Written by:
Brennan Weintraub - Research Assistant
Jackie Schweichler - Education Programs Coordinator
The following information is an update of recent
local, state, national, and international legal developments relevant to shale
gas.
Pipelines: Millennium Valley Lateral Pipeline Receives
Approval to Start Service
On July 9, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission gave its approval for the
Millennium Pipeline in New York to start service on its Valley Lateral natural
gas pipeline. The
pipeline is located in Orange County in upstate New York and connects the CPV
Valley Energy Center to the existing Millennium Pipeline. The pipeline is one
of several that are planned to be brought online in the next few years to
prepare for the upcoming retirement of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in
Westchester County, according to
Reuters.
Pipelines: FERC Completes Environmental Assessment of
Risberg Line Project
On June 29, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) issued its Environmental Assessment for the proposed Risberg Line pipeline project. The
project would attach to an existing pipeline ending in northwestern
Pennsylvania and extend it into northeastern Ohio. The EA found that “approval
of this proposal would not constitute a major federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment.” The project is currently projected to receive
final approval in September 2018.
Interstate Commissions: Federal Court Rejects Lawsuit
Alleging FERC Bias
On July 10, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ruled against the
Delaware Riverkeeper Network in its challenge to the funding structure of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Delaware Riverkeeper Network v.
FERC, Docket No. 1:16-cv-00416. The lawsuit alleged that the current
system, in which FERC receives fees from natural gas companies in order to fund
its own natural gas program, unduly biases the agency toward approving
interstate natural gas pipelines. The court rejected this argument, holding
that Congress provides FERC with its budget and that funding is not directly
linked with individual projects. The environmental group also argued that the
Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution created a
federal property right. This argument also was rejected by the court.
Pipelines: Pa. PUC Rejects Proposal to Reverse
Pipeline Flow
On July 12, 2018, the Pennsylvania Public Utilities
Commission unanimously rejected a proposal to reverse the flow of the western half of the
Laurel pipeline, which currently carries oil and gas from the Philadelphia area
to western parts of the state. Buckeye Partners, the pipeline’s owner, recommended that the
western half of the line reverse its flow to carry oil and gas from the Midwest
to central Pennsylvania, claiming that the move would lower gas prices in the
state.
From the National Oil & Gas Law Experts:
Texas Supreme Court Decides Another Fixed-or-Floating
Royalty Case, Charles Sartain, Gray
Reed (July 12, 2018)
Follow us on Twitter at PSU Ag & Shale Law (@AgShaleLaw)
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“Franklin County wants pipeline company to reimburse it
for public safety costs” - The Roanoke
Times
“In Appalachia’s ‘Alcohol Alley,’ booze purveyors say a
pipeline is threatening their industry” -
Belt Magazine
“Feds eye changes to a bedrock environmental law” - High Country News
“West Texas sand currently bringing in billions” - Bloomberg
“Two protesters arrested at pipeline construction site in
Middletown” - Daily Local News
“Natural gas production spikes in Ohio” - Crain’s Cleveland Business
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Every week we will post the CASL Ledger which details all our publications and
activities from the week.
This week we published our Shale Law in the Spotlight: Overview of Legal Developments Relating to Shale Gas
Development in the Greater Chaco Area of New Mexico; and Pennsylvania DEP Finalizes General Permits for Methane
Emissions from Unconventional Natural Gas Production, Processing, and
Transmission
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