ET Asks Judge to Dismiss Mich. Activist Lawsuit Against Rover Pipe

In late 2018 the final two segments of the already-operational Rover Pipeline went online, making the project 100% complete (see FERC OKs Final 2 Rover Pipeline Laterals – Now 100% Online). Rover is a 713-mile, 3.25 Bcf/d natural gas pipeline that transports domestically produced natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica production areas to markets

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DRBC Frack Ban Heading for Defeat in October Trial

In January MDN told you that after five loooong years, a federal judge in Scranton, PA had finally ruled the Wayne Land and Mineral Group (WLMG) v. Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) lawsuit will go to trial this year (see Judge Rules Wayne Landowner Lawsuit re DRBC Frack Ban Continues). We’ve since learned the trial

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Biden Justice Dept. Likely to Support PennEast in Supreme Crt Case

Earlier this week MDN brought you the big news that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear the PennEast Pipeline vs. New Jersey eminent domain case (see BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court to Decide PennEast Pipeline Case). Read that previous post for background on why this is a critically important case. In December the Trump

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BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court to Decide PennEast Pipeline Case

HUGE news! This morning the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the PennEast Pipeline case. The case appeals a lower court ruling that disallows PennEast from using eminent domain to build across land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey. The court’s acceptance of the case is an excellent sign PennEast will win

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Ohio AG Succeeds in Blocking $2B in Nuke Payments to FirstEnergy

Ohio AG Dave Yost We continue to peel back the layers of the rotten, smelly, stinky onion that is Ohio’s House Bill (HB) 6, a law granting billions (plural) to FirstEnergy in an attempt to prop up the company’s economically failing nuclear power plants. FirstEnergy is accused of bribing legislators to pass, and keep passed,

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Liens Served on PA/OH Landowner Property re Risberg Pipeline

click for larger version In March 2019 MDN brought you the news that Wood Group had been awarded a $34 million contract to build 28 miles of the 60-mile Risberg Pipeline from Crawford County, PA to Ashtabula County, OH (see Wood Wins $34M Contract to Build PA to OH Risberg Pipeline). The portion Wood built

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Most Important Lawsuit in PA Shale History – Review & Fallout

It was exactly one year ago that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in THE most consequential lawsuit for Marcellus Shale drilling we’ve seen, a case called Briggs v Southwestern Energy (see HUGE NEWS: PA Supreme Court Keeps ‘Rule of Capture’ for Fracking). Now that the dust has settled, it’s a good time to take a

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Judge Tosses Chester DA Charges Against ME2 Security Worker

Last August we told you about the politically-motivated prosecution (by the Chester County, PA District Attorney’s office) of two men connected to a security firm providing off-duty constables to protect Mariner East 2 (ME2) pipeline construction sites (see Chester DA Persecution of Off-Duty Constables Guarding ME2 Pipe). A Chester County judge has just completely tossed the

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EQT Asks 2 WV Judges be Removed from Royalty Cases re Conflicts

EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the United States, is asking West Virginia officials to remove two judges from hearing cases brought by landowners against the EQT relating to royalty disputes for alleged improper deductions. EQT wants Judges Timothy Sweeney and David W. Hummel Jr. to be disqualified from at least three cases

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OH AG Asks Judge to Block FirstEnergy Nuke Bailout Rate Increases

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost continues to hammer FirstEnergy Corporation. In November Yost filed a lawsuit to block the collection of $150 million provided for under House Bill (HB) 6, aimed at propping up FirstEnergy’s unprofitable nuclear power plants in the state (see OH AG Files 2nd Lawsuit to Block FirstEnergy $150M Nuke Payments). Yost

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K Petroleum Must Pay Penneco $511M for Gas Sales in SWPA

In November 2019 the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania ruled that K. Petroleum Inc. (KPI), headquartered in Gahanna, OH, had breached a contract with Penneco Oil by not paying Penneco for gas flowing through KPI’s gathering pipeline system for wells owned and operated by Penneco. Yesterday the same court finally (after more than a year)

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US Forest Service Issues Approval for MVP Thru Jefferson Forest

In mid-December, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) that supports plans for Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to run through 3.5 miles of woodlands, and under the Appalachian Trail, in the Jefferson National Forest in Monroe County in West Virginia, in and Giles and Montgomery counties in Virginia (see US Forest

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PA Senators Sue DRBC for “Taking” Property re Frack Ban

In a brilliant move aimed at boxing in the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), two northeastern Pennsylvania State Senators–Gene Yaw and Lisa Baker–along with members of the PA Senate Republican Caucus, filed a lawsuit yesterday against the DRBC, accusing the quasi-governmental agency of “taking” the property rights of PA residents without just compensation under the

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FirstEnergy Nuke Bailout Payments Blocked by Ohio Supreme Court

FirstEnergy is up to its metaphorical rear-end in alligators. Not only has the Ohio Supreme Court blocked (for now) the collection of annual $150 million payments from the residents of Ohio given to FirstEnergy to prop up its uneconomic nuclear power plants, but multiple (over a dozen) lawsuits have been filed against the company by

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OH Supremes Say Landowner Looked Hard Enough, Keeps Mineral Rights

The Ohio Supreme Court just delivered a decision that affects one particular landowner (and former mineral rights owner), but also has implications for all Ohio landowners and rights owners. And by extension, implications for drillers that pay royalty payments. The Supremes found in Gerrity v. Chervenak that the landowners in the case (the Chervenaks) did

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