Gov. “Do Nothing” Shapiro Will Have to Decide on RGGI Soon
Josh Shapiro promised he was a different kind of Democrat–that he would work with Republicans on important issues like the environment if elected Governor of Pennsylvania. In the end, Shapiro has turned out to be a dud–a do-nothing governor. We warned you during the campaign that should Shapiro get elected, he would (eventually) embrace the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax, even though he made statements during the campaign that he doesn’t support it (see PA’s Shapiro Outright Lies About Position on RGGI Carbon Tax). In his very first proposed budget, Shapiro, while making no public statements about it, inserted a line item that assumes (counts on) Pennsylvania residents paying $600 million in RGGI carbon tax sales during the budget year of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 (see Coming Soon to PA – Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Energy Tax, aka RGGI). Shapiro is counting on RGGI money to help balance his bloated, pork-spending budget.
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New shale permits issued for May 15-21 in the Marcellus/Utica took a substantial hit. There were only 12 new permits issued, down by more than half from the 26 new permits issued the previous week. Last week’s tally included 10 new permits for Pennsylvania, 2 new permits for Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was a tie–Coterra Energy and Chesapeake Energy each received 3 new permits, with Coterra’s permits issued in Susquehanna County, PA, and Chessy’s permits in Bradford County, PA. Range Resources and Olympus Energy each received 2 new permits, and Southwestern Energy and EOG Resources each received 1 new permit.
In March, Shell said its Pennsylvania ethane cracker facility had not–using new, more accurate methods of measuring emissions–violated emissions limits at any point during the facility’s somewhat troubled startup (see 
Last Thursday, a Congressman from Pennsylvania, John Joyce (a physician from Altoona, PA), introduced House of Representatives Bill (HR) 3500, called the “Mountain Valley Pipeline Completion Act” (copy below). Which we find interesting because Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) does not touch PA, although a PA company, Equitrans, is building it. The 303-mile MVP pipeline starts in Wetzel County, WV, and runs through WV into Virginia, ending in Pittsylvania County, VA. The project has been stalled for years due to repeated lawsuits from foreign-funded Big Green groups. HR 3500, aimed at finishing MVP, was co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), and Alex Mooney (R-WV). Here’s what the bill would do…
Yesterday the six sitting justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (currently one vacancy due to the death of Chief Justice Max Baer last fall) heard oral arguments in a case about the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)–a carbon tax scheme aimed at shutting down coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in the state. As is often the case, this Supreme Court case is about a technicality in the law. A lower court (PA Commonwealth Court) blocked the state’s entrance into RGGI last year until a lawsuit challenging PA’s participation could play out (see 
We’ve noticed over the past several weeks a coordinated effort among Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, Analysis Group, the so-called Resources for the Future, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and others, engaged in a full-court press to try and convince Pennsylvanian’s that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a HUGE tax on carbon dioxide emissions aimed at closing down coal and natural gas-fired power plants in the state, won’t increase electric rates, will clean up the air, and in general, will make Pennsylvanian’s lives happier, live longer, and have better sex. (Well, they don’t mention the sex part, but it’s implied.) We can categorically say, THEY ARE LYING. The simple truth is that these groups are ALL anti-fossil energy and they seek to DESTROY the shale industry. And yes, RGGI will raise your electric rates if you live in PA.
The Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (near Pittsburgh) has experienced a number of problems over the past six months during startup, including flaring and foul odors (see 
Zefiro Methane Corp.
Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS), a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy company, provides natural gas transportation and storage services with one of the largest underground natural gas storage systems in the United States. Essentially EGTS is a pipeline network that connects to other pipelines to flow and store natural gas in six states: Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. An upgrade of an EGTS metering station in Plum (Allegheny County, PA, near Pittsburgh) is currently under construction and due to be complete “by summer.”
The news lit up Friday afternoon with the latest rig count by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR). We always caution that weekly rig counts are not a reliable way to gauge drilling activity as the count floats up and down each week. However, on Friday, the bottom kind of dropped out of the natural gas rig count. BKR said the gas-focused rig count dropped by 16 to 141 for the week, which amounts to a 10% drop in a single week. That *does* get your attention. The general consensus seems to be that low, low prices (bumping around near $2/MMBtu) have finally taken their toll, and drillers are pulling back on drilling new wells. How many rigs were lost in the Marcellus and Utica last week?
The PA Environment Digest Blog has been reviewing the reports filed by Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) workers again and noticed a situation at a well pad in Delmar Township, Tioga County. According to DEP reports filed, a Notice of Violation (NOV) was issued to Seneca Resources for a well pad located on DCNR State Forest land last September. Surface water samples from puddles indicate wastewater (brine) from one or more wells spilled onto the ground.