Ohio Extends Time to Build 2nd Utica-Fired Elec Plant Near Toledo

In December 2017, MDN told you about a second proposed natural gas-fired power plant planned by CME Energy for Oregon (Lucas County), Ohio (see Ohio Approves 2nd Oregon Utica-Fired Elec Plant (Near Toledo)). The first plant was called the Oregon Clean Energy Center. The second plant project was named Clean Energy Future – Oregon. The…

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What Happened to $42 Million in Fines Paid by Mariner East Pipe?

In July, MDN compared the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection to an organized crime mob with its ongoing shakedowns in assessing “fines” on the Mariner East pipeline project (see PA DEP Squeezes Another $660,000 from ME2 Pipe for “Violations”). At that time, we were aware that over $30 million had been extorted (er, a, extracted)…

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OGLMC Votes to Allow Fracking Under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park

Yesterday, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under (not on top of) three different state-owned tracts of land: all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County,…

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Shapiro’s DEP Money-Back Guarantee for Permit Delays is Bogus

Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (liberal Democrat) launched, with much fanfare, PAyback.pa.gov, a new online money-back guarantee system that allows residents, businesses, charities, and schools to check their eligibility for a refund of their permit, license, or certification application fee and request a refund if they believe they are eligible. Shapiro promised individuals…

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Ohio OGLMC Decides This Weds Who Gets to Drill Under State Parks

In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see OH Gov. Signs Bill Expanding Drilling in State Parks, NatGas “Green”). The new law allows shale drilling under (but not on top of) Ohio state-owned land, including state parks. HB 507 encourages (pushes for) more drilling under state-owned…

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Signs that EPA is Backing Off So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 Regs

In May, the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations called the Clean Power Plan 2.0, aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The nation’s electric grid is at stake. The EPA is…

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Civil War Erupts in PA Enviro Movement re Gov. Shapiro Deal with CNX

Last Friday, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis had signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). Shapiro’s office front-loaded…

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EPA’s So-Called Clean Power Plan 2.0 is a Preventable Catastrophe

In May, the Bidenistas at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a hellscape of new regulations called the Clean Power Plan 2.0, aimed at forcing coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to close (see New Biden EPA Regs a “Death Sentence” for Fossil-Fuel Power Plants). The nation’s electric grid is at stake. The EPA is…

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Kentucky PSC Votes to Retire 2 Coal Plants, Replace w/Gas-Fired

Last December, PPL Corporation subsidiaries Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) announced a plan to replace 1,500 megawatts of aging coal-fired generation (nearly one-third of Kentucky’s coal fleet!) with two 621-megawatt (MW) natural gas combined-cycle units along with several unreliable, intermittent solar projects (see PPL Replacing Coal-Fired Power Plants with…

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FERC, NERC Warn of Dire Consequences if Boston LNG Terminal Closes

This past May, MDN told you about a coming real-life nightmare that the Everett LNG import terminal, which accepts and regasifies foreign-sourced natural gas, may shut down following the closure of New England’s biggest natural gas-fired power plant, the Mystic Generating Station in Everett, MA (see Nightmare in Boston – Everett LNG Import Terminal May…

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CNX’s DeIuliis Explains Why He Did a Deal with the Devil (Shapiro)

On Friday, MDN brought you the news that CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis had signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes). DeIuliis spoke to…

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CNX Signs Deal with PA Gov. to Increase Setbacks, Other Changes

We have to confess this news came suddenly out of left field. And we’re still struggling with what to make of it. Yesterday, CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis, author of Precipice: The Left’s Campaign to Destroy America (in which he writes about the “leeches” of the left), stood at a podium in Washington County, PA,…

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Near-Fatal Blow for PA Carbon Tax – Commonwealth Court Blocks 4-1

In the end, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court was not fooled by the Democrat left’s attempt to rename a tax as a fee to circumvent the necessary approval needed by the state legislature in approving taxes as provided for by the state constitution. We’re referring to the illegal attempt by former PA Gov. Tom Wolf in 2019…

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PA Shale Drillers Now Have Money-Back Guarantee for Permit Delays

The Pennsylvania State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) should prepare to cough up some of the money it receives from the steep charges it assesses for Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation and Chapter 105 Water Obstructions and Encroachments permits. For YEARS, we’ve told you about these permits sometimes taking two, three, even six to eight…

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PA DEP Tries to Track Down & Make Deadbeats Pay to Plug Wells

A problem plaguing the entire country is old conventional oil and gas wells that were never adequately plugged and capped, called orphaned wells, because (supposedly) nobody knows who owns them. In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the…

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