More “NG Advantage Looks Beyond Fenton, NY to Build Virtual Pipeline”

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    NY DEC Files Response re Constitution Pipe Case @ Supreme Court

    There’s a number of threads to the ongoing saga of Constitution Pipeline, a $683 million, 124-mile pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY to move Marcellus gas into New York State and from there, into New England. The Andrew Cuomo-corrupted NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) refused to grant the pipeline necessary federal stream crossing permits, blocking construction, in April 2016 (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). Constitution filed an appeal of the DEC’s arbitrary and capricious decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, asking the court to overturn DEC’s decision. Unfortunately the Second Circuit refused (see Court Rejects Constitution Pipe’s Case Against NY DEC; Now What?). So Constitution appealed the Second Circuit’s rejection to the U.S. Supreme Court in January (see Constitution Pipeline Appeals NY Fight Directly to U.S. Supreme Court). The Supremes have not yet agreed to accept the case. Hoping to head off a decision to hear the case, the DEC filed a brief last week with the Supreme Court to say Constitution Pipeline has “misread” the Second Circuit’s decision,  claiming the DEC was well within their rights to issue the rejection…
    Read More “NY DEC Files Response re Constitution Pipe Case @ Supreme Court”

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    Antis Use Corruption Trial Verdict to Challenge NY Gas Power Plant

    In September 2016, MDN brought you the sad news that the former head of external affairs and government relations for Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), Peter Kelly, was indicted for bribing New York Gov. Cuomo’s long-time top aide Joseph Percoco to get state approvals for CPV’s $900 million Valley Energy Center natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY (see NY NatGas-Fired Electric Plant an Inside Job for Corrupt Cuomo Aide). Both Kelly and Percoco, along with a third person, Todd Howe (lobbyist who used to work for Cuomo) were indicted. The trial was recently held and a few weeks ago the verdicts came in: Both Percoco and Howe, the people close to Cuomo, were convicted. The jury could not decide on CPV’s Kelly–so Kelly skated. While the entire sordid affair is interesting for those of us who smell the foul stench of corruption that surrounds Andrew Cuomo, and while the trial and its result is interesting to MDN because of the gas-fired CPV project in Orange County, the reason we’re bringing it to your attention is because antis are using the Percoco/Howe convictions in the case to try and shut down the now-completed CPV Valley Energy Center project, claiming the plant would have never been approved without bribes and corruption…
    Read More “Antis Use Corruption Trial Verdict to Challenge NY Gas Power Plant”