PG&E utility systematically falsified gas safety records, regulator says
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. falsified tens of thousands of gas safety records in a five-year period shortly after the deadly San Bruno explosion, according to a California regulator that has opened an investigation and penalty case against the utility company. "Utility falsification of safety related records is a serious violation of law and diminishes our trust in the utility's reports on their progress," Michael Picker, the California Public Utilities Commission's president, said in a statement.
Virginia considers revoking water permit for Mountain Valley gas pipeline
The Virginia State Water Control Board might cancel a state-issued Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for the 2-Bcf/d Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC natural gas transportation project after the state sued the developer for water-related environmental violations. The move came after Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced a lawsuit against Mountain Valley for what the state said were as many as 300 environmental violations in several counties along the pipeline route.
Federal regulator to decide oversight for C$6B TransCanada pipeline to LNG plant
Canada's federal energy regulator will hold hearings to determine whether a TransCanada Corp. pipeline that would supply an LNG export facility in British Columbia falls within its jurisdiction, which would complicate the project's approval process. In a preliminary examination, the National Energy Board found enough evidence to launch a more in-depth investigation into who should regulate the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Pa. ALJ declines to halt Energy Transfer's Mariner East NGL pipelines
A Pennsylvania administrative law judge on Dec. 11 declined to order an emergency halt to the operation and construction of Energy Transfer LP affiliate Sunoco Pipeline LP's Mariner East family of NGL lines delivering ethane and propane to a suburban Philadelphia terminal, denying the request of seven residents along the pipeline's route. Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes said the residents failed to prove that the line was an immediate danger that required an emergency shutdown.