Statewide PA

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Cross Unit Drilling One Vote Away from Becoming Law
October 23, 2019October 23, 2019

Yesterday the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee “reported out” (i.e. approved) Senate Bill (SB) 694, which is the Senate version of what was House Bill (HB) 247, a bill which allows fully leased parcels that are part of one drilling “unit” to be combined with parcels in a different unit–“cross unit drilling.” The full Senate voted to approve the bill on September 25 by a vote of 49-0 in favor. Yes, a unanimous vote, with both Republicans and Democrats voting to approve it in the Senate. We’re now one vote away from final passage–the full House. There’s little doubt it will pass.
Read More “PA Cross Unit Drilling One Vote Away from Becoming Law”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Why Wolf’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is Disaster for PA
October 22, 2019October 21, 2019

Earlier this month Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf went completely off his rocker with a power-grab to force PA into a regional alliance to tax natural gas-fired electric plants out of existence (see Gov. Wolf Goes Bonkers: EO Destroying Gas-Fired Elec, Carbon Tax). The reaction was swift–on both sides of the issue (see Reaction to Gov. Wolf’s Bonkers Plan to Strangle NatGas Elec Plants). Following up, the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy has issued an analysis that exposes why joining the tax alliance is the wrong move for PA. And the Blank Rome law firm explains why joining the alliance is not likely to happen.
Read More “Why Wolf’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is Disaster for PA”
Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Seeks Comment on Draft Radiation Monitoring Regs for Shale
October 18, 2019October 18, 2019

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has drafted up new “technical guidance” on “radioactivity monitoring at solid waste processing and disposal facilities” specifically targeted at the shale industry. Translation: new regulations for how dumps (and drillers) monitor and report on radioactivity levels from incoming loads of drill cuttings. The DEP has posted their proposed new guidance document for public comment, after which they will adopt the new regs.
Read More “PA DEP Seeks Comment on Draft Radiation Monitoring Regs for Shale”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Philly Pipe Protesters Go to Harrisburg, Picket Gov’s Empty Office
October 18, 2019October 18, 2019

Credit: WITF Harrisburg (click for larger version)

A small group of southeast Pennsylvania pipeline protesters drove themselves to Harrisburg on Wednesday (using fossil fuels to get there) to demand Gov. Tom Wolf put a halt to construction of the legally-permitted Mariner East 2 pipeline, and essentially shut down the operation of the entire Mariner East network (ME1, ME2 and ME2X). Gov. Wolf wasn’t even in his office, so they were picketing and protesting for nothing. Oh well, the wackos get an “A” for effort, right?
Read More “Philly Pipe Protesters Go to Harrisburg, Picket Gov’s Empty Office”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Sen. Yaw Intros Bill to Allow 3rd Party Review of Erosion Permits
October 17, 2019October 17, 2019

PA State Sen. Gene Yaw

In the past, shale drillers have waited more than eight months to receive an erosion and sediment control (Chapter 102) permit, used in building roads and shale well pads. Turnaround from the time a permit is requested until it is supposed to be approved is, by DEP’s own statutory standards, 14 days. In 2017 it was taking over 250 days in some areas of the state (see More Pushback on PA Senate Plan to Fix Slow DEP Permit Reviews). Earlier this year DEP’s southwest office said they’ve been able to knock the turnaround time down to 30 days (see PA DEP Southwest Office Says Permit Backlog Down 75%). Better, but still not good enough, and the standard is not even across the state.
Read More “PA Sen. Yaw Intros Bill to Allow 3rd Party Review of Erosion Permits”
CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Reaches $1.48M Settlement with CNX to Plug Abandoned Wells
October 15, 2019October 15, 2019

Last year the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued administrative orders requiring three oil and gas companies–Alliance Petroleum Corporation (a subsidiary of Diversified Gas & Oil), XTO Energy, and CNX Resources–to plug 1,058 abandoned oil and gas wells across Pennsylvania (see PA DEP Orders CNX, XTO & Diversified to Plug 1,058 Abandoned Wells). All three appealed the DEP’s order to the state Environmental Hearing Board. In March of this year the DEP cut a deal with Diversified (see DEP and Diversified Gas & Oil Compromise on Plugging Old PA Wells). As of last week, the DEP has now cut a deal with CNX, relaxing their earlier edict.
Read More “PA DEP Reaches $1.48M Settlement with CNX to Plug Abandoned Wells”
EdgeMarc Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

EdgeMarc Creditors Ask Judge to Change Bankruptcy from Ch 11 to 7
October 11, 2019October 11, 2019

Difference between Chapter 7 & 11 (click for larger version)

EdgeMarc Energy, headquartered in Canonsburg, PA (with 50,000 acres of Marcellus/Utica leases), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, looking to sell all of the company’s assets (see EdgeMarc Energy Files for Bankruptcy, Blames Revolution Pipe). The reason? They can’t move their production to market because their main pipeline partner, Energy Transfer’s Revolution Pipeline, exploded in September 2018 and ET has not been able to get the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to allow them to fix and restart it.
Read More “EdgeMarc Creditors Ask Judge to Change Bankruptcy from Ch 11 to 7”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Dems Intro Bill to Block New Marcellus-Fired Power Plants
October 10, 2019October 10, 2019

Leftist Democrats in Pennsylvania are still hopping mad that they couldn’t block Invenergy’s 1,480 megawatt, $1 billion Marcellus gas-fired electric plant called the Lackawanna Energy Center, located near Scranton, PA (see Huge Marcellus-Fired Power Plant Near Scranton Now 100% Complete). So they’ve decided to NEVER let it happen again. How? By introducing what they’re trying to pass off as a “reasonable” new law to establish “minimum standards for host community agreements between new power plants and their surrounding communities and school districts as well as a minimum host community fee.” In other words, the new law will micromanage and tax any prospective new gas-fired power project right out of the state.
Read More “PA Dems Intro Bill to Block New Marcellus-Fired Power Plants”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

MSC Debunks Faulty Data by FracTracker re Pine Creek Watershed
October 10, 2019October 10, 2019

The so-called FracTracker Alliance is a group of leftist anti-fossil fuelers who heavily shade the truth (i.e. lie) about the “health impacts” of shale drilling in western Pennsylvania. In May some two dozen FracTracker “volunteers” visited the Pine Creek Watershed in parts of Clinton, Lycoming, Potter and Tioga counties. Their stated purpose was to “catalog the impacts of the unconventional oil and gas industry and related infrastructure on the landscape.” The effort resulted in a false map misrepresenting even basic facts about shale drilling in the region. The Marcellus Shale Coalition could not keep silent about FracTracker’s false and misleading narrative, and wrote to set the record straight.
Read More “MSC Debunks Faulty Data by FracTracker re Pine Creek Watershed”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Bills Would Hold Radical Pipeline Trespassers Accountable
October 9, 2019October 9, 2019

We have an ongoing problem. Some of the more radical protesters in the “environmentalist” movement–those who tend toward anarchy–illegally enter work sites for pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure under construction, and block the work being done in an attempt to cost companies money. Typically they chain themselves to a piece of equipment with a device that takes law enforcement authorities hours to remove. They cause delays and endanger themselves and workers and law enforcement with their illegal actions. It’s time to make the penalties for these dangerous, willful and illegal acts stiffer. Pennsylvania State Senators have introduced a pair of bills to help put a stop to this nonsense.
Read More “PA Bills Would Hold Radical Pipeline Trespassers Accountable”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

PennEast Pipe Asks FERC for Help in Overcoming Bad Court Decision
October 8, 2019October 8, 2019

In September MDN brought you news of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling that disallows PennEast Pipeline from using the delegated power of eminent domain to cross properties either owned by, or with easements granted to, the state of New Jersey (see Federal Court Rules PennEast Pipe Can’t Run Thru NJ State Land). We expressed our concerns that this ruling, which sets a precedent, may result in new pipeline projects in lefty states (like NY, NJ, MD, CA, etc.) getting blocked. Turns out we were not the only ones concerned (see Worst Fears May Come True with PennEast Pipeline Court Decision). PennEast has come up with a novel way to fight back against the court’s bad ruling: Ask FERC for help.
Read More “PennEast Pipe Asks FERC for Help in Overcoming Bad Court Decision”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide PA

HB 1100 Would Bring Cracker-Type Investment to Northeast PA
October 8, 2019October 8, 2019

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 PA Republicans Launch “Energize PA” to Counter Wolf’s “Restore PA”). Called Energize PA, Turzai’s plan, as codified in eight bills he and others introduced, would “make it easier for companies to get environmental permits, encourage development on abandoned industrial sites, and make it cheaper to run natural gas lines to businesses.” One of the eight bills is House Bill (HB) 1100, a bill offering a tax incentive, a reduction in taxes, IF a company builds a new petrochemical plant in the state–particularly in the northeast “dry gas” area of the state.
Read More “HB 1100 Would Bring Cracker-Type Investment to Northeast PA”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | PennEnergy Resources | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PennEnergy Sues Energy Transfer re Revolution Pipeline Explosion
October 7, 2019April 20, 2022

Revolution Pipeline, built by Energy Transfer, runs through Bulter, Beaver, Allegheny and Washington counties in southwest PA. The 24-inch gathering pipeline shifted and exploded more than a year ago, in September 2018, just as it was entering service (see Revolution Pipeline Near Pittsburgh Explodes – Home & Barn Destroyed). The ongoing outage is credited with forcing EdgeMarc Energy into bankruptcy (see EdgeMarc Energy Files for Bankruptcy, Blames Revolution Pipe). The outage also negatively affects another driller/producer: PennEnergy Resources.
Read More “PennEnergy Sues Energy Transfer re Revolution Pipeline Explosion”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Meetings | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Landowners Push for “Royalty Check Stub” Law at NARO Conf
October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

The National Association of Royalty Owners’ national convention has been under way this week in Pittsburgh, wrapping up today. One of the big topics at the event has been a push to get a “royalty check stub” bill passed in Pennsylvania. What’s that? It’s a bill that forces drillers to do a better, more detailed job of breaking down royalty statements so landowners/rights owners can see what expenses have been deducted from their royalty checks. Such a bill passed and went into law in West Virginia last year (see WV Royalty Transparency Law Sheds New Light Beginning June). PA landowners want the same kind of transparency that WV landowners get.
Read More “PA Landowners Push for “Royalty Check Stub” Law at NARO Conf”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Reaction to Gov. Wolf’s Bonkers Plan to Strangle NatGas Elec Plants
October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

Yesterday MDN told you that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has gone completely off his rocker with a power-grab to force PA into a regional alliance to tax natural gas-fired electric plants out of existence (see Gov. Wolf Goes Bonkers: EO Destroying Gas-Fired Elec, Carbon Tax). The reaction to his breathtaking power-grab has been swift–on both sides. The radicals at Big Green groups like the Sierra Club are praising Wolf, and PA Republican legislators are threatening to block Wolf’s reckless executive order.
Read More “Reaction to Gov. Wolf’s Bonkers Plan to Strangle NatGas Elec Plants”
Crime | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA | Washington County

PA DEP Hires Private Lawyers to Defend Against Atty General Probe
October 3, 2019October 3, 2019

Really? Is this what it’s now come to? Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is so desperate to make a criminal case against someone, anyone, in the shale industry, he’s even going after state employees–workers at the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). In a bid to raise his visibility among state voters (so he can run for governor), Shapiro launched an investigation in January looking for environmental “crimes” committed by Range Resources and other shale drillers (see PA AG Investigates Shale Drillers for “Enviro Crimes”).
Read More “PA DEP Hires Private Lawyers to Defend Against Atty General Probe”