Municipal

Natural gas municipal entities and industrial gas consumers have called on Congress to reject efforts to allow the interstate pipelines to collect a tracker fee — or tax — on top of the existing user fees from customers as part of pipeline safety reauthorization legislation.

Two environmental groups have asked a federal court in Pittsburgh to enjoin the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport from accepting any wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling operations at its sewage plant, but an official with the facility says it hasn’t accepted Marcellus wastewater for the last three months.

The nation’s largest municipal utility, the $4 billion Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), plans to nearly double its reliance on natural gas for electricity generation while phasing out coal over the next two decades, according to a presentation last Saturday by new General Manager Ron Nichols.

A municipal gas utility trade group has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to reduce the proposed levels of the speculative position limits for non-spot month contracts.

Possible sales of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets by the nation’s largest municipal utility to help avoid large rate increases are still being considered, according to Austin Beutner, the acting head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). An upcoming integrated resource plan is expected to show more detailed plans.

More local and state governments and businesses are adding natural gas vehicles (NGV) to their fleets, thanks to financial incentives adopted by municipal planning or air quality agencies, according to a study conducted by Emisstar LLC and commissioned by NGV America, which promotes vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen.

More local and state governments and businesses are adding natural gas vehicles (NGV) to their fleets, thanks to financial incentives adopted by municipal planning or air quality agencies, according to a study conducted by Emisstar LLC and commissioned by NGV America, which promotes vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has signed a $21 million, 15-year deal to buy landfill gas in Texas from Shell Energy North America to expand its renewable energy supplies. The contract calls for 6 billion Btu/d.

Looking to shore up county, municipal and school district budgets without raising taxes on residents, Pennsylvania House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese (D-Greene County) is turning to Marcellus Shale oil and natural gas producers to foot the bill. He has introduced legislation that would allow counties to assess value to natural gas, oil and coalbed methane resources before they are produced and tax the producers.