Energy

Judge Won’t Impose Deadline in Mountain Valley Pipeline Lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge tells developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline he won’t order all landowners in its West Virginia lawsuit to respond by Dec. 4 to motions for summary judgment for rights of way available under federal regulations. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that U..

HDD Activities Get Green Light at More Rover Pipeline Locations

FERC has conditionally approved Energy Transfer Partners’ request to resume horizontal directions drilling (HDD) activities at the following locations along the Rover Pipeline: Honey Creek – Energy Transfer Partners says J.D. Hair & Associates’ recommendation of using an 8-degree overbend is not..

Pipeline Opponents Ask Regulators to Reconsider Approvals

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Opponents of two proposed natural gas pipelines are asking federal regulators to reconsider their approval of the projects. Dozens of environmental groups and individuals filed rehearing requests this week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the Atlantic Coa..

Virginia Town Postpones Vote on Atlantic Coast Pipeline Easements

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Norfolk City Council postponed a vote on whether to grant easements for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross two drinking water reservoirs, the only ones in the project’s path. The Virginian-Pilot reports the council was scheduled to consider the issue Tuesday night bu..

Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Construction on NEXUS Pipeline

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Environmental groups are taking another shot at trying to stop construction of a natural gas pipeline that will run across northern Ohio and into Michigan and Canada. The Sierra Club and others are behind a lawsuit filed Monday challenging a federal commission’s decision to allo..

Virginia Town Voting on Atlantic Coast Pipeline Easements

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Norfolk City Council is set to decide whether to grant easements for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross two drinking water reservoirs, the only ones in its path. The Virginian-Pilot reports the council will consider the issue Tuesday. Senior city staffers and Dominion Ener..

Natural Gas Leak Blamed for Ohio Home Explosion

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say a natural gas leak contributed to the home explosion in Ohio that killed a 54-year-old woman, but the cause of the leak is still unknown. In a statement Wednesday, Columbia Gas says they are confident their main lines and service lines did not contribute to t..

Appeals Court Rejects Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Construction Stay

Williams Partners L.P. today announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has rejected an emergency motion to stay the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s authorization of the company’s Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project, allowing construction to immediately resume. “We a..

Williams Partners Takes Legal Action over Pipeline Construction Stoppage

Williams Partners L.P. today filed a Motion for Clarification of an administrative stay issued yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions’ authorization of the company’s Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project. The p..

Foes of Obama Oil and Gas Rule Ask Court to Reconsider Ruling

DENVER (AP) — Opponents of Obama-era oil and gas regulations say a decision by a federal appeals court in Denver could allow those rules to go into effect temporarily, even though the Trump administration plans to revoke them. Four states, two industry groups and a Native American tribe filed docum..

Court Orders Pause in Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Construction

COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily halted construction of a natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania. LNP reports the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., stopped work on the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. Environmental groups are asking for a comprehensive environmental re..

EPA Head Names Oil and Gas, Utility Executives to Science Advisory Boards

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has named a slate of new members to federal science advisory boards, including several who work for chemical and fossil-fuel interests. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his appointments Friday, after saying he would block sci..

Ohio Sues Gas Pipeline Developer over Pollution Violations

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio is suing the company building a $4.2 billion natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Michigan over what it says are numerous water pollution violations during construction. The lawsuit filed Friday says work on the Rover Pipeline flooded a protected wetland with drilling..

Gas Pipeline Developers Suing Hundreds of Landowners

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Developers of a proposed natural gas pipeline are suing hundreds of landowners in two states to gain rights of way granted by federal regulations. Mountain Valley Pipeline lawyers filed federal court complaints in Charleston, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia to obtain ea..

Contested Land Owned by Nuns Prioritized for Pipeline Laying

COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) — Despite disruptions and multiple arrests, a gas pipeline project is going forward with construction through a cornfield owned by an order of Pennsylvania nuns. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Columbia have sued in federal court to stop the Atlantic Sunrise project, arguin..

West Virginia Approves Mountain Valley Pipeline Again

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia environmental regulators on Wednesday lifted their suspension of the permit for building the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry natural gas down the center of the state. The pipeline would extend south for 195 miles (315 kilometers) in north-central W..

Pipeline Construction Project Hearing Kicks off in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A hearing opens in St. Paul on Wednesday on whether Enbridge Energy should be allowed to replace a stretch of its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline that crosses northern Minnesota. The 12-day “evidentiary hearing” before an administrative law judge will be a trial-like proceedi..

Iroquois Pipeline President Jeff Bruner Elected Chairman of INGAA's Board of Directors

The board of directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America has elected Iroquois Pipeline Operating Company (IPOC) President Jeffrey Bruner as chairman of the INGAA board of directors for a one‐year term, effective immediately. “As the chairman of INGAA, Jeff will lead our industry’..

Ex-Energy Regulators Denounce Trump Bid to Boost Coal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight former federal energy regulators — including five former commission chairs — oppose a Trump administration plan to bolster nuclear and coal-fired power plants, arguing it would raise prices and disrupt electricity markets. The former officials, who served under presidents fr..

Energy Associations File Comments Opposing Proposed Electric Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule

12 associations representing oil, natural gas, wind, solar, efficiency, and other energy technologies today submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in response to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed rulemaking on grid resiliency pricing. In joint comments, the ass..

Kansas Gas Companies Told to Expedite Pipeline Replacement

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Corporation Commission has rejected a request from three gas companies, sticking to its original ruling that they need to speed up the replacement of obsolete pipeline deemed a safety risk. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the commission ruled in September for ..

Lawmaker Blasts Video Game Allowing Fantasy Pipeline Attacks

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota lawmaker wants to impose new restrictions on state funding of the arts after learning about a video game that lets players zap imaginary oil pipelines with lightning bolts. Elizabeth LaPensee received nearly $3,300 from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to c..

Enbridge Knew of Line 5 Damage Years Ago

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The company that operates twin oil pipelines in a Great Lakes waterway says it knew three years ago that protective coating had been damaged but didn’t inform regulatory agencies. Enbridge Inc. says four gaps were opened in enamel coating on one section of Line 5 in Mich..

PSE&G Upgrades NatGas Pipeline Infrastructure Post-Sandy

Five years after Hurricane Sandy left two million New Jerseyans without power, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) has completed strategic infrastructure investments that, in the event of another Sandy-like storm, will keep critical equipment out of floodwaters’ way and the lights on for..

Video Game Enabling Fantasy Pipeline Attacks Under Fire

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A video game developed by a Michigan State University assistant professor supports “eco-terrorism” by enabling players to zap imaginary oil pipelines with lightning bolts, an industry group said Wednesday, although the designer countered that it’s not meant to incite viol..

Pipeline Protesters Receive Jail Time

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota man and a Rhode Island woman are the first people to be sent to jail for protesting the Dakota Access pipeline. Sixty-four-year-old Mary Redway and 27-year-old Alexander Simon were convicted Oct. 19 of misdemeanor disorderly conduct during the protests in North ..

Database Seeks to Highlight Pipeline Infrastructure Attacks

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An oil and gas industry group is seeking to highlight what it says is an increase in protester attacks on energy infrastructure such as oil pipelines through an online database cataloguing incidents of “eco-terrorism, sabotage, arson, vandalism and violence.” The Energy Equipm..

Illinois Attorney General Sues Gas Company Over Leak

MAHOMET, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois attorney general is suing a Chicago gas company over an underground natural-gas leak that has affected water wells near the central part of the state. The News-Gazette reports the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan against Peoples Gas is based on a refe..

Gas Explosion Kills Pipeline Worker

NAVARRE, Ohio (AP) — A sheriff’s office says a natural gas pipeline explosion in Ohio killed a man doing maintenance work. The explosion Monday killed a Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline worker and caused a large gas leak just south of Canton that forced authorities to evacuate the neighborhood. ..

6 More Protesters Arrested at Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Police arrested six more protesters who tried blocking construction of a natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania. The protesters now face criminal trespass charges after their weekend arrest in Lancaster County. They tried blocking the entrance to a construction site for the Atl..