PA DEP Makes Effort to Speed Up Approvals for Erosion Permits

Permitting in Pennsylvania, especially permits overseen by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six to eight months for approval — instead of the law-mandated 14 days. It got so bad that in the fall of…

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Insider Reveals How PA DEP Became Unbalanced re Environment

According to Mark Caskey, CEO and founder of Steel Na­tion (and an MDN friend), Pennsylvania state environmental agencies aren’t listening to the people who produce the energy. And he should know since he had a front-row seat watching the decline. Mark is frus­trated by how pow­er­ful the PA Dept. of En­vi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion (DEP) has be­come…

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Radicals Pressure NY Gov. Hochul to Block Iroquois Pipe Expansion

As we told you earlier this month, the radicals who run the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are gearing up to block the Iroquois Gas Transmission system from completing its Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project (see NY DEC Attempting to Use Draft Reg to Block Iroquois Compressor). The ExC project increases horsepower at…

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PA Senate Passes Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) Act

With the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region, a key issue has arisen. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for…

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PA Slaps Equitrans with $1.1M Fine for 2022 Rager Mountain Gas Leak

In November 2022, one of the ten natural gas storage wells at the Equitrans Rager Mountain Gas Storage Area in Jackson Township, Cambria County (in Pennsylvania), began to leak. Equitrans is the owner/operator of Rager Mountain. The well leaked roughly 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas into the atmosphere (see Equitrans Gas…

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ODNR Testing Athens Co. Water Wells for Possible Injection Leaks

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) “temporarily” suspended the operations of four fracking waste injection wells in Athens County last September (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down 4 Injection Wells in Athens County). ODNR said, with no solid evidence, that the wells presented an “imminent danger” to health and the environment. ODNR is finally about…

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NY DEC Attempting to Use Draft Reg to Block Iroquois Compressor

The radicals who run the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are gearing up to block the Iroquois Gas Transmission system from completing its Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project. ExC increases horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, flowing more Marcellus/Utica…

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WV Adds Citigroup, HSBC, TD Bank, Northern Trust to ESG Banned List

In February, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore sent notices to six financial institutions warning them of potential inclusion on the state’s Restricted Financial Institution List (can’t do business with the state) after his office made an initial determination that the institutions appear to be engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies as defined under…

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Martins Ferry Mayor Gives Update on Closed Frack Wastewater Facility

Yesterday, MDN reported that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action on Monday, seeking to force Austin Master Services (AMS) in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding the storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply…

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BLM Floats Draft Assessment for Drilling in OH’s Wayne Nat’l Forest

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the seemingly moribund effort to drill shale wells on land located in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (WNF) is active once again. WNF is a patchwork of public and private mineral rights that covers over a quarter million acres of Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. For years, the Bureau…

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The Many Lawsuits Challenging Woke SEC’s Climate Disclosure Reg

Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), corrupted by the Bidenistas, voted 3-2 (three Democrats vs. two Republicans) to issue a final regulation that will force all publicly traded companies to disclose their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the imaginary climate risks their businesses face (see Woke SEC Adopts Modified Version…

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FERC Approves East Tenn. NatGas System Alignment in NC, TN, VA

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an Enbridge project to update its East Tennessee Natural Gas (ETNG) pipeline system. The project is referred to as the ETNG System Alignment Program Project, a project that heretofore was not on our radar screen. ETNG plans to add two electric compressor stations and pipeline capacity…

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FERC Approves Ala. Georgia Connector to Upgrade 5 Compressors

Last year, Williams filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to upgrade Transco pipeline’s capacity in Alabama and Georgia (see Transco Seeks FERC OK to Expand Capacity in Alabama and Georgia). The Alabama Georgia Connector Project involves upgrades to five compressor stations that will increase capacity in the region by an…

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PA Gov. Shapiro Seeks to Require 35% Unreliable Renewables by 2035

In 2004, Pennsylvania implemented one of the most aggressive mandates to adopt wind and solar energy. At the time, less than 1% of net energy generation came from wind and solar in the Keystone State. In 2023, after the state had spent nearly $1.5 billion in subsidies, wind and solar generated less than 2%. And…

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Shell PA Cracker Must File for Full Title V Air Permit, or Else

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent a letter to the Shell ethane cracker plant on Feb. 22 essentially saying, “You’re time is up.” The cracker plant facility has 120 days from Feb. 22 (until Jun. 21) to file for a federal Title V Operating Permit for air emissions. If the facility doesn’t at…

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