Bradford County | Energy Services | Eureka Resources | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater
Marcellus Wastewater Plant in PA Gets Ready to Extract Lithium
In March, MDN brought you the news that Eureka Resources, which owns and operates three centralized treatment/recycling facilities that process flowback/produced waters (i.e. wastewater) from the Marcellus Shale, announced a joint venture with MGX Minerals to use MGX’s high tech solution to recover lithium from Marcellus wastewater (see Eureka to Extract Lithium from Marcellus/Utica Wastewater). As of yesterday, MGX’s equipment arrived on site in Bradford County, PA.
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Although we haven’t (yet) had the pleasure of a tour at the massive Shell ethane cracker plant complex in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh), we’ve spoken to others who have. Universally they say it is a marvel to behold. The world’s second largest crane, dubbed “the Mother of All Cranes” is on site, along with about 100 other cranes (no lie, at least 100 cranes). The site is teeming with thousands (yes thousands) of construction workers–some 5,000 right now, and will reach 6,000 by year’s end. But we’ve turned a corner. According to officials, most of the large structures have now been built and the work is shifting to connect them all. Come along with us for a video tour of the facility.
The town of East Goshen, in Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia) has a noise ordinance in place from 10 pm to 7 am. Sunoco Logisitics, working on installing a section of the Mariner East 2 pipeline through the township, requested an exemption to allow them to work all night long. Their argument is that once you start pulling pipe through the hole you’ve just drilled, you can’t just stop. Last week the town supervisors voted against granting the exception. Shhh, quiet after 10.
In April, Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Turzai, Speaker of the House, and a group of conservative Republicans, announced a plan for the future of PA (see 
Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (or PIPE) grants cover part of the cost of building new natgas pipelines to connect homes and businesses in rural parts of the state to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many of the more-than-a-dozen (so far) PIPE grant projects in the past (
In 2012, Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman, Democrat from Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia) voted against passage of the Act 13 law that created the impact “fee” (actually a tax) on Marcellus Shale drillers in the state. Yet earlier this week Dinniman issued a press release to tout $740,000 in new grants for “green” projects in his district, essentially taking credit for getting the money for those projects, paid for by impact fee revenue! Is it any wonder politicians like Dinniman rate below used car salesman in opinion polls?
Two of the eight Pennsylvania House bills that are part of an initiative called Energize PA have been voted out of the PA House State Government Committee. Both bills, House Bill (HB) 1106 and 1107, are aimed at streamlining and speeding up the permitting process at the semi-dysfunctional Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Enviro-leftists are spitting nails and hopping mad. These bills have momentum and now go to the full House for a vote.
PBS reporter Reid Frazier should enjoy what is likely to be his one and only trip to Europe on the StateImpact Pennsylvania company dime. He’s gone there to follow Marcellus molecules exported from Pennsylvania, to see how they’re used. Frazier’s first stop is Scotland where they use our ethane to create plastics. Frazier’s report is actually (shock warning, please sit down) pretty fair and balanced–even complimentary of the Marcellus Shale and the plastics industry! Frazier’s overlords inside the William Penn Foundation (big financial backers of StateImpact) are NOT going to be happy with his reports if they continue like this one.
Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas-fired electric plant, Invenergy’s 1,480 megawatt, $1 billion project called the Lackawanna Energy Center, has been completely done and fully online since earlier this year (see 
Nice try, but no cigar for Plainfield Township in Northampton County. The Plainfield Board of Supervisors last week passed a new zoning ordinance that prevents pipelines (and cell phone towers, and solar farms, and wind mills, and and and) from being built near or under the 1.5 miles of the Appalachian Trail as it passes through their township. Thing is, when it comes to pipelines (like PennEast Pipeline) that are federally regulated, Plainfield can’t stop it. Their ordinance isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Last week MDN told you that oral arguments would be heard on Thursday at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in what we believe is one of (perhaps THE) most important shale cases ever in the Keystone State (see 
Two of the eight Pennsylvania House bills that are part of an initiative called Energize PA will be considered and debated before the PA House State Government Committee on September 17. Both bills, House Bill (HB) 1106 and 1107, are aimed at streamlining and speeding up the permitting process at the semi-dysfunctional Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Enviro-leftists are screaming–they don’t want the dysfunction to stop. Having shale permits issued more quickly is not in their game plan.