Local Governments Continue to Fight States for Right to Govern Fracking
Let’s assume you own 95 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2019, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...more
Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, February 23, President Biden reinstated the sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that he had waived only last year. Depending on what side of the political divide you...more
When Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine to go conquer that democracy, all of the abstract concepts about energy ended. While not quite a Pearl Harbor moment in terms of instantaneous ideological shift, Putin's...more
Dominion Energy and Duke Energy Cancel Construction of Atlantic Coast Pipeline - "Despite a recent win for the project in the US Supreme Court, ongoing delays, litigation and an expected increase in costs threatened the...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
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
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
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
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
China's Provinces are Secretly Building Coal Plants in Defiance of the National Government - "CoalSwarm, a global network of researchers tracking fossil-fuel infrastructure, analyzed satellite imagery as of July 2018, and...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
At 5:00 a.m. yesterday, a portion of the newly-built Revolution pipeline exploded in Center Township, Beaver County, western Pennsylvania. Luckily nobody was hurt, but one home, two garages, a barn and several vehicles were...more
Russian Hackers Penetrated Networks of U.S. Electric Utilities - "Russian hackers gained access to the networks of U.S. electric utilities last year, which could have allowed them to cause blackouts, according to federal...more
Wheeling Resident David Zatezalo Confirmed to Lead MSHA - "In a strict party-line vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Wheeling resident David Zatezalo to lead the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The vote to...more
Department of Interior Rescinds OSM Enforcement Policies - On October 12, 2017, the Department of the Interior ("DOI") withdrew two prior Office of Surface Mining ("OSM") policies affecting mining operations. DOI rescinded...more
FERC Quorum - FERC has been stalled since February when Chairman Norman Bay resigned with two existing vacancies on the 40-year-old panel. On top of that, on April 20 another commissioner, Colette Honorable, announced...more
Fracking Insider Readers: We are pleased to bring you Volume 45 of our State Regulatory Roundup, including updates in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. As we explained in earlier volumes, we designed the Roundup to provide...more
In This Issue: - Northeast Natural Energy, LLC Making History for the Future of Energy: Entrepreneurs are a special breed. The good ones have that special blend of vision, timing and risk tolerance most others lack....more
In This Issue: - Now is the WOTUS of Our Discontent.....: "Waters of the United States" or "WOTUS" in the esoteric taxonomy of the Clean Water Act ("CWA"), is a term with which many are becoming increasingly...more
In This Issue: - Breaking News: America's Next Energy Hub - Philadelphia Dealt Major Setback - First Long-Term Comprehensive Field Study of Natural Gas Underway - 1,000 More Miles of Pipeline Planned to...more
In This Issue: - West Virginia Aboveground Storage Tank Act Interpretive Rule Filed and Emergency Rule Out for Comment: The Aboveground Storage Tank Act was enacted in response to the January 9, 2014 spill that...more
Last year we started our discussion of the developing shift in flow of natural gas from the traditional South-to-North/West-to-East path to a North-to-South/East-to-West path as a result of the abundance of natural gas now...more
In their search for Utopia, some opponents of oil and gas drilling ignore innovation … What’s harmful now will forever be that way....more