Desperate Bob Casey’s Letter Campaign to Revise 45V Tax Credit
Last Friday, MDN told you about a problem brewing that will block new hydrogen projects from getting built in the Marcellus/Utica (see Biden IRS 45V Tax Rule Endangers Hydrogen Hub Projects in M-U). It’s an obscure tax rule known as the 45V tax credit, part of the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Bidenistas at the White House, Treasury Department, and Dept. of Energy proposed a new IRS rule in late December that the 45V tax credits (as provided for in the IRA) can only be used if the hydrogen produced is “green” — meaning NOT made from natural gas. In addition, the electricity used to produce the hydrogen can’t come from fossil fuel sources like natural gas (if you want the tax credit). Biden kneecapped the hydrogen hub projects in the M-U (see Biden’s Proposed IRA 45V Tax Credit “Kneecaps” ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub). Normally the obsequious Bob Casey, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (Democrat), wouldn’t mind screwing his own state’s fossil energy industry via the 45V tax credit. But this is an election year…
Read More “Desperate Bob Casey’s Letter Campaign to Revise 45V Tax Credit”
For months, MDN has told you about a problem brewing that will block new hydrogen projects from getting built in the Marcellus/Utica. It’s an obscure tax rule known as the 45V tax credit, part of the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Bidenistas at the White House, Treasury Department, and Dept. of Energy proposed a new IRS rule in late December that the 45V tax credits (as provided for in the IRA) can only be used if the hydrogen produced is “green” — meaning NOT made from natural gas. In addition, the electricity used to produce the hydrogen can’t come from fossil fuel sources like natural gas (if you want the tax credit). Biden kneecapped the hydrogen hub projects in the M-U (see 
Only in the dysfunctional Josh Shapiro administration. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced it had added a Customer Experience Management Advisory Council (CXMAC) to advise the DEP’s Acting Secretary and so-called Chief Customer Experience Officer on strategies and improvements to enhance service delivery to the public. The thing is, none of the board members are actual customers of the DEP! There are no oil and gas members on the board. There are no members of the public on the board. Only well-connected people from private businesses, non-profit organizations, and (worst of the worst) other government agencies landed a spot on the board. Some people actually think PA Gov. Josh Shapiro is presidential material. What a joke!
Did you know that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for processing and issuing some 800 different types of permits? Does that not seem a bit excessive? (Is there a permit for applying for a permit?) Being responsible for issuing 800 permits sure sounds like government run amok. Big government. PA State Rep. Jim Struzzi (Republican from Indiana County) announced the introduction of House Resolution 468 last week. The legislation directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to conduct a survey of the PA DEP’s permitting processes.
Well, the bottom dropped out of the rig count last week once again. The national combined oil and gas rig count dropped by six to 594, the lowest it has been since January 2022. The Marcellus/Utica did not go unscathed either, losing two rigs. Pennsylvania lost one rig and now operates 21 rigs. Ohio remained steady with ten active rigs. However, West Virginia lost another rig and now only has five active rigs. One year ago this week, WV operated 13 active rigs. Yuck.
Patience is a rare commodity these days. We live in a day and age of instant gratification. Our food is made and delivered in minutes. The latest gizmo we want can be on our doorstep the next day (or, in some cases, the same day) from Amazon and any number of other retailers. Entertainment and distractions are everywhere! Just lift your eyes from your own phone and observe everyone else around you staring at their phones. So perhaps it is no surprise that some people feel lied to because the mighty Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, hasn’t instantly delivered the promised thousands of extra jobs and dozens of relocated companies.
Every now and again, the liberal Democrat editors of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publish an unsigned editorial (from the editors) that surprises us. Yesterday was another such instance when Post-Gazette editors said Pennsylvania should leverage frack wastewater to extract lithium, which can be used to make electric vehicle batteries for Joementia’s EV fantasies. The editors cited a study recently published (in April) by the National Energy Technology Laboratory that says Marcellus wastewater in Pennsylvania alone has enough lithium to provide 40% of the country’s needs (see 
NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.3 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. Earlier this year, NiSource hosted representatives from LRQA, a global engineering, technical, and business services organization based in the U.K. (owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation). NiSource hosted the LRQA reps at its Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania service territory. The LRQA reps were there to review safety practices. NiSource and its Columbia Gas of PA subsidiary passed the review with flying colors, resulting in NiSource receiving the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55001 and American Petroleum Institute’s Recommended Practice (API RP) 1173 certifications.
One of the aspects of the Austin Master Services (AMS) story (from Ohio) that captures people’s attention is that the frack waste at the facility contains drill cuttings, some of it with a low level of radioactivity. The headline-grabbing media touts that aspect of the story, overplaying just how “radioactive” it actually is. “OMG! If that stuff gets into the Ohio River, it’s an ecological disaster!” That sort of thing. While the percent threat to public health from AMS’ stored drill cuttings is not zero, it’s also not 100. We need a little balance added to the discussion. Just how much of a threat is the waste in the AMS facility?
Yeah, the bottom pretty much fell out of the rig count last week, both nationally and for the Marcellus/Utica region. We’re hitting new lows with both counts. For the M-U, Pennsylvania stayed the same with 21 active rigs, but Ohio lost one rig, and West Virginia lost two rigs last week, for a net loss of three — 37 active rigs across the region, the lowest in more than a year. The national rig count hit 600 last week, the lowest it has reached since January 2022. Ugh.
We’ve had more than a few MDN readers pass along links from recent mainstream media stories about the treasure trove of lithium available “beneath Pennsylvania” in the state’s brine (shale wastewater) production. Which makes us a little bit crazy and amuses us at the same time because we’ve been reporting on this story since 2019! In October 2019, Eureka Resources, which operates three frack wastewater treatment facilities in the Marcellus Shale (and is building a fourth facility in Dimock, PA), began extracting lithium from Marcellus wastewater at one of its plants in Bradford County, PA (see 
The switch from coal to natural gas in power generation has led to historic emissions and air pollutant reductions equaling $450 billion to $1.04 trillion in public health benefits for Pennsylvanians, according to a Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) analysis. The analysis leverages emissions data from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and applies U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodologies to assign a dollar value to each ton of NOx and SOx reduced. As shale gas development became prevalent across PA and in-state natural gas electric generation increased from 5% to 59% between 2005-2022, criteria emissions contributing to respiratory ailments — nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) — are down 81% and 93%, respectively, yielding a range of $7.9-$18.4 billion in NOx and $445.1 billion – $1.02 trillion in SOx cumulative public health benefits for Pennsylvanians.
Anti-fossil fuel fanatics have a tried-and-true playbook in Pennsylvania. They appeal *every single inch* of new pipeline, no matter where it’s located, whether that pipeline flows natural gas, NGLs, oil, or petroleum products like gasoline. Want to replace an existing pipeline in an area? Antis are against it, saying it will saddle ratepayers with “stranded assets” in a few unspecified years’ time (when “renewables” take over). Want to build a new pipeline? God forbid! They go berserk with all sorts of wild claims about pipelines being racist (being built in places where poor folks of color can’t fight back to stop them). It’s disgusting what these liars will do to oppose a new pipeline. One of their favorite legal tactics in Pennsylvania is to appeal a permit issued by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB), a special court in PA that hears appeals of DEP decisions. However, antis are abusing the PA court system.
The “sue-till-green” strategy sweeping the nation began in 2012 when the radicalized Climate Accountability Institute (CAI) hosted a conference in La Jolla, California. The gathering discussed a new approach to climate activism, mirroring the campaign against Big Tobacco — but this time targeting the oil and gas industry. The goal of the radicals is to effectively revoke the oil and gas industry’s “social license to operate.” Ultimately, this approach buries oil and gas companies with legal fees and, together with other “green” policies, artificially raises the cost of reliable energy and subsidizes the production of unreliable alternative energy sources. Disgusting. And now this strategy has come to Pennsylvania.