Pennsylvania

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    Insane Legislation Requires PA Residents Use 100% Renewable Energy

    Right around Earth Day politicians become even nuttier than they usually are. This year is no exception. A truly breathtaking, totally insane pair of bills have just been introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature, in observance of Earth Day, that would force all Pennsylvanians to use electricity generated from 100% so-called renewable sources by the year 2050. It’s totally preposterous and lunatic–but there you have it. Actually being in your right mind is no longer a requirement for high office–at least in PA. Democrat Rep. Chris Rabb introduced the bill in the PA House, and Democrat-lite (i.e. RINO) Sen. Charles McIlhinney introduced the bill in the PA Senate. Unsurprisingly they’re both from the Philadelphia area, where living in the real world doesn’t exist. The object of the proposed law is to dump the use of all “fossil fuels” and instead rely on unreliable wind and solar to produce all electricity in the Keystone State. Do you know how much of PA’s electricity is produced by wind and solar today? A piddly 2.8%. Nuclear generation is the #1 source of electric in PA at 41%, followed by coal at 29.6% and natural gas at 25%. Do you really, in your heart of hearts, believe PA can generate 100% of its electricity from wind and solar by 2050? It’s a fantasy, totally unconnected with reality. Yet that’s all we’ll hear and read for the next few days until, blessedly, we get past so-called Earth Day…
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    More Dynamite Stolen from PA Pipe Site than Originally Reported

    We have an update to a story we first brought you yesterday, that someone(s) has stolen a bunch of dynamite and the blasting caps needed to detonate it from a construction site for the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA (see Dynamite Stolen from Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Site in Lancaster County, PA). Investigators with the federal ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) are “moving with a sense of urgency” to locate the thieves. Two new bits of information. First, even more dynamite was stolen than previously reported–some 704 pounds (instead of 640) and 450 blasting caps (instead of 400). The second bit of information is that the contractor who was storing the dynamite is being investigated to see if the material was stored properly, according to strict federal guidelines. You don’t leave dynamite in a trailer without the wheels being removed from the trailer and industrial strength locks and lock shields. Here’s the latest on this developing situation…
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    Dynamite Stolen from Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Site in Lancaster County, PA

    Approximately 640 pounds of dynamite and 400 blasting caps were stolen from a locked trailer at a construction site for the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Marietta (Lancaster County), PA this past weekend. Because the theft involved explosives, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been called in to investigate. The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. We sincerely hope the perp(s) are caught and go to jail–for a long time. If you know anything, call the ATF hotline at 888-ATF-BOMB (888-283-2662). Not sure who thought up that phone number for the ATF, but it’s certainly memorable! Here’s the details…
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    PA DEP Hunger Games Competition to Distribute $12.6M in ME2 Money

    In February Sunoco Logistics Partners agreed to pay a massive (historically high) $12.6 million fine to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for “permit violations related to the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project” (see Sunoco LP Pays PA DEP $12.6M to Resume ME2 Pipeline Construction). Sunoco’s ME2 construction activities caused a few erosion issues here and some drilling mud leaks there–so-called “harms” to the environment. Surely some of the massive, historically high $12.6 million fine Sunoco is paying will be used to “fix” those problems, right? Wrong. Sunoco has to pay twice–pay to clean up the problems AND pay the fine. The fine was essentially a shakedown–Sunoco had to pay it or they would not be allowed to resume construction work on ME2. Yesterday the DEP announced a new program to distribute the $12.6 million of fine money. In Hunger Games tradition, the DEP is launching a lottery for the 85 municipalities along ME2’s path, allowing those “districts” to submit begging proposals to request some of the money for programs in their district. What kind of programs? “[P]rojects that reduce or minimize pollution and protect clean water.” In other words, just about anything contestants can dream up. They have 45 days, from May 7 to June 21, to make a grab for the cash (i.e. submit a grant application)…
    Read More “PA DEP Hunger Games Competition to Distribute $12.6M in ME2 Money”

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    Southwestern Appeals “Trespass” Case to Entire PA Superior Court

    Southwestern Energy has just taken the next very important step in a process that frankly has us holding our breath. Two weeks ago MDN brought you the news that the Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down a decision that has the power to greatly restrict, perhaps even stop, Marcellus drilling in PA (see PA Superior Court Overturns “Rule of Capture” for Marcellus Well and PA “Rule of Capture” Case has Power to Limit Marcellus Drilling). The issue, in brief, is that the Superior Court decision disallows using an age-old principle called the “rule of capture” when it comes to shale drilling and fracking. It opens the door to a myriad of frivolous lawsuits claiming that a fracture, a crack created during fracking, is draining gas from a neighbor’s property without justly compensating the neighbor for the gas. Southwestern successfully argued in a lower court that the odd crack here and there that may slip under a neighbor’s property is permissible. The landowner appealed the case to Superior Court and three judges heard the case. One of the Superior judges authored a decision overturning the lower court, with a second judge “joining” (agreeing with) the decision. The third judge was AWOL (“not participating”). Frankly, the stakes could not be higher for the future of Marcellus drilling in PA. Southwestern has just filed a request with the Superior Court asking that all 20 judges who sit on that court hear and consider the case, which makes sense given the gravity of the case and PA’s economic future…
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    Did StateImpact Forum on PA Gas Royalty Issue Resolve Anything?

    Perhaps our headline for this article is a tad misleading. Maybe the better question is, Was a meeting held yesterday in Towanda, PA on the topic of gas royalties *meant* to resolve anything? The answer of which is, “Probably not.” PBS StateImpact Pennsylvania organized and hosted a forum yesterday on the topic of PA landowners getting screwed over by energy companies with respect to royalty payments. Both sides were well represented at the forum. We think it’s a cool concept, to get both sides talking about a very important issue. However, StateImpact, funded and controlled by Big Green backers including the William Penn Foundation and Heinz Endowments, is not an impartial, unbiased news organization that wants to honestly explore this important issue. StateImpact is NOT an impartial broker. Their purpose is to play both sides against each other and enjoy the chaos that ensues. Whip up more animosity between both sides. Make no mistake: StateImpact abhors shale drilling and prefers it not happen at all in PA. With that as the proper context to understand the event, some good points did emerge from the discussion, despite StateImpact’s bad intentions…
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    Sunoco Requests Change of Drilling Methods for ME2 Near Sinkholes

    Underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work done by Sunoco Logisitics Partners in Chester County to install the twin Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipelines has led to the development of three large sinkholes (see 3rd Sinkhole Appears Near ME2 Construction in Chester County, PA). The third sinkhole that developed exposed a portion of the existing Mariner East 1 pipeline, causing ME1 to be closed until further notice (see PA PUC Shuts Down Mariner 1 Pipeline Due to Mariner 2 Sinkhole). In order for ME1 to reopen, the state Public Utility Commission has to be assured further drilling for ME2 won’t further disturb ME1. The problem is that the underground geology in that area of Chester County is known as a karst–analogous to Swiss cheese rock layers underground. Not conducive to HDD work. So Sunoco is changing gears. The company has filed a request with the Dept. of Environmental Protection (which oversees the regulation of the project) to change from using HDD to instead using a couple of alternative methods to get the pipe in the ground–including trenching. Before the DEP gives its OK, they will first hold a public hearing on April 30th in West Chester…
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    ME2 Pipeline Cuts Down PA Trees Vacated by Protesters

    Bet you didn’t know that if a pipeline company waits until antis leave the treetops where they’ve been perched because of concerns about high winds, and then the pipeline company nips in early in the morning and cuts down those vacated trees (legally), it’s considered a “predawn timbering raid.” That’s the hilarious headline given to yet another anti-pipeline, anti-drilling article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, covering news about cutting down three trees on a property in Huntingdon County, PA. For the past two years the Gerharts have used illegal protest tactics to stall tree cutting on their property. Out-of-state Big Green radicals, along with the Gearharts’ own daughter, have lived on-and-off in the tops of three white pine trees, building magic tree houses so they can lay around and do whatever. The tree occupation has prevented Sunoco Logistics Partners from cutting the trees, which are in the path of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project. At daybreak on Sunday, April 8th, after observing the greenie weenies had left the night before scared of impending high winds, Sunoco snuck in and cut down the trees, much to the consternation of the Gerharts who called it a “underhanded and cowardly attack.” We call it funny! And smart. So much for the dedication of antis. They scamper down trees when it gets a tad windy up there–something to keep in mind…
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    PA DEP Report – Virtually No Methane Migration from Shale Wells

    The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) released the results of it’s industry-leading program to monitor oil and gas wells for methane (and oil and brine) migration–that is, for anything would impact groundwater. The Mechanical Integrity Assessment Program, as it’s called, is “the most rigorous routine well integrity assessment program to protect groundwater in the United States,” requiring quarterly inspections by operators of their wells. The DEP is in the process of releasing the results of those reports for the past four years–from 2014-2017. They’ve just released results for 2014 (full copy below). What did the DEP find? “[L]ess than 1 percent of operator observations indicated the types of integrity problems, such as gas outside surface casing, that could allow gas to move beyond the well footprint.” In other words, there is virtually no methane migration happening from shale (and conventional) natural gas wells because of good well casings and regular checks. It is hard to overstate how important these findings are. The DEP’s own evidence disproves wild claims that methane is migrating from shale wells everywhere, claims made by anti-fossil fuel radicals and a colluding media (see examples from StateImpact Pennsylvania). Below is the good news that there is virtually no methane migration happening in PA from Marcellus Shale wells…
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    PA Supreme Court Takes a Close Look at Strippers…as in Wells

    It’s always fun to talk about strippers here on MDN. Uh, stripper wells that is. Background: In 2012 Pennsylvania passed the Act 13 drilling law that includes an impact fee on wells targeting shale layers, including the Marcellus. Snyder Brothers, headquartered in PA, drills mostly conventional (vertical only) wells in southwestern PA. In 2011-2012 they drilled 45 vertical-only wells targeting the Marcellus. All 45 of the vertical-only wells were fracked. Initially those wells produced more than 90 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/day), but by December of the year in which they were drilled, the wells produced less than 90 Mcf/day. The way the 2012 Act 13 law is written, if a well produces less than 90 Mcf/day during “any” month it is considered a stripper well and exempt from paying the impact fee. The state’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) assessed the fee anyway because for 11 months the wells produced more than 90 Mcf/day, arguing the word “any” is not a get-out-tax-jail-free card. Snyder Bros. sued and after an appeal of the case, Snyder Bros. won the case in March 2017, exempting those wells from paying impact fees (see PA Court Says Snyder Bros Wells are Strippers, No Impact Fees Due). That sent the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) into a tizzy with claims the Act 13 impact fees are now in jeopardy. So the PUC appealed the case to the PA Supreme Court. The Supremes heard arguments in the case last Wednesday…
    Read More “PA Supreme Court Takes a Close Look at Strippers…as in Wells”

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    Progress for UGI Energy’s LNG Peak Shaver in Bethlehem, PA

    UGI LNG’s Temple I installation near Reading, Pa. with 3-million-gallon storage tank.

    In February MDN reported that UGI is proposing a new LNG peak shaver for Bethlehem, PA. The project hit some early opposition, so UGI tweaked the design, keeping it alive (see UGI Energy Tweaks LNG Peak Shaver for Bethlehem, PA). An LNG peak shaver is a unit used for storing surplus natural gas, to have extra natgas on hand and ready during times of peak consumption during really hot summers or really cold winters. Sometimes your local gas utility will build and use a peak shaver (small LNG storage facility), so they don’t run out of natgas at a critical time, and to help with keeping prices lower by drawing down from storage if prices spike. Low prices make for happy customers. We’re interested in such facilities because of their potential as a new demand source for our plentiful gas supplies. UGI’s Bethlehem project includes building an 80-foot high LNG tank. Last week the Bethlehem Planning Board voted 3-0 to approve the tank, meaning more progress for the project…
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    Big Green Opposes Bill to Relax Regs for PA Conventional Drillers

    Big Green groups are objecting to a plan to exempt Pennsylvania’s mom and pop conventional oil and gas drillers from regulations meant to apply to unconventional (shale) oil and gas drillers. The anti-drilling Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) along with the anti-drilling Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) co-authored a letter to PA Senators encouraging them to vote against a bill now working its way through the Senate (and House). In March, two identical bills were introduced, one in the Senate, the other in the House, that would “roll back” (more like “lock in”) regulations that govern conventional PA drilling to the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 (see 2 PA Bills Would Roll Back Conventional Drilling Regs to 1984). The bills are in response to coming changes proposed by leftist Gov. Tom Wolf to over-regulate conventional drillers. Apparently the bills are getting traction, otherwise Big Green wouldn’t bother wasting time on opposing them. Interestingly, Big Green did not send their letter to members of the PA House. It’s well known that while the Senate is Republican in majority, many of its so-called Republican members are RINOs–Republicans in Name Only. Senators without backbone or conviction. People susceptible to bullying by groups like EDF and PEC. Big Green is targeting those most likely to cave–easy marks. Whereas the Republicans in the House are more conservative and not as susceptible to Big Green bullying…
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    5 Bills to Fix PA DEP to Get Full House Debate (Vote?) Next Week

    In March the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee debated and voted to approve a slate of five bills aimed at fixing not only the slowmo way the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) approves shale permits, but also roll back some of the egregious regulatory overreach that exists in PA (see PA House Committee Approves 5 “Fix DEP” Bills – What’s Next?). The vote to approve the bills was along party lines, with zero liberal Democrats voting in favor of fixing the DEP. In a move that has alarmed Big Green and its supporters, all five bills will now come to the full floor of the House, next week, for discussion and possibly for a vote. What happens if the full House votes to approve these bills?…
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    Cabot Completes $2.5M Endowment for Lackawanna College 1 Yr Early

    Cabot O&G regional HQ in Dimock, PA

    Cabot Oil & Gas is such an impressive company. They are, without a doubt, one of our favorite Marcellus/Utica drillers. We know! You’re not supposed to have favorites among your “children.” We can’t help it. Cabot is a favorite child for us. The company pumped $4.6 billion into Susquehanna County the first 10 years they were in the county (see Amazing: Cabot O&G Invests $4.6 BILLION in One PA County in 10 Yrs). Some $1.5 billion of that amount was lease bonuses and royalty payments–direct into the pockets of landowners. The other $3.1 billion was money Cabot spent in the county to drill there–money that was spread around to contractors, suppliers and workers. It is an incredible story, and certainly would be “enough” if Cabot left it at that. But Cabot hasn’t settled for just benefiting the community with an enormous amount of investment–an investment that benefits Cabot’s own business. Cabot is also one of the biggest philanthropists in Susquehanna County (perhaps THE biggest). In 2012, Cabot gave $2.2 million, that was matched, helping to raise $4.4 million for a new hospital in the county (see Cabot Effort Raises $4.4 Million for PA Physicians Clinic). Then in April 2014, Cabot announced it would donate $2.5 million to Lackawanna College (Scranton, PA) over a five-year period (Cabot Oil & Gas Does it Again – $2.5 Million Gift to Lackawanna College). The gift funds the School of Petroleum & Natural Gas located in New Milford, PA, and is the largest single private donation in the history of Lackawanna College. Cabot has just completed fully funding the $2.5 million Lackawanna gift–a full year ahead of schedule…
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    9 More Seismic Testing Devices Stolen in SWPA, 6 Were Returned

    Click for larger version

    Somebody in southwestern Pennsylvania has sticky fingers. In March MDN reported that someone(s) in SWPA had stolen nine seismic testing nodes in Westmoreland County (see Whoops! Stolen Seismic Testing Nodes in SWPA have Tracking Devices). The seismic testing devices were legally placed in various locations by Geokinetics, hired by Huntley & Huntley to map what’s below the surface in preparation for drilling shale wells. Geokinetics let it be known that if the devices were not returned by March 26, the perps would be hunted down and prosecuted. Oh! And did we tell you that each device has a GPS tracker in it, so Geokinetics can locate the devices whenever they want? We now have a second case of sticky fingers. Stupid is as stupid does. Geokinetics reports another nine units were lifted, this time in Monroeville (Allegheny County). Once again the word has gone out: Return them now, by April 16th, or you will be found and prosecuted. Six of nine have already been returned…
    Read More “9 More Seismic Testing Devices Stolen in SWPA, 6 Were Returned”

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    Tenaska Gas-Fired SWPA Elec Plant Fully Staffed, Online in Dec

    Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station

    In August 2016, energy giant Tenaska (headquartered in Omaha, NE) broke ground to build a 925-megawatt natural gas-fueled power plant in Westmoreland County, PA (see Groundbreaking for Tenaska Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant in SWPA). The Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station is costing $780 million to build. It has taken some 600 people to build the plant, which is on track to be completed and online by December of this year. When the plant fires up, it will provide power for 925,000 homes. An update on this important project: All of the permanent jobs to operate the completed plant are now hired. Some 75% of the new hires are local to the Westmoreland County area…
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