DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council is scheduled to meet on July 9 to continue its discussion of proposed Hydrogen Hubs, this time with a focus on pipelines.  Council will also hear a presentation on critical and rare earth minerals recycling.

John Ryder, DEP Deputy Secretary for Field Operations, will give the Secretary’s report to the Council at this meeting.

Robert Barkanic, the new Chair of the Council, will be presiding over his first meeting.

Carbon Sequestration, Hydrogen Hub Pipelines

Nita Raju, Community Liaison for the federal Office of Pipeline Safety at the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will give a presentation to Council on carbon sequestration and hydrogen pipelines.

The move to carbon sequestration and hydrogen technology will require the development of new or repurposed pipelines to carry carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Many have questions about the safety of these pipelines and how they will be regulated by the federal and state government.

In Pennsylvania, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines have the worst environmental compliance record of any industry in the state.

Natural gas pipelines have been penalized over $71 million in the last 10 years alone.

In addition, pipeline companies have been convicted or have pending  criminal charges related to state environmental violations.

One brand new natural gas pipeline in Beaver County suffered a catastrophic failure that resulted in an explosion and fire as a result of improper construction practices and landslides over miles of the pipeline route.  Read more here.  Read more here.

Landslides and slips and sinkholes still plague completed pipelines in Western and Southeastern Pennsylvania.

In February, the Department of Environmental Protection published final technical guidance on using trenchless technology to construct natural gas, other pipelines and underground utilities after six years of development.  Read more here.

In June, the Public Utility Commission finalized an update of regulations for intrastate hazardous liquids and gas pipelines that deal with many of the significant issues encountered by pipelines in the state after more than five years of development.  Read more here.

The PUC is the only agency that actually implemented the major recommendations coming out of Gov. Wolf’s 2016 Pipeline Task Force Report.  Read more here.

The public has been waiting for nearly a decade for the General Assembly to take effective action on siting, safety and many other issues related to hazardous liquid and gas pipelines.  Read more here.

Huge holes remain in how pipelines are regulated in Pennsylvania (see Resource Links below).

Critical & Rare Earth Minerals

Bernadette Lynch, Strategic Development Solutions, LLC, Pittsburgh, and a member of the PA Energy Development Authority Board, and Ned Eldridge, President & CEO of eLoop, also in Pittsburgh, will give a presentation on crucial and rare earth minerals recycling.

Click Here for the complete agenda.

Public Comment Period

Individuals interested in providing public comment during the meeting must sign up 24-hours in advance of the meeting by contacting Ian Irvin at iirvin@pa.gov. 

Commenters are asked to limit comments to 5 minutes to accommodate other commenters and the rest of the agenda.

Click Here for more on the Public Comment Period protocol (bottom of page).

Joining The Meeting

The meeting will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 12:30 p.m.

Click Here to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams-- Meeting ID: 278 447 411 39 Passcode: DyeG4L  or by telephone: +1 267-332-8737 Conference ID #: 948 350 681#  .

Visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage for available handouts and presentations.  Questions should be directed to: Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov.

(Photos: Top-- Energy Transfer’s brand new gas pipeline exploded in Beaver County in 2018 + Mariner East 2 Pipeline blast radius; Bottom- Mariner East 2 Pipeline drilling fluid spill into the lake at Marsh Creek State Park + Tennessee Gas Pipeline rupture and fire in McKean County 2022.)

Related Article This Week - Rare Earth Elements:

-- Firepoint Energy Selects Jefferson County Site For Waste Coal-To-Fuel Conversion, Rare Earth Element Recovery Production Site  [PaEN]

Resource Links - Pipelines:

-- Senate Budget Hearings: PA’s Experience With New Pipeline Construction Shows State Laws Not Strong Enough To Prevent Environmental Damage, Protect Public Safety  [PaEN]

-- House Committee Fails To Address $70 Million In Penalties On Natural Gas Pipelines Or Real Concerns Of People Living Near Gas Production, Distribution Facilities  [PaEN]

-- How Long Must The Public Wait For Action On Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Bills?   [PaEN]

-- Gov. Wolf Urges General Assembly To Fill Gaps In State Regulation Of Pipelines  [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas, Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Are NOT Required To Carry Insurance Or Show They Can Pay For Damages If They Explode, Leak Or Kill Someone  [PaEN]

-- KDKA: Natural Gas Gathering Pipeline Crashes Into, Thru Westmoreland County Home And A Loophole In State Law That Doesn’t Regulate Gathering Pipelines For Safety   [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas Pipeline Pigging Facility Malfunction Dec. 27 Released 1.1 Million Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas; Same Facility Plagued Community With Blowdowns 3 Times A Day, 7 Days A Week For Nearly 10 Years Until Criminal Charges Brought Against CNX   [PaEN]

-- 3 Days That Shook Washington County: Natural Gas Plant Explosion; Pipeline Leak Of 1.1 Million Cubic Feet Of Gas; 10,000 Gallon Spill At Compressor Station  [PaEN]

-- Navy Veterans Patrick & Helen Robinson Relate Their 7-Year Struggle Dealing With Impacts Of Mariner East Pipeline Construction In Indiana County, And They Continue  [PaEN]

-- Cambria County Family Sues Sunoco After 3 Years Of Dealing With Damage To Home, Well, Septic System, Property From Mariner East Pipeline Construction  [PaEN]

-- Spotlight PA: Little Information Made Public About Free Water Testing Ordered As Part Of Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Settlement To Criminal Charges By Attorney General  [PaEN]

-- Citizen Complaints Result In DEP Issuing PA General Energy More Violations At Loyalsock Creek Gas Pipeline/Water Withdrawal Construction Site In Lycoming County  [PaEN]

-- DEP: PA General Energy Cited For More Water Pollution Violations, Blocking The Whole Width Of Loyalsock Creek At Gas Pipeline/Water Withdrawal Construction Site In Lycoming County [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Has No Exclusion Zones For Water Withdrawals From Any Streams, Including EV Or HQ Streams Subject To Water Quality Antidegradation Rules  [PaEN

-- PJM Interconnection: Winter Weather Forces Natural Gas Pipeline Fuel Restrictions, ‘Conservative Operations’ Declared To Assure Electric Grid Reliability Through Jan. 17  [PaEN]

-- Bill Reported Out Of Senate Committee Would Allow Pipelines Like Mariner East To Apply For Waivers Of Any PUC Regulation, Law Or Policy  [PaEN - 2024]

-- Gas Industry, Sen. Bartolotta Seek Legislation To Eliminate Environmental Hearing Board Appeals Of DEP Permits For Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities  [PaEN - 2024]

-- Senate Republicans Pass Bill Authorizing An Authority To Take Over Permitting Large-Scale Energy Projects; Eliminating Public Comment; Waiving Any Regulation; Providing Immunity From Prosecution; Barbers Reviewing Permits?  [PaEN - 2024]

-- PA House Republicans Announce Energy Package, Including An Energy Advocate Within DEP To Veto Any Action That Would Impact PA’s Energy Portfolio And An Independent Energy Office With The Same Power  [PaEN - 2024]

-- More Articles:

To see the record of inaction and action on pipelines since 2016, Search PA Environment Digest under the subject “Pipelines.”

Resource Links - Rare Earth Minerals:

-- Penn State Team Awarded US DOE Grant To Develop Extraction & Recovery Technologies For Rare Earth, Other Critical Materials From Coal, Coal Wastes, Acid Mine Drainage  [PaEN]

-- Penn State’s Center For Critical Minerals To Receive $2.1 Million Grant To Build Pilot Plant To Recover Rare Earth Elements, Other Critical Minerals From Acid Mine Drainage   [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Critical Minerals Develops New Process To Extract Rare Earth Oxides From Abandoned Mine Drainages, Sludges  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Calls For Taking Next Step To Demonstrate Technology For Recovery Of Rare Earth & Critical Minerals From Mine Drainage, Coal Refuse - Build A Processing Facility  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Seize The Rare Opportunity To Resolve Toxic Mine Drainage - By Robert Hughes, Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation  [PaEN]

-- New Sensor Can Detect Valuable Rare Earth Elements In Mine Drainage, Other Non-Traditional Sources  [PaEN]

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Awards $1.95 Million For Conceptual Designs For Rare Earth Mineral Extraction From Coal Sources, Including 4 PA Projects  [PaEN]

-- Firepoint Energy Eyeing PA Coal Waste As Source Of Rare Earth Elements And Jet Fuel    [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - June 29 to July 5 - Lots Of Conventional Wells Venting Gas; 12 + 6 More Abandoned Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - July 6 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 53 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 6 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- Federal Judge Halts Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits; EQT, PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Plan To Ship PA Gas To China To Support Its Economy  [PaEN]

-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council To Discuss Carbon Sequestration-Hydrogen Hub Pipelines; Critical/Rare Earth Mineral Recycling At July 9 Meeting  [PaEN]

-- PublicSource.org: July 9 Learn The Story Behind The Story - EQT's Gas Play In Pennsylvania, West Virginia  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For Frontier LNG Gas Facility In Clinton County  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Title V Air Quality Permit Application Complete, Now Posted On DEP's Website; Comment Period Opening Soon  [PaEN]

-- DEP Approves Final Land Recycling Cleanup Report For Shell Petrochemical Plant Site In Beaver County  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- PennLive: Environmental Concerns Focus Of DEP Hearing On PA General Energy Double Gas, Wastewater Pipeline Route

-- TribLive: Great Allegheny Passage Trail To Close 2.5 Mile Section In Fayette County Through Mid-October For Texas Eastern Gas Pipeline Replacement Project

-- StateImpactPA/WITF: Per Well Impact Fees Paid By Shale Gas Drillers In PA Drop By More Than $100 Million In 2023 [IFO Predicts Another $114 Million Drop In 2024 ]

-- StateImpactPA/WITF: In US, Overall Emissions Down As Oil & Gas Production Rose Between 2015-2022; But In PA Region Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are Up 4%, Methane Emissions Down 25%

-- ProPublica: How America’s ‘Most Powerful Lobby’ Is Stifling Efforts To Reform Oil, Gas Well Cleanup In State After State [PA Included]

-- CNX Foundation Launches Internship Program To Develop Student Interest In The Regional Energy Industry

-- Environmental Defense Fund Blog: Unpacking EPA/DOE $850 Million Program To Tackle Oil & Gas Industry Methane Emissions

-- Utility Dive: US Supreme Court Decisions Could Delay Energy Investments, Spur Litigation, Analysts

-- The Hill: LNG Gas Export Projects Likely To Remain In Limbo Despite US Supreme Court Ruling

-- AP: Louisiana Federal Judge Sides With 16 States, Putting Pause On Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits

-- Reuters: Louisiana Federal Judge Halts Biden’s Pause On New LNG Gas Export Facility Permits

-- Reuters: China Sets Up New State Body To Drill Deep For Unconventional Oil And Gas Reserves

[Posted: July 2, 2024]

7/8/2024