Regulation

PA DEP Revokes Beaver County Right to Issue Pipe, Drilling Permits

Here’s something we didn’t know: The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) does not do all of its own work to issue permits for things like erosion and sediment control. In some (many?) cases, the DEP delegates and farms out authority to issue and monitor/inspect permits for erosion and sediment control to county conservation districts.

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Mountain Valley Pipe Voluntarily Pauses Some Construction

Equitrans, builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project, has voluntarily stopped construction on certain portions of the 85% completed project. According to an MVP spokesperson, “The voluntary suspension pertains to areas along the route that may potentially have an impact related to the Endangered Species Act; however, MVP expects to continue with construction, where

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Williams Asks FERC for OK to Startup Transco Pipe Expansion in NJ

Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. (Transco) filed a request yesterday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to start up the final pieces of its Rivervale South to Market Project in New Jersey. We first told you about the Rivervale project in 2017 when Williams filed an application with FERC (see New Project Seeks

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Fed Court Shoots Down Riverkeeper’s Atlantic Sunrise Pipe Case

THE Delaware Riverkeeper has lost yet another frivolous lawsuit that attempted to overturn Williams’ now long-completed Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. We’ve lost count of how many lawsuits Riverkeeper (and other anti groups) have lost against Atlantic Sunrise. Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection’s decision

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PennEast Pipe Readies Revised NJ Freshwater Wetlands Permit

PennEast Pipeline is a $1 billion (or $1.2 billion, depending on the source) new greenfield pipeline project from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ. PennEast will flow PA Marcellus gas to markets in NJ. The project has faced numerous lawsuits and regulatory blockades, much of it in NJ. We won’t recount all of the

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VA DEQ Stops Works on Tiny 2-Mile Segment of Mountain Valley Pipe

It appears the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has become politicized. Why is it that leftists (like Va. Gov. Ralph Northam) politicize what are supposed to be impartial government agencies? The DEQ has issued a “stop work” order to Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) for construction activities along a tiny two-mile stretch in Montgomery County.

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Referendum to Overturn OH Nuke Bailout Law Gains Momentum

Two weeks ago MDN brought you news about a newly passed Ohio law (House Bill 6) to prop up two bankrupt nuclear power plants and several coal-fired plants (see Ohio Nuke Bailout Law Means Fewer Natgas-Fired Electric Plants). The law raises electric rates for all Ohioans and threatens to end a number of planned natural

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DC Court Upholds FERC Authority in Approving Atlantic Sunrise Pipe

In March 2017, radical green groups, including the Sierra Club, Lancaster Against Pipelines, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness, Allegheny Defense Project, Clean Air Council, Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County, and Heartwood, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in an attempt to block construction of the $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise

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Clown Judges from 4th Circus Block Atlantic Coast Pipe…Again

The same U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals judges who quoted from Dr. Seuss’ book “The Lorax” in a previous decision against Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) have, once again, delivered another blow to ACP. In a very poor decision issued on Friday, the clown judges overturned reissued permits from the U.S. Fish and

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DEP Permits for NWPA FM100 Pipeline – Marcellus Gas to Transco

In March we told you about National Fuel Gas Company’s (NFG) FM100 Project in northwestern Pennsylvania that will beef up and extend an existing pipeline network to flow an extra 330 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of Marcellus gas to Williams’ mighty Transco Pipeline (see NFG FM100 Pipe Project in NW PA to Feed

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Rhode Island Indians Take FERC to Court re Massachusetts Pipeline

In March 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) Connecticut Expansion project (see FERC Approves TGP Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Project). The project involves building 13.42 miles of new pipeline loops in three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. When completed, the new looping will serve an additional 72,100 dekatherms of

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The Mass Exodus from New York Begins Following Climate Law

New York State is so screwed. Let’s just be honest–there’s no saving the Empire State now. (We can say these things because we live here.) Following the passage of a recent law (see New York Pulls the Trigger, Commits Energy Suicide with New Law), businesses and residents are beginning to move out of the state.

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Enviro Judge Allows Weymouth, MA Compressor to Advance

Artists rendering of how the plant will look (click for larger version) A compressor station planned for Weymouth, Massachusetts, part of the Spectra Energy/Enbridge Atlantic Bridge expansion project, has been stalled since 2017. The administration of MA Gov. Charlie Baker (RINO) finally issued an air permit for the project in January of this year (see

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Spreading Marcellus Love Throughout PA with Expanded PIPE Program

PA Rep. Jonathan Fritz (photo by Rick Hiduk) Two weeks ago today MDN editor Jim Willis experienced the rare treat of venturing out from behind the keyboard to a press conference held in the great outdoors in nearby Susquehanna County, PA. The topic? Energize PA, a series of bills being promoted by Republicans in both

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New EPA “Guidance” Overrides States re Issuing Pipe Permits

That didn’t take long. Barely two months ago President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to review Section 401 of the Clean Water Act–the section that grants states (and tribes) the right to have a say in pipeline projects (see Trump Signs Executive Order Making it Harder to Block Pipes). While

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