Oil/Gas Pipelines
Montana challenges EPA rule to protect water quality certifications, foster infrastructure development
(UI) — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and ten other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule on Dec. 5 stating that it makes "sweeping and unlawful" changes to federal regulations governing state-issued water quality certifications.
US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill
Federal officials on Tuesday recommended increasing the distance from undersea pipelines that vessels are allowed to anchor in Southern California, citing a 2021 oil spill they said was caused by ships whose anchors were dragged across a pipeline after a storm.
Biden administration targets US oil and gas industry with new rule on methane emissions
The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy.
Michigan regulators approve $500 million Great Lakes tunnel for aging oil pipeline
Michigan officials approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase in a protective tunnel a portion of an aging oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project.
Search underway for Main Pass pipeline leak after 1.1 million gallons of oil spill in Gulf of Mexico
As much as 1.1 million gallons of oil may have been discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipeline system off Louisiana’s southeast coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday. The affected pipeline has been shut down but authorities are still trying to determine the exact location and cause of the leak.
TC Energy secures FERC nod for pipeline expansion project in Virginia
Columbia Gas Transmission's Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) represents a strategic expansion project designed to replace two segments of the existing pipeline system, ensuring a continual and abundant supply of natural gas.
Federal authorities investigate underwater oil pipeline leak off the coast of Louisiana
Federal authorities said Saturday that they’re investigating a leak from an underwater oil pipeline off the coast of Louisiana.
Midstream consolidates, expands ahead of LNG export demand
U.S. midstream companies would be hard-pressed this year to approach the record earnings that many achieved in 2022, but the sharp decline in oil and natural gas prices from last year’s highs hasn’t blunted their expansion efforts.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers change public comment format for Dakota Access oil pipeline review
Pipeline opponents had criticized the meeting because oral testimony was only accepted in private to stenographers in a curtained area in a hotel ballroom.
Charges filed 5 years after underground gas explosion leveled home and injured 3
Attorney General Michelle Henry said Wednesday that the criminal complaint alleges methane gas in an underground storage reservoir owned and operated by Equitrans L.P. migrated upward into a deteriorating company storage well and eventually reached the Greene County home, leading to the blast.
Format of public comment meetings for Dakota Access oil pipeline upsets opponents
Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline are taking issue with the format of private oral testimony in meetings for public comment on a draft environmental review of the controversial pipeline.
Cleanup is done on a big Kansas oil spill on the Keystone system, the company and EPA say
The operator of the Keystone pipeline system has finished cleaning up a massive December 2022 oil spill, and the creek affected by it is flowing naturally again, the company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
Feds OK gas pipeline expansion in Pacific Northwest over environmentalist protests
The 1,377-mile (2,216-km) pipeline will run from the Canadian border through a corner of Idaho and into Washington state and Oregon, connecting with a pipeline going into California.
Biden administration wants to count downstream GHG emissions when FERC considers pipeline, power projects
(UI) — The President Biden administration announced its latest effort to throw a wrench in pipeline construction. The Biden Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) wants to rollback Trump administration pro-pipeline changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Enbridge Gas to expand northeastern natural gas pipeline with new capacity open season
The Enbridge Gas Dawn Parkway System is one of the most robust pipeline systems in North America and provides for the movement of natural gas from Enbridge Gas's Dawn Hub to northeastern U.S. markets.
North Dakota panel will reconsider denying permit for Summit CO2 pipeline
North Dakota utility regulators, in an unusual move, granted a request to reconsider their denial of a key permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline.
Biden restores states' and tribes' authority over waterways, including gas pipelines
The rule, which takes effect in November, reverses a Trump-era action that limited the ability of states and tribes to review pipelines, dams and other federally regulated projects within their borders.
Federal officials release draft environmental review of Dakota Access oil pipeline
The draft was released more than three years after a federal judge ordered the environmental review and revoked the permit for the Missouri River crossing, upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.
Environmentalists lose latest court battle over Louisiana gas pipeline project
A panel of three appellate judges rejected multiple arguments against the project's permit in a 26-page ruling, saying the Corps had complied with requirements of the federal Administrative Procedures Act and the Clean Water Act.
Duke Energy methane emissions monitoring platform to receive federal funding
The company's current methane-monitoring platform – which has reduced recordable leaks by more than 85% since the beginning of 2022 – uses satellites, sensors and other cutting-edge technologies to detect leaks and measure real-time methane emissions on underground natural gas distribution systems.
Iowa utility regulators begin hearing on proposed Summit CO2 pipeline
Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $5.5 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline network would carry CO2 from 34 ethanol plants in five states to North Dakota for storage deep underground — a project involving carbon capture technology, which has attracted both interest and scrutiny in the U.S.
Federal court dismisses challenge to Mountain Valley Pipeline construction
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, sided with lawyers from Mountain Valley Pipeline in dismissing challenges to the project by environmental groups over concerns about the pipeline’s impact on endangered species, erosion and stream sedimentation.
New permitting provisions in budget bill slight natural gas industry
(UI) — The natural gas industry greeted the permitting reform bill Congress passed, and President Biden signed last month with something short of enthusiasm. The permitting provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had only glancing benefits for gas pipelines and were chiefly written to benefit wind, solar and electric energy deployment.
Wood delivers 2,000 miles of low carbon pipeline projects in North America
(UI) — Wood has announced that it is delivering concept and front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for nearly 2,000 miles of onshore low-carbon pipelines in North America.
Pipeline companies to pay $12.5 million after oil spills in Montana, North Dakota
Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit.
Oil pipeline construction breaches Minnesota aquifer for fourth time
Officials said Enbridge is working to fix the rupture, in which the layer of earth above an aquifer is punctured, causing the water to leak to the surface and possibly introducing pollutants.
Supreme Court allows construction to resume on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline had been blocked by the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, even after Congress ordered the project’s approval as part of the bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in June.
W.Va. asks Supreme Court to set aside ruling that blocks Mountain Valley Pipeline construction
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey argued that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, lacked jurisdiction to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline. In a statement Monday, he said any challenges to Congress’ action must be heard by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
Cheniere Energy plans new natural gas pipeline for Sabine Pass expansion
Cheniere Energy’s Chief Operating Officer, Corey Grindal, said that the company is considering plans to build a new pipeline linking its Sabine Pass expansion project to other shale-gas infrastructure.
Federal investigators find leaking natural gas pipe fitting at site of Pa. factory explosion that killed seven
The older fitting had a known tendency to crack, and it was added to a federal government list of pipe materials with “poor performance histories” in 2007, the safety board said. But it was left in place during utility work two years ago and remained connected to the natural gas system.
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