Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation
PA Town Passes Ordinance Blocking Pipelines Near Appalachian Trail
Nice try, but no cigar for Plainfield Township in Northampton County. The Plainfield Board of Supervisors last week passed a new zoning ordinance that prevents pipelines (and cell phone towers, and solar farms, and wind mills, and and and) from being built near or under the 1.5 miles of the Appalachian Trail as it passes through their township. Thing is, when it comes to pipelines (like PennEast Pipeline) that are federally regulated, Plainfield can’t stop it. Their ordinance isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
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Last week MDN told you that oral arguments would be heard on Thursday at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in what we believe is one of (perhaps THE) most important shale cases ever in the Keystone State (see 
About a month ago ago Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG project in Lake Charles, La. began to liquefy and export natural gas–some of it coming from the Marcellus/Utica region (see 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: A fracking ban would eliminate thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania; Gas industry drivers get partial certification in Pa. FLSA case; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas production reaches a new record despite low prices; Dipping low – ethane prices bottom out, spurring a huge inventory build; No need for energy poverty; INTERNATIONAL: Iran attacks Saudi Arabian oil refinery & oil field; Iran-backed attack strikes the heart of global oil markets – U.S. must act; How Trump is using attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil to his advantage; The oil industry needs a U.S./China trade deal.
MDN is not able to post today–please accept our apologies. A friend of the family suddenly and unexpectedly died earlier this week and the funeral is this morning. We pride ourselves on publishing each weekday with very few days off. This is a rare exception. We will be back Monday with all the latest news. In the meantime, we’ve published the latest version of our Calendar of Events of interest.
Events related (or of interest) to the Marcellus, Utica and other Appalachian shales happening from now through the end of this year.
The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), a private non-profit organization loosely affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines, performs a comprehensive study of potential supplies of natural gas in the United States every two years. The latest biennial study has just been published and finds natural gas supplies in the “Atlantic” area, which includes the Marcellus/Utica (is primarily the M-U), once again leads the country–now with the highest supplies ever.
Yesterday 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 
What’s the status of Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), a 600+ mile pipeline that will run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina? Only 35 miles of pipeline is currently built, and all construction, at the moment, is blocked by the U.S. Fourth District Court of Appeals. Almost all of the workers for the project (thousands of them) have been laid off. Big Green groups with deep pockets have harassed the project from the beginning by filing lawsuits, blocking construction. Yet Dominion Energy, the primary partner and builder of ACP, remains “confident” the pipeline will, eventually, get built. When?
You may recall news from last year that an Ohio Supreme Court ruling requires landmen to have a real estate license in order to get paid–IF they are compensated via a commission and/or royalties for the deals they broker (see 
Any LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility built or planned along the Eastern seaboard or Gulf Coast is critically important for the Marcellus/Utica. Why? Because they are BIG users of natural gas, big important (new) markets for our gas. Yes, M-U gas flows all the way to the Gulf Coast, to both Louisiana and Texas. Our friends at RBN Energy recently published the first in a short series providing an update on where U.S. LNG export demand and new projects stand. First up is a close look at LNG facilities at Elba Island (Georgia), Freeport (Texas) and Cameron (Louisiana).
Two of the eight Pennsylvania House bills that are part of an initiative called Energize PA will be considered and debated before the PA House State Government Committee on September 17. Both bills, House Bill (HB) 1106 and 1107, are aimed at streamlining and speeding up the permitting process at the semi-dysfunctional Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Enviro-leftists are screaming–they don’t want the dysfunction to stop. Having shale permits issued more quickly is not in their game plan.
We recently spotted a column on the Forbes website by one of our favorite authors, Jude Clemente, under the title that “Gov. Cuomo Should Support The Constitution Natural Gas Pipeline.” Well, of course he should! We’ve argued that for years. In digging into the article, we found Clemente uses facts and figures to build his case for *why* Cuomo should support it–indeed, why it would be stark…raving…mad not to support it. For example, did you know that natural gas is the main source of energy in NY–double that of gasoline? Who knew?!
Ever wonder how it feels to be “streamlined” (laid off, fired) to help the company’s “bottom line”? We can assure you, it feels lousy. It feels like the end of the world has just happened. The future is now uncertain. Will you have to sell the house? Pull the kids out of school? File for food stamps (something you’ve never had to do)? Those are some of the thoughts that are swirling through the heads of 196 soon-to-be former employees of EQT after the latest round of “streamlining” and “workforce reductions.”
Well, score a victory for the forces of evil. Sometimes Darth Vader wins–that’s life. Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that PennEast Pipeline cannot use the power of eminent domain to “condemn” (take possession of) land that is owned or otherwise controlled by the State of New Jersey because it violates the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. According to the judges, the Eleventh Amendment says states have sovereign immunity from such actions.