...As the Biden Administration prepares to take office with a platform pledging both to respect science and to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreements, a review of the actual data appears in order.
Starting from a baseline on...more
...The absurdity of the current United States pipeline permitting process was on full display last week in two nearby states in the Upper Midwest.
On Thursday, Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline company, received notice from...more
...With the eyes of the nation still focused on the election results, and with ballots still being counted in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, few Americans were thinking about FERC, the Federal...more
...Just one week before the 2020 Presidential election, two topics are dominating the conversation - the coronavirus and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking.” The reason for the coronavirus is obvious, but many...more
Later this year, it is likely that the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote on whether to approve a new natural gas export terminal to be located on the Delaware River in Gibbstown, New Jersey, just southeast of...more
10/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Delaware ,
Fracking Bans ,
Governor Murphy ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Marcellus Shale ,
New Regulations ,
PHMSA ,
Pipelines ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
For generations, the area around the eastern Mediterranean Sea has been filled with turmoil. From the Arab-Israeli conflict to the divided island of Cyprus and the general animus between Greece and Turkey, the region’s...more
Two weeks after the devastating explosion that damaged or destroyed large sections of Beirut, former Lebanese President Michel Aoun was asked by French television about the possibility of making peace with Israel....more
Earlier in June, while trying to locate the successor to a longtime employee at Chesapeake Energy on behalf of a client, I asked a friend at another energy company if he knew whom I should contact. “I don’t know,” he...more
Norislk spill, Oil spill Russia, Thawing permafrost , Lake pyasino, Pyasina river, Artic oil spill, Fossil fuels, Fossil fuel companies, Renewable energy, Energy attorney, Daniel markind, Gas, pipelines, Shale gas, Marcellus...more
Two United States Senators, Republican Ted Cruz of Texas and Democrat Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, introduced legislation last week that would place sanctions on any company attempting to finish laying the pipe needed to...more
6/11/2020
/ Coal ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Sanctions
Approximately 30% of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States have been reported in the New York City metropolitan area, which is located mainly in southeastern New York state and northeastern New Jersey. Last...more
The latest battlefield in the American pipeline wars is one of the most celebrated, venerable and scenic places in the United States - the Appalachian Trail. Stretching about 2,200 miles from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian...more
3/5/2020
/ Canada ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Land ,
Forest Service ,
Land Developers ,
National Park Service ,
National Parks ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Tribal Lands
People in the United States who wonder how far pipeline protests can go, and how disruptive they can be, need only look north to Canada. As this article is written, much of the national Canadian rail system has been shut down...more
2/20/2020
/ Canada ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Native American Issues ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Protests ,
Railways ,
Tribal Lands
Pacific Gas and Electric provided its customers in northern California with a glimpse of the future last week. Due to extremely dry conditions coupled with the prospect of strong winds, and cognizant of last year’s massive...more
11/6/2019
/ Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
CPUC ,
Energy Sector ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PG&E ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wildfires
Only one part of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s policy statement known as the Green New Deal actually deals with the environment. Most of the statement seeks to promote more jobs-oriented policies such as...more
8/1/2019
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
FERC ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Power Grid ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Renewable Energy
By a vote of 17-11, the Oregon State Senate last week just passed a five-year moratorium on fracking in that State. The Senate bill cut in half a 10-year moratorium passed in March by the Oregon House of Representatives, but...more
At 8:30 p.m. yesterday, the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation rejected Williams Corporation’s proposal for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline. Citing potential water...more
While little noticed outside of the energy industry, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is about to make one of the seminal decisions of his tenure. Before May 16, 2019, Governor Cuomo must decide whether to allow the New York...more
5/1/2019
/ Certifications ,
Department of Environmental Conservation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Fracking ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines
To nobody’s surprise, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf began his second term by calling for a mineral extraction tax to be layered upon the State’s local impact fee. Of course, the Governor never mentioned the impact fee in...more
2/11/2019
/ Economic Downturn ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Wolf ,
Impact Fees ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
State Taxes
Last week, New York City area utility Consolidated Edison notified regulators that, as of March 15, it would accept no new natural gas customers in Westchester County due to supply shortages. It is possible that cutoffs in...more
1/23/2019
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Gas Prices ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Political Parties ,
Renewable Energy ,
Shale Gas ,
Venezuela
2018 began with the United States producing immense amounts of oil and natural gas; pipeline companies struggling to build out the national pipeline system but not being transparent about how they are doing it; Europe, led by...more
12/28/2018
/ Coal ,
Energy Costs ,
EU ,
Explosions ,
FERC ,
Gas Royalties ,
Germany ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Governor Wolf ,
Land Owners ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Political Parties ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Severance Tax ,
Solar Energy ,
State Legislatures ,
Transparency ,
Wind Power ,
WV Supreme Court
Pipeline issues continue to dominate the natural gas news. Last week, the pipeline industry got some good news, some bad news, and some news potentially so devastating it could threaten the entire industry....more
12/18/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Eminent Domain ,
Environmental Violations ,
Explosions ,
False Reporting ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Permits ,
PG&E ,
Pipelines ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Public Safety ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Safety Violations ,
Wildfires
The simmering dispute over waterway rights between Ukraine and Russia broke into armed conflict this week. Its implications are enormous both for the energy world as a whole and especially for us in the Marcellus Shale...more
11/29/2018
/ Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Inland Waterways ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Military Conflict ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ports ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine ,
Water Rights
The tortured story of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline construction may be coming to an end. If so, it will end the way it began, mired in controversy and inconsistent with what had been proposed and promised by the developers....more
11/19/2018
/ Amazon ,
Construction Project ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Gas Prices ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Political Candidates ,
Shale Gas ,
State and Local Government ,
State Regulators ,
Water Quality
On January 11, 1912, women weavers shut down the Everett Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Earlier that day, they opened their pay envelopes to find their wages cut by 4%. ...more
9/17/2018
/ Corporate Liability ,
Energy Policy ,
Explosions ,
Fires ,
Hurricane Florence ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Public Safety ,
Renewable Energy ,
Severe Weather ,
Solar Energy ,
Wind Power