PA EHB Dismisses Senator’s Request to Block Dimock Wastewater Plant
The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) partially dismissed a challenge brought by Philly-area State Senator Katie Muth. She seeks to block Eureka Resources from moving forward with the construction of a new shale wastewater recycling facility in Dimock, PA–a location hours away from her own district. The EHB ruled that Muth has no standing under the PA Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA) to bring a challenge. The proposed facility is not in her district and there’s nothing that ties her to that location.
CLARIFICATION: The EHB ruling said Sen. Muth has no standing based on the ERA and her office as Senator. However, the EHB did not totally dismiss the case as it could not agree on her standing (ability to challenge) based on her status as an individual resident of PA. See our detailed note below.
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Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia are all scrambling to form working groups or other alliances in an attempt to be THE state chosen for one of four regional hydrogen hubs funded by the so-called Biden infrastructure bill (see 
EQT CEO Toby Rice is and has been on a mission–to spread the gospel of LNG (see 
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” (Quote attributed to Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda) The left so often adopts the attitude if you keep repeating the same lie over and over–preferably the bigger the lie the better–the lie will become accepted as the truth. State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery, chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and Sen. Jim Brewster, D-Allegheny, are expert practitioners of this strategy with respect to lying about the Marcellus Shale and fracking. They were at it again last week holding a public (i.e. propaganda) hearing at the Community College of Allegheny County.
A group of international scientists has discovered a fourth type of natural gas. Wait, there are different “types” of natgas? Yes, at least different types of origins for natural gas. To date, three main sources of natural gas had been identified–microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic. Scientists have discovered a fourth type or origin for natural gas–natgas generated by radiolysis, which is the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation of the organic matter in shale rock. Yeah, it’s science and it’s complicated. Let us bottom line this for you right here: The presence of natural gas with a “thermogenic” signature (i.e. fingerprint), which indicates gas coming from a drilled shale well, has been blamed for contaminating water supplies in places like Dimock, PA. It’s quite possible thermogenic gas has been misidentified as radiolysis gas, and that leaky wells are not the cause of gas in water.
Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering are developing a new way to reduce the environmental impact of drilling and fracking by cleaning produced water for reuse. Produced water is the water that comes out of the hole long after drilling and fracking is done. It is “water from the depths”–far below the water table–and it’s full of minerals, which is why it’s often called brine (or salt). Pitt engineers have researched membrane distillation (MD) to treat this salty wastewater. Pitt has discovered how to use MD to economically recycle and reuse produced water from shale.
The so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants aimed at killing off those two sources of energy, is more expensive than ever. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is forcing PA to join the RGGI cabal of 11 states (most of them in the northeast), a move endorsed by the man who wants to replace him in November, PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro (see 
Yesterday officials from CNX Resources and the company’s CNX Foundation presented a ceremonial check for $250,000 to pay for upgrades and extensions to municipal waterlines and the installation of fire hydrants in Bell Township (Westmoreland County, PA). The money means 55 homes in the area will be able to connect to municipal water. Local residents are ecstatic. CNX is planning to build six well pads and drill 20 wells in Bell Township. The donation is the company’s way of reassuring residents CNX will be a good neighbor.
It appears the wind has gone right out of the sails when it comes to issuing new permits for shale drilling in the Marcellus/Utica. For the week of May 23-29, only six new permits were issued. Four of the permits were issued in Pennsylvania, two in West Virginia, and none in Ohio. This is the lowest number in a single week we’ve seen in maybe forever. A measly, lousy six permits!
David Taylor, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, was one of the featured speakers at yesterday’s Think About Energy Briefing held in Berks County, PA. Taylor said if PA and federal legislators commit to a pro-growth agenda, PA could become the country’s No. 1 natural gas-producing state. Right now that honor belongs to Texas, which produces enormous amounts of associated natural gas. In 2021, #1 Texas produced 9.4 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, while #2 PA produced 7.7 Tcf. Taylor’s statement is not unthinkable. PA *could* one day eclipse TX natgas production.
Last week the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for January through March 2022 (full copy below). There was 136 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 1Q22, an increase of nine wells (7.1%) compared to 1Q21. However, natural gas production volume was 1,851 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 1Q22, a slight decrease (-0.6%) from 1Q21. It is the first quarterly decrease in production in over a year.
The Bidenistas at the Dept. of Interior breathlessly announced the agency is (finally) releasing $33 million to plug 277 orphaned oil and gas wells across the country located on federal lands. The average price per plugging is $119,000. Spending $33 million to plug wells on federal lands is chump change compared to the $4.7 billion allocated for plugging old wells under the so-called Biden infrastructure bill. Why is the government paying $119K to plug wells that normally cost maybe $50,000 to plug? We’ll answer that question with another question. Why does the government pay $400 for a hammer it could buy at Lowes for $18?
Just last week MDN told you we will, from now on, bring you new permit data for the previous week on Fridays. Yet here it is Thursday and we’re sharing the permit data for last week. What gives? MDN and its author, Jim Willis, are taking a break Friday (tomorrow) and next Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Well, we’re taking Monday off for the holiday. We’re taking Friday off because there’s a wedding in Jim’s family this weekend. There are preparations to make, and celebrations to partake in. So we’re bringing you the permit data today, on Thursday. Speaking of which, there were 24 new permits issued last week, with 14 of them going to Pennsylvania, seven to Ohio, and three to West Virginia. We break it down below.