Amend

A petition by Southern Natural Gas (SNG) pipeline to amend a stipulation and agreement requiring it to file a new rate case by the end of February has come under attack at FERC.

A legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced two bills on Wednesday to amend the state constitution and make the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a commissioner post elected by the public, rather than one appointed by the governor.

A bill advancing through the Kansas Legislature would amend existing regulatory law and give the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) explicit authority over hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The Texas Supreme Court may soon decide on a request to revisit a 2011 opinion on the use of eminent domain that some industry representatives say could stymie the efforts of companies trying to build oil and gas pipelines to service growing production in the state’s shale plays.

A coalition of landowners in Wayne County, PA says it has “run out of patience” with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), and is urging the organization to either enact natural gas regulations or step aside and let the states do so.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) agreed Thursday to a request by New York that any water withdrawal applications for natural gas development in the state be postponed until the Empire State completes its environmental review of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

A proposal before the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to revise its water quality regulations and open the basin to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling suffered a serious setback after Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said Thursday his state would vote against the plan.

The Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 on Monday to add a referendum to the fall ballot that, if approved by voters, would amend the city charter with a ban on all commercial natural gas extraction inside the city limits.

FERC has denied a request by major gas shipper groups for the agency to use its Section 5 authority to order pipelines to amend their tariffs to comply with Commission policy on the crediting of reservation charges during service outages — both planned and unplanned. But the shipper associations did not walk away empty handed.