Virginia

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    Dominion Investing $10.1B, Creating 20K New Jobs in VA Next 5 Yrs

    It’s a shame to have to prove to people what should be self-evident–that building new natural gas electric plants and natural gas pipelines will bring both new jobs and inject billions into a state’s economy–but that’s what you sometimes have to do. You have to prove it to counteract the negative drumbeat from radical anti-drillers and leftist mainstream media. So Dominion, a huge utility/pipeline company operating in 14 states including the Marcellus/Utica region, commissioned a study that looks at how many jobs and how much money will be pumped into the State of Virginia over the next five years if all of the pipeline and electric plant projects they have on the books happen. The study (full copy below) finds Dominion is set to invest $10.1 billion and create nearly 12,000 jobs over the next five years in the Old Dominion. A sizable portion of the new projects and jobs are tied to natural gas…
    Read More “Dominion Investing $10.1B, Creating 20K New Jobs in VA Next 5 Yrs”

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    Time to Support EQT Mountain Valley & Equitrans Pipelines @ FERC

    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”

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    Range Sells Coal Bed Methane Wells in VA, Focusing on Marcellus

    Range Resources announced yesterday they are selling off 3,500 operated wells and approximately 460,000 net acres in the Nora/Haysi combined fields located in southwestern Virginia for $876 million to an unnamed buyer. The reason for the sale? Range is using the money to reduce debt and further concentrate on the “core” of their operations in the Marcellus/Utica. Range’s Nora/Haysi wells are coal bed methane wells. Drilling coal bed methane is akin to conventional drilling. All 3,500 of those wells produce an average of 109 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of natural gas. By comparison, using a very low number of 5 Mmcf/d for an average Marcellus well, it only takes 22 Marcellus wells to equal those 3,500 coal bed methane wells. Behold the power of fracking. Here’s what Range said yesterday about the sale…
    Read More “Range Sells Coal Bed Methane Wells in VA, Focusing on Marcellus”

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    Dominion Files Pipeline Route Change to Avoid Salamanders, Swamp

    Cow Knob Salamander
    Cow Knob Salamander

    Contrary to what anti-fossil fuelers would have you believe, midstream companies building big pipeline projects DO listen to concerns and they DO change the route of a pipeline to address those concerns–like changing the route to minimize environmental impacts or to address the concerns of landowners. For example, Dominion has just announced it filed route changes for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $5 billion natural gas pipeline running from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. The changes are made to minimize impacts on salamanders in two locations, to minimize impacts on a historic district, and to avoid crossing a swamp (yes, a swamp). Somewhere along the way in the past 30 years swamps became precious ecological assets instead of pools of stagnant, smelly, mosquito-infested water that need to be drained (go figure). Dominion is willing to play along. “Hey, if that smelly swamp is important to you, we’ll spend an extra $XX million and go a different route.” Dominion is not alone. Theirs is just the latest example that totally refutes the yarns spun by ninny nanny antis who blat about evil Big Pipelines and how they destroy everything. Here’s the latest “we’ll make some adjustments to the route to keep everyone happy” notice from Dominion…
    Read More “Dominion Files Pipeline Route Change to Avoid Salamanders, Swamp”

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    Mountain Valley Pipeline Files FERC Appl, Now Just Matter of Time

    Mountain Valley Pipeline proposed route
    Click on map for larger version

    It’s finally official. Although the length of the pipeline changed from 330 miles to 301 miles, and although the number of project partners expanded from the original EQT and NextEra Energy to include WGL Holdings, Vega Energy Partners, and RGC Resources, and although over 100 landowners blocked survey access (later taken to court to force access)–the $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) stretching from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last Friday. Now it’s just a matter of time. Yes it will take a few years to get it approved and built, but the most important step has been accomplished…
    Read More “Mountain Valley Pipeline Files FERC Appl, Now Just Matter of Time”

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    Fed Judge Tosses VA Landowner Lawsuit to Stop Pipeline Surveys

    gavelOne reason why it takes so long to build a pipeline is the litigation necessary to make it happen. In September 2014, Dominion committed full force to building a 550-mile, $5 billion natural gas pipeline that will run from West Virginia, through Virginia and into North Carolina (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). The project, called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, will transport Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to the southeast. In November 2014, Dominion asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin an environmental review of the project (see Dominion Asks FERC to Start Environmental Review of SE Pipeline). In order to do a proper review and to finalize plans for the route, Dominion surveyors need to get on property of landowners in Virginia, some of whom blocked access–so Dominion had to sue them to gain access (see Dominion Sues VA Landowners to Allow Survey for Pipeline). Virginia landowners in Nelson and Augusta counties counter-sued to block Dominion and on Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed the landowners’ lawsuits, clearing the way for Dominion to enter their properties and complete survey work…
    Read More “Fed Judge Tosses VA Landowner Lawsuit to Stop Pipeline Surveys”

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    Dominion Files FERC Application for $5B Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    stack of papersDominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) faces some stiff opposition from the anti-drilling, landed gentry class, along with opposition from the usual anti-fossil fuel nutters and even opposition from Obama-controlled agencies including the BLM, FWS and USFS (see our ACP stories here). Even so, on Friday Dominion filed their official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get the pipeline approved. ACP, as a reminder, is a $5 billion, 564-mile natural gas pipeline starting in West Virginia, traveling through Virginia and on into North Carolina. The governors of all three states, two Democrats and one Republican, all strongly support the project. So too do a majority of residents in all three states (see Millions of People Support Atlantic Coast Pipeline via New Group). Just to give you an idea of how phenomenally over-complicated the process is, Dominion’s application was 30,000 pages long, a stack of paper 10 feet high…
    Read More “Dominion Files FERC Application for $5B Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    Williams Completes $300M Pipeline Expansion in Virginia on Time

    Williams Southside Expansion project
    Click image for larger version

    How in the world did this happen?! Williams, which operates the mighty Transco, the largest natural gas pipeline in the United States, has just completed and put into service the Virginia Southside Expansion project. The project, which was put into service to the day they predicted it would be (September 1st) as predicted in their original transmittal letter to the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission back in December 2012, consists of 91 miles of new Transco pipeline laid next to existing pipeline across Virginia (from Pittsylvania County to Brunswick County); 7 miles of new pipeline in Brunswick County; new compressor stations; and other assorted upgrades. The $300 million project will flow 270,000 dekatherms per day (dth/d) of new natgas supplies, enough gas to serve 1.6 million households, but primarily built for the purpose of fueling Dominion’s new 1,300 megawatt electric-power generating plant Brunswick County. The project will also serve increasing local distribution demand in nearby North Carolina. Aside from the fact that anti-fossil fuel nutters have been relatively silent about this project, the interesting thing to MDN is that some of the upgrades come outside of Virginia–in New Jersey and Pennsylvania where portions of the existing Transco mainline were upgraded to be bidirectional, meaning Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale gas will now be able to flow southward…
    Read More “Williams Completes $300M Pipeline Expansion in Virginia on Time”

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    Anti-Pipeline “Hands Across Our Land” Protest in VA & WV a Bust

    Hands Across Our Land, a minuscule gathering in three locations in Virginia and one location in West Virginia organized by the far left Sierra Club and the extremists of 350.org, held “protests” so small yesterday that if it weren’t for local media looking for any story to report during the summer doldrums, nobody would have noticed there even was a protest. Casual observers would have thought, “Oh, there’s a small group, perhaps a (nutty looking) family out for a stroll.” The “protesters” were there to object to two necessary, innocuous, safe natural gas pipelines from being buried in the ground–Dominion’s 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline which is due to run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina; and EQT/NextEra US Gas Assets’ 330-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline from West Virginia into southern Virginia. As is typically the case, most of the protesters were in their 50s and 60s, former hippies who have found a new cause (anti-fossil fuels) to rejuvinate their otherwise meaningless lives…
    Read More “Anti-Pipeline “Hands Across Our Land” Protest in VA & WV a Bust”

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    Carole King: VA Pipeline Makes Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman

    Another famous white, rich, aging, hippie woman has lined up against pipelines. At least this famous white, rich, aging hippie, Carole King, has talent–unlike Yoko Ono who is talentless, someone who still rides the coattails of her famous husband, God rest his soul. Carole King doesn’t need fame or to increase her personal fortune, unlike Ono. So why is she speaking out against the Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline and where it will run in Virginia? Because the pipeline will come close to land owned by Yogaville, an “ecumenical spiritual retreat” in Buckingham County, VA that King has $upported for decades. Most folks think of yoga as funky pretzel-like stretches people do at the gym or at a special class at your local community college. What they may not know is that yoga is as much a spiritual practice (i.e. religion) as it is an exercise routine. Apparently King is one of its practitioners. Makes her Feel Like A Natural Woman. Good for her. Whatever gets you through the day, right? King wrote directly to Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell II to request he ax the pipeline plan and instead stick up solar panels and windmills. Here’s why King is wrong about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline affecting Yogaville…
    Read More “Carole King: VA Pipeline Makes Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman”

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    One US Forest Service Employee Sends Questions to FERC re Pipeline

    We spotted a story last week published by the Associated Press with a first sentence that begins this way: “The U.S. Forest Service has raised hundreds of concerns about a proposed natural gas pipeline that would carve a 30-mile swath through national forests in Virginia and West Virginia.” The pipeline is Dominion’s $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline from West Virginia into Virginia and onward to North Carolina. We read the story and then dug a bit further. It seems it’s not the monolithic U.S. Forest Service that is questioning the pipeline, but a single U.S. Forest Service worker–H. Thomas Speaks Jr., forest supervisor for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Mr. Speaks was fed anti-pipeline propaganda from the head of an anti-pipeline organization who is a semi-retired researcher from the University of Virginia–Rick Webb. Webb continues to use his UVA official email account to promote his anti-pipeline viewpoints, implying UVA also opposes the project (see Researcher Uses Official UVA Email to Oppose Dominion Pipeline). We Googled and found a letter from Webb to Speaks which (we assume) include some (many?) of the same talking points Speaks used when submitting his “335 questions, comments and corrections” to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with regard to running a pipeline through 30 miles of the George Washington and Monongahela national forests…
    Read More “One US Forest Service Employee Sends Questions to FERC re Pipeline”

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    Dominion to Build Electric Plant in S VA Powered by Marcellus Gas

    Dominion, a large utility and midstream (i.e. pipeline) company operating in 13 states, including the Marcellus/Utica region, yesterday filed a request with the Virginia State Corporate Commission (SCC) to build a $1.3 billion state-of-the-art natural gas-fired electric generating station in Greensville County, VA. The new power station will generate 1,600 megawatts–enough electricity to power 400,000 homes. Greensville County sits along the southern border of Virginia–sharing a border with North Carolina. Oh, and guess which pipeline flowing boatloads of cheap, abundant, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas is due to cross right through the middle of Greensville County? Yep–Dominion’s 550-mile, $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project that will run from West Virginia through to North Carolina…
    Read More “Dominion to Build Electric Plant in S VA Powered by Marcellus Gas”

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    New Coalition of Same Old Antis Opposes Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    A small group of partisan, liberal, left-wing Democrats pretending to be a huge group of “concerned residents” from “Virginia and West Virginia” have formed a self-important group called Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance to oppose the 550-mile, $5 billion Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project that will run from West Virginia into Virginia (benefiting the residents of both states) and on into North Carolina. MDN told you earlier this week about a group of RINOs and Democrats working together–wealthy gentry class landowners–working to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from traversing their horse farms (see Virginia RINOs in League with Dems to Stop Atlantic Coast Pipeline). That group, called “All Pain No Gain”, is not among the members of Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance. This new coalition or group of groups is, in typical fashion, against all proposed routes for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It is an unreasonable and irrational fossil fuel-hating position–being “reported” by “news organizations” like the Associated Press as just an ordinary group of concerned citizens with legitimate concerns. It’s NOTHING of the sort…
    Read More “New Coalition of Same Old Antis Opposes Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    Virginia RINOs in League with Dems to Stop Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    Here’s the tag line from Navigators Global, a Washington, DC lobbying firm: “From the trenches of political campaigns to the height of corporate crises, we’ve navigated the toughest terrain. Whatever your challenge is, we can guide you to victory.” Looks like they’ll need to consult to themselves since the company is facing its own corporate crisis. The founder and president of Navigators Global is Phil Anderson. Phil is one of the rich, gentry class anti-pipeliners behind a group called “All Pain No Gain” that’s trying to stop the Dominion $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project from going through Virginia (and through his land). We highlighted a McClatchy article yesterday that talks about the efforts of the All Pain No Gain group in raising big money to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (see VA Gentry Class Raising $1M to Oppose Atlantic Coast Pipeline). We’ve since learned that when Phil’s involvement with that anti-drilling group became known, his firm immediately lost a $20,000 contract with NextEra Energy, another pipeline company with a project running through Virginia (see EQT & NextEra Tie the Knot on WV-VA Pipeline Joint Venture). Beginning of a trend? Anderson is a Republican In Name Only, and he’s joined by other RINOs in his opposition to pipelines–rich, white landowners (the gentry class) who don’t want pipelines in their back yards. Another Virginia RINO pouring money into the anti-pipeline effort is Tom Harvey, chairman of the non-profit Global Environment & Technology Foundation…
    Read More “Virginia RINOs in League with Dems to Stop Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    VA Gentry Class Raising $1M to Oppose Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    Wealthy landowners in Virginia are halfway to raising $1 million in their effort to torpedo Dominion’s planned $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Just yesterday we told you that a majority of residents in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina support the project (see Poll: Majority of Voters in VA, WV, NC Favor Atlantic Coast Pipeline). The pipeline will flow natural gas from the Marcellus/Utica to points across the southeast. That is, unless NIMBY’s raise enough money to run advertising campaigns to convince officials and regulators that this pipeline should not get built. Never underestimate the power of a bribe, er, a, “advertising” money. The new favorite phrase of those who oppose pipelines (watch for it in sycophantic media stories) is that pipelines are a “scar” on Mother Earth. How wicked and despicable to want to scar your mother…
    Read More “VA Gentry Class Raising $1M to Oppose Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

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    Poll: Majority of Voters in VA, WV, NC Favor Atlantic Coast Pipeline

    The Consumer Energy Alliance, a non-partisan group providing consumers with sound, unbiased information on U.S. and global energy issues, recently published the results of a scientific poll of residents in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia that has major implications for pipelines and infrastructure work in the Marcellus/Utica. The poll found majorities of voters in NC, VA and WV have heard about Dominion’s $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline–and they support it. Voters overwhelmingly believe pipelines are the safest means to transport natural gas. More than 80% of the voters surveyed said energy will be a significant factor in how they vote. This is really good news for the shale industry. Seems we’re constantly bludgeoned in the northeast when it comes to pipeline projects (NY, MA, NH, et al). But not in the southeast. Voters there have their heads screwed on straight and can tell the difference between the truth and lie–and they know that pipelines like the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will be good for their region. Of course, voters in the southeast tend to be Republican/Conservative and sure enough, the results show that a large majority of those identifying as Republicans and/or Conservatives support pipelines, whereas a majority of Democrats/Liberals don’t. Pipelines, like drilling, are a partisan issue. It shouldn’t be that way! These issues should be decided on the science–but science was thrown out the window a long time ago. Drilling and pipelines–indeed your attitude on the use of fossil fuels–is largely determined by your political philosophy. Below we have a summary of the poll, along with the details (crosstabs), for those who want to dig into the nitty gritty…
    Read More “Poll: Majority of Voters in VA, WV, NC Favor Atlantic Coast Pipeline”