Written by:
Brennan Weintraub -
Research Assistant
Jackie Schweichler -
Staff Attorney
The following
information is an update of recent local, state, national, and international
legal developments relevant to shale gas.
LNG Exports: FERC
Gives Final Approval of Gulf Connector Expansion Facilities
On January 2, 2019,
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sent a letter allowing Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company to place into
service the last two facilities in its Gulf Connector Expansion project. The
order allows the company to begin service on two compressor facilities, in San
Patricio and Wharton counties in Texas. The facilities are part of a larger project to transport natural gas to LNG export terminals on the Texas
coast. The project, now completed, will deliver 475,000 dekatherms a day of natural gas to two
terminals, one at Corpus Christi Bay and one at Freeport Bay.
Pipelines: FERC
Releases Environmental Assessment for Adelphia Gateway Project
On January 4, 2019,
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published
the environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Adelphia Gateway
project. FERC found that approving the project “would not constitute a
major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment.” The EA reviews Adelphia Gateway, LLC’s plans to purchase and
repurpose existing pipelines and meter facilities. Adelphia
plans to convert the last fifty miles of a pipeline in southeastern Pennsylvania
from oil to natural gas. The project will also involve building several new
facilities, including two compressor stations and five meter and regulator stations
along the length of the pipeline.
State Regulation:
Governor Wolf Issues Executive Order Outlining New Emissions Goals for
Pennsylvania
On January 8, 2019,
Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania issued an executive order reestablishing the Governor’s Green Government Council and outlining emissions reduction goals for
the state. Under the executive order, the Council will be comprised of the
Secretaries of the Departments of General Services, Environmental Protection,
and Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as others chosen by the
Governor. The Council, as well as other state institutions, will seek to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent spanning from 2005 to 2025. From 2005 to 2050, the Governor plans to
decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. The executive order outlines plans to
decrease overall energy consumption, replace 25 percent of passenger cars with
electric cars, and to procure renewable energy to offset 40 percent of the
state’s electricity use.
Pipelines: Atlantic
Coast Pipeline Receives Compressor Station Permit in Virginia
On January 9, 2019,
the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit to Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to construct a natural gas
compressor station in Buckingham County, Virginia. The approved facility is one
of three compressor stations that will eventually be built along the length of
the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project is a 600-mile pipeline that will carry natural gas from West
Virginia to markets in Virginia and North Carolina. According to ACP, emissions at the Buckingham compressor
station will be “50 to 80 percent lower than any other compressor station in
Virginia.”
From the National Oil
& Gas Law Experts:
Jeremy Mercer and
Devan Flahive, Reference to Oil & Gas Royalty Interest Deemed Sufficient
Under the Marketable Title Act, Oil & Gas Law Report
(January 7, 2019)
Charles Sartain, Ohio Land Professional Saved by the
Legislature...Kind Of, Energy & The Law
(January 14, 2019)
Conrad Hester and
Skyler Sikes, Ignorance is Bliss: Archer v. Tregellas and
the Discovery Rule, Oil and Gas Update (January 14, 2019)
Pennsylvania
Legislation
SB 40: Referred to Environmental Resources and Energy (Jan. 11, 2019)
- would impose a rebuttable presumption of liability to owners of pipelines
when pollution or loss of water occurs at water supplies.
Pennsylvania Notices
Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory
Council Meeting: January 23, 2019 -
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
“PA PUC prepares to collect millions in past
impact fees after ‘stripper well’ ruling” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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This week we published
two new Shale Law in the Spotlight articles: Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Overview of Federal
and State Regulatory Approval Processes, and Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Overview of
Litigation Regarding the Pipeline Construction (Part 1 of 3).
Check the January Agricultural Law Brief! Each month we compile the biggest legal
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