Sen. Katie Muth’s Attempt to Block Dimock Wastewater Plant Dismissed
Pennsylvania State Senator Katie Muth’s attempt to block a proposed frack wastewater treatment plant in Dimock (hours away from her own district) has completely bombed out. Muth tried to challenge and block a permit for the plant, an effort which was mostly rejected in court back in June (see PA EHB Dismisses Senator’s Request to Block Dimock Wastewater Plant). The PA Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), a special court set up to hear challenges to Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) decisions, allowed Muth one final remaining way to continue her challenge–by claiming she has personal “standing” to challenge the permit as a resident of the state. In September, Eureka Resources, the builder of the facility, asked the court to quash her claim of standing (see Dimock Wastewater Plant Hits Back Against PA Sen. Katie Muth). The court granted Eureka’s request on Wednesday.
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We have chronicled a number of companies that buy royalty and/or mineral rights from landowners in the Marcellus/Utica over the years (see our previous stories about royalty mineral rights sales 
New shale permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica came roaring back during the week of Oct. 31 through Nov. 6. Both Pennsylvania and Ohio issued 13 new permits during that week. But what’s this? West Virginia issued a whopping 17 new permits! The prior week WV issued only a single new permit.
A press release issued yesterday announced the partnership between an Appalachian driller we aren’t familiar with, Oil Well Shares (OWS), and Canada-based OYA Renewables to form a joint venture called Chrysalis Energy. The new company will use OWS’s 1.5 million leased acres across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia to build solar farms, wind farms, and “energy storage infrastructure projects.” We have some thoughts about this partnership and how it may impact landowners.
In our opinion, Pennsylvania voters made a major mistake in electing Attorney General Josh Shaprio as their next governor (see 
The Catholic nuns of Lancaster County’s Adorers of the Blood of Christ are still, all these years later, trying to shake down Williams for more money because of a pipeline that runs underneath a cornfield owned by the sisters (hence our nickname for them). Using lawyers from Big Green groups, the nuns argued their “religious beliefs” were offended by the pipeline because it flows a nasty, filthy fossil fuel that causes global warming. We’ve lost track of how many lawsuits the sisters have filed, using OPM (other people’s money). The most recent lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia-based U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, was just shot down by the court.
Howard Energy Partners (HEP) is a midstream/pipeline company that owns and operates natural gas and crude oil pipelines, natural gas processing plants, refined products storage terminals, deep-water dock and rail facilities, fractionation facilities, hydrogen production facilities, renewable diesel logistics facilities, and other related midstream assets in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Mexico. The company owns more than 600 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines with some 100+ of those miles located in the PA Marcellus. Yesterday, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) announced it has purchased a controlling interest (87%) in HEP. AIMCo is the new owner.
Anti-fossil fuelers continue to pressure the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (and Pennsylvania itself) over the grievous sin of approving the Shell ethane cracker plant project (see 
Upper Burrell (Westmoreland County, PA) town supervisors held a hearing last Wednesday, and following that hearing, voted unanimously to approve a new well pad proposed by Olympus Energy. This is the fourth such well pad approved by the town. Unlike previous meetings, no one (of the 20 or so residents attending) objected to the project. The well pad is 630 feet or more from about 20 homes–which is farther than the state-required setback of 500 feet.
A group of so-called environmental organizations that are IRS tax-exempt is really nothing more than a political front for the Democrat Party. We’re talking about PennEnvironment, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, and the odious National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), three groups that have collectively poured nearly $5 million into advertisements this election cycle supporting the anti-drilling, anti-fracking, anti-Marcellus Josh Shapiro. Why these organizations are still tax-exempt is a mystery to us, as they are completely partisan (Democrat), a violation of the federal tax code.
We continue to be impressed with CNX Resources and its CEO Nick DeIuliis. CNX and the CNX Foundation are having a huge impact on the southwestern Pennsylvania (and tri-state) region where the company operates. In the past, we’ve told you about CNX and the work it is doing supporting underserved communities and populations in the tri-state region with $30 million in donations (see