Pennsylvania

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Wolf Can’t Get Current Budget Done, Vows Severance Tax Next Year
November 24, 2015November 24, 2015

Will Pennsylvania’s governor, Tom Wolf–the most liberal governor in America according to the nonpartisan website InsideGov–finally agree to a budget framework and budget to end a nearly six month delay he has caused? He promised to try and get the budget done by Thanksgiving–but you know all about politicians and promises. That promise is now out the door. The latest news we’ve been able to locate says Wolf’s plan to hike the sales tax in order to give a break on property taxes is now dead. The one thing that every news account we read says is this: Wolf is promising to resurrect the issue of a Marcellus Shale severance next year and every year thereafter of what we predict will be a very short tenure as PA’s governor. Wolf is fixated on raiding drillers and landowners in order to transfer their hard-earned money to those who don’t earn money–teachers unions…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

WTC Upgrades Warren, PA Plant, Accept Marcellus Wastewater Again?
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

We’re returning to a story we last wrote about over a year ago. In October 2013 MDN told you the radical national anti-drilling organization Clean Water Action (CWA) had sued a small Pennsylvania company by the name of Waste Treatment Corporation (WTC) in Warren, PA in federal court claiming the company continued to accept, treat and discharge Marcellus drilling wastewater into the Allegheny River (see CWA Sues/Accuses Waste Treatment Corp of Continued Shale Pollution). WTC was supposed to have stopped that practice two years earlier, in 2011, after then-Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), Michael Krancer, got all such operations to cease and desist. Responses to the CWA lawsuit from both the WTC and the DEP raised more questions than they answered for us (see Waste Treatment, PA DEP Respond to CWA Lawsuit). In September 2014, CWA announced they had reached a settlement of the case with WTC agreeing to immediately stop accepting/discharging Marcellus wastewater (even though they say they don’t), install expensive new equipment, and then restart accepting Marcellus wastewater processing again (see CWA v Waste Treatment Corp Wastewater Discharge Lawsuit Settled). The new news is that WTC has installed the aforementioned new technology, news that we get from a press release from the company that sold them the technology. What we don’t know is when, or if, WTC will once again begin to accept Marcellus Shale wastewater at the plant…
Read More “WTC Upgrades Warren, PA Plant, Accept Marcellus Wastewater Again?”
Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Slavishly Supports Obama’s CPP Takeover
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

Once again the editorial writers from the Democrat, left-leaning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette show their true Democrat colors. President Obama, as we have reported, has made a breathtaking dictatorial power grab with his EPA’s so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP), a plan that not only screws coal royally, it screws natural gas too (see Obama Stabs Natural Gas Electric Plants in Clean Power Plan). The plan is so bad, 26 states (MORE THAN HALF) are suing to stop it (see 26 States Ask Federal Court to Shut Down Clean Power Plan Now). But America’s most liberal governor (Tom Wolf) and his Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (John Quigley) support the natural gas-killing CPP (see PA Anti-Fossil Fuel Groups Praise Wolf/Quigley for Supporting CPP). And now the Post-Gazette feels it necessary to try and twist public opinion in favor of this horrible plan too…
Read More “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Slavishly Supports Obama’s CPP Takeover”
Industrywide Issues | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Putnam County | Regulation | Warren County | West Virginia

EPA Fines PA Gas Plants for Accidents that Haven’t Yet Happened
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

It’s something straight out of the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has fined the owner of five Pennsylvania natural gas processing plants and one West Virginia plant (six plants total) $50,221 for spills and leaks at the plants–that never happened. The EPA says Elkhorn Gas Processing hasn’t done enough to prevent such incidents from potentially happening, and therefore the EPA is shaking them down and making them pay for possible future violations. Perhaps it’s more like The Godfather than the Minority Report? Talk about an abuse of power! Do you need any further evidence that the Obama EPA is totally out of control?…
Read More “EPA Fines PA Gas Plants for Accidents that Haven’t Yet Happened”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland County

Western PA Municipal Authority Overpaid $785K in Gas Royalties
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

Oh oh. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has been collecting royalties for gas drilling on property it doesn’t own the mineral rights for. How much? The Authority was paid $785,000 in royalties that actually belong to the heirs of the former property owner. The Authority will have to pay the royalties back–but not in a one-lump sum. They’ll stretch out payments from now until September 2017…
Read More “Western PA Municipal Authority Overpaid $785K in Gas Royalties”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics | Williams

Lebanon County Antis Want Public (Spectacle) Mtg or No Mtg at All
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

The demands of anti-drillers in Lebanon County, PA are illustrative of their true motivations. Two different anti groups–Lebanon Pipeline Awareness and Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County–are demanding Lebanon County commissioners have an open public meeting with two pipeline companies. The two pipeline companies are Williams (Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline) and Sunoco Logistics Partners (Mariner East 1 & 2 pipelines). If the meeting is not open and public, so these nutters can pummel representatives of the companies in public and have it broadcast everywhere–they want no meeting at all. Williams and Sunoco had agreed to non-public meetings that INCLUDE members of these two groups–to answer their questions. But the pipeline companies, and the county commissioners, don’t want a circus. That means no cameras/media, and the meeting is not open so it can be packed by large numbers of antis. The companies are willing to sit down and talk like adults and answer questions and address concerns–like adults. But that’s not what Lebanon Pipeline Awareness nor Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County really want. They want to behave like petulant children throwing a temper tantrum for everyone to witness. Evidence: Instead of taking the private meeting, they (the antis) want no meeting at all…
Read More “Lebanon County Antis Want Public (Spectacle) Mtg or No Mtg at All”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

Herding Cats: DEP Sec. Quigley Unhappy with Pipeline Task Force
November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

The thin-skinned Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Quigley, showed his irritation yesterday with his own hand-picked 48 members of the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force (see PA Gov Wolf Packs Pipeline Task Force with His Own Minions). Last week Quigley released a 355-page draft report supposedly compiled by the Task Force that will govern how rural gathering pipelines will be regulated (see PA Gathering Pipeline Draft “Recommendations” from Wolf Task Force). However, it seems the Task Force may not have authored the document after all. It appears to us that Quigley wants Task Force members to rubber stamp *his* proposed recommendations (i.e. regulations). At yesterday’s meeting, some Task Force members took issue with portions of the draft document, which had Mr. Quigley in a grumpy mood. Adding to Quigley’s grumpy mood was THE Delaware Riverkeeper herself, Maya van Rossum, who had to be escorted out of the meeting by Capitol police…
Read More “Herding Cats: DEP Sec. Quigley Unhappy with Pipeline Task Force”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Wrath of Kann: PA Anti’s Disorderly Conduct Conviction Overturned
November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

Kimberly Kann, a resident of Conestoga Township in Lancaster County, PA, decided she would break the rules at a town meeting this past April. The meeting was to discuss so-called home rule and the role it should play in the town with respect to regulating pipelines, like the planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline project from Williams. The ground rules for the meeting were simple: ASK QUESTIONS ONLY. Kann decided she would use it as a public forum to pontificate and rail against pipelines. She wouldn’t ask questions and was repeatedly warned–so when she wouldn’t shut up, they arrested her and threw her out of the meeting (see Wrath of Kann: Lancaster Anti-Driller Arrested/Ejected from Mtg). In July she was found guilty as charged (see Wrath of Kann: Lancaster Anti-Driller Guilty of Disorderly Conduct). Kann should have paid her $325 fine/court costs and ended it–but she kept fighting. It eventually would cost her $3,000 in legal fees, but Kann, like the character played by Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek II, has had the last laugh. In a hollow victory, Kann got her conviction overturned by a Lancaster County judge…
Read More “Wrath of Kann: PA Anti’s Disorderly Conduct Conviction Overturned”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Lib Dems Don’t Like Paying High Education Tax Themselves
November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

Pennsylvania Democrats are unhappy with their governor. They were all jazzed and giddy at the thought of taxing Republicans (i.e. drilling companies) to raise mountains of money for Big Education (i.e. Democrat voters). In the end, Gov. Tom Wolf had to settle for taxing other Democrats because, as Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman says, the drilling industry is “on its back” and more taxes would shut it down. Lack of a Marcellus Shale tax makes PA Dems grumpy–because they themselves (and their voters) will now pay for Wolf’s rash promise to Big Education. Hey, how does that shoe feel when it’s on your own foot, Lib Dems?…
Read More “PA Lib Dems Don’t Like Paying High Education Tax Themselves”
Accidents | Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Marcellus Frack Chemical Plant Near Pittsburgh Goes Up in Flames
November 18, 2015November 18, 2015

More than 200 firefighters from 20 different fire companies battled a five-alarm fire in the tiny borough of Leetsdale, PA (Pittsburgh metro area) yesterday before getting the fire under control. There was a reported explosion and fire at Lubrizol Corporation’s Oilfield Chemistry site. The company manufactures chemicals used in shale drilling and fracking. Liberals will be conflicted over the news–they’ll be happy that a chemical plant feeding the fracking industry is fried, but the plant is owned by liberal billionaire icon Warren Buffett. So this is a good news/bad news thing for anti-drilling libs. Fortunately no one was killed in the blast and fire. Some 75 nearby homes were evacuated for a few hours and several people received minor injuries…
Read More “Marcellus Frack Chemical Plant Near Pittsburgh Goes Up in Flames”
Clearfield County | Energy Companies | Energy Corporation of America | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide VA | Virginia

Virginia Rejects Deal for DC-based Utility to Buy Marcellus Wells
November 18, 2015November 18, 2015

A Washington, DC-based natural gas utility company, Washington Gas (WGL Holdings), announced in May they had cut a $126 million deal with Energy Corp. of America to purchase a 96% interest in 22 Marcellus Shale gas wells in Greene County, PA and another 3 shale wells in Clearfield County, PA. The gas flowing from those wells would go to WGL’s customers in the State of Virginia, requiring state approval of the deal. The Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC) turned them down and nixed the deal. Why? VSCC said WGL’s assumptions about how much the wells will produce, and about the price of gas over the next 20 years, were not solid. Furthermore, the VSCC didn’t like that WGL is essentially shifting the risk of well production/prices onto the backs of rate payers. More deals like this are rumored to be coming down the pike. Will they get nixed too?…
Read More “Virginia Rejects Deal for DC-based Utility to Buy Marcellus Wells”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Update on Study that May/Might/Possibly Show Stressors from Drilling
November 18, 2015November 18, 2015

In September MDN told you about a newly published study that purports to evaluate potential “stressors” on streams from unconventional (i.e. shale) oil and gas drilling–including drilling in the Marcellus/Utica (see New Study Evaluates Stressors on Streams from Shale Drilling). As we said at the time, the study appears to be real science as opposed to the usual political science that passes for real science. The one great negative, in our opinion, is that it was published in a non-peer reviewed journal that publishes a lot of “fracking will kill you” bull–PLOS ONE. The study has popped back up in the news once again. We find it interesting that newspapers run this headline–“Study indicates gas drilling can impact rivers, streams”–and a few paragraphs into the story, one of the lead authors of the paper says this: “What we’ve developed is a predictive model…We have not proven anything about whether shale gas development is affecting streams or not.” You always see lots of “cans” and “maybes” and “mights” and “possiblys” when it comes to anti-drilling mainstream media. How about sticking to “does” and “will” and “proven” instead? In other words, let’s have some hard science instead of theoretical science. Prove your statements. Do some in-the-field research. Here’s the latest update on a study that “may” indicate “some” problems with shale drilling…
Read More “Update on Study that May/Might/Possibly Show Stressors from Drilling”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Inflection Energy | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania

PA Judge to Antis Seeking Drilling Delay: Put Up $5.69M or Shut Up
November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

Here’s a story we LOVE bringing you. A Pennsylvania county judge, Senior Judge Brendan J. Vanston (Lycoming County), has just told an anti-driller to put up or shut up. Inflection Energy had been legally permitted to begin drilling a well in Loyalsock Township in Lycoming County. As they so often do, an anti-driller objected, filing an appeal to stop the drilling in an attempt to delay it by (ab)using the courts. The judge said, in essence, “OK, if you want to play this game, you need to put up $5.69 million as a bond–money you will lose if you don’t prove your frivolous case.” We predict the case will quickly disappear and Inflection will begin drilling…
Read More “PA Judge to Antis Seeking Drilling Delay: Put Up $5.69M or Shut Up”
Anadarko | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania

Earth First Protesters Convicted, Fined for Blocking PA Drill Site
November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

A couple of radical “Earth First” protesters were fined $400 each last Friday in a Lycoming County, PA court, having been convicted of creating a hazardous situation by “crossing the line” according to the judge. The conviction stems from a case we reported to you last year when a group of nutters shut down an Anadarko drilling site in Lycoming County by chaining themselves to a 12-foot long, shrapnel-filled concrete pipe they had laid across a road (see Protesters Shut Down Anadarko Drill Site in Lycoming County, PA). First responders had to risk their own lives to cut them free, through concrete intentionally embedded with shrapnel (we wouldn’t have been as understanding or gentle as the first responders). Just to show you how big a splash a few committed ~~psychos~~ protesters can make, one of the two fined for $400 (and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service) in Lycoming County last week was also one of the ~~idiots~~ protesters who endangered fans at the Indianapolis Colts/Carolina Panthers NFL game by rappelling down from an upper deck to unfurl a big sign opposing the Cove Point LNG plant (see Cove Point Protesters Disrupt Monday Night Football Game on TV). Same dude–a serial lawbreaker…
Read More “Earth First Protesters Convicted, Fined for Blocking PA Drill Site”
Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

Time to Support EQT Mountain Valley & Equitrans Pipelines @ FERC
November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

It’s time for you, pro-drilling supporters, to weigh in and make comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on your support for two important pipeline projects: EQT’s Mountain Valley Pipeline and EQT’s Equitrans Expansion project. The Mountain Valley Pipeline project is a new $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline running 301 miles (down from 330 miles) from Wetzel County, WV to Pittsylvania County, VA, connecting to the existing Equitrans pipeline along the way (see Mountain Valley Pipeline Files FERC Appl, Now Just Matter of Time). Mountain Valley will flow 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natgas and is projected to be built and in-service around the fourth quarter of 2018. The Equitrans Project will upgrade compressor stations, add approximately eight miles of pipeline connectors to upgrade capacity on the Equitrans Pipeline from southewestern PA into WV. The $100 million project, when completed, will expand capacity on the Equitrans pipeline by 600 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). The Equitrans project is also due to be completed in 4Q18. Here’s the details for how you can show your support for these two important projects. But hurry, you only have until Nov. 26 to provide your comments/show support…
Read More “Time to Support EQT Mountain Valley & Equitrans Pipelines @ FERC”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Another Devastating Critique of Fracking/Premature Birth “Study”
November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

In early October MDN brought you the story that a new so-called research study had been published claiming to show a connection between how close mommies live to a fracking site and an increase in premature births (see New Junk Science Claims PA Fracking Leads to Premature Births). We quickly debunked that study by showing the huge flaws in how it was “researched” (see EID’s Devastating Critique of PA Premature Birth “Study”). We have a further update. Dr. Gilbert Ross, senior director of medicine and public health at the American Council on Science and Health has weighed in with his own critique of the science behind the study. Dr. Ross says, “Realistically, there is no way hydraulic fracturing could have had an impact on pregnancy outcomes.” Here’s what else he says about this very flawed study…
Read More “Another Devastating Critique of Fracking/Premature Birth “Study””