Tom Shepstone
Shepstone Management Company, Inc.
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NaturalGasNOW is hearing Governor Andrew Cuomo, Prince Corruptocrat, the bully, has denied yet another pipeline permit – for the Northern Access Pipeline.
There’s no confirmation as yet, but NaturalGasNOW is being told Prince Corruptocrat —Andrew Cuomo, Governor of the Emporer State — has, yet again, injected himself into a what should be a routine permitting process and denied a 401 water quality certification for the Northern Access Pipeline. If this turns out to be true, it will confirm precisely what Rep. Chris Collins, Congressman from Western New York, just said about the man-child known here as Corruptocrat:
“Let’s call it out for what he is. He’s a thug. He’s a bully. He’s an extortionist. He’s a blackmailer. He wants all the authority,”
Well, yes, it seems so.
Jim Willis, Marcellus Drilling News, wrote about this issue less than a month ago here and I added an editor’s note providing the background on how it plays into what is clearly a pattern of “New York DEC blithely ignoring FERC regulations by pretending it still has authority to require all sorts of state permits for pipelines regulated by FERC.” It isn’t really DEC, though, that is calling the shots.
Corruptocrat, who appears to be everything Chris Collins called him and worse, is inserting himself into what has traditionally been a process free of political meddling. FERC sets the rules, DEC gets input to issue a water quality certification as part of the FERC process and its over and done by the book. Not in New York, though. Cuomo has made what should be professional and scientific, thoroughly personal and political. First, it was the Constitution Pipeline, next it was the Millennium and now it’s the Northern Access. Clearly, Corruptocrat is determined to stop any and every pipeline into or through New York.
Or, is he? He knows as much as anyone how dependent New York is on natural gas, of which it uses ever more. Is Corruptocrat looking for the payoff, then? No, that would be too obvious now. This is about two things. First, it’s about teaching other industries to play ball or be treated like the oil and gas industry. Make your deals with Cuomo, pony up the money first and then, and only then, ask for your permits. This is Tammany Hall, after all. Understand that.
Secondly, it reflects a cynicism unimaginable to most. Corruptocrat is effectively begging FERC to take him out of the loop on the matter of pipelines, because they don’t pay anyway, and, therefore, it makes more sense to let FERC take the grief for the pipelines. It even offers a beautiful advantage for the Prince; he gets the gas while being able to demagogue against FERC and the oil and Gas industry. What’s not to like? If you can’t make them pay, you can still bully them for political gain.
We’ll see next week whether what I’m hearing is true, but there’s no reason to doubt what I’m told. It makes perfect sense, in fact, in the demented world of a spoiled and corrupt prince who truly is a bully and a thug, not to mention so many other things. Thank you, Rep. Collins, for the guts to to call him out.
https://m.facebook.com/SEnRGorg/posts/1967476456814005
Seems surprising as I don’t think Robert Kennedy Jr or Karenna Gore were present at the recent nonapl rally/protest. Seems like familiar faces and groups were to me though from pictures I have seen. Interestingly the media coverage seemed to describe the protesters as western nyers or locals. Food and water watch however has offices in Brooklyn, where does Roger downs from the Sierra club live, I think Maya can Rossum lives in Pennsylvania and Kim fraczek of sane energy and some other outfits calls Brooklyn home. One wonders just how many pipelines these folks have been involved not just with protesting but miseducating the public and reporters about as well as politicians and policy makers over the last several years.
http://buffalonews.com/2017/04/08/dec-denies-necessary-water-quality-permits-gas-pipeline/
Well it isn’t an earth day denial like constitution pipeline was last year. But this does seem to confirm the rumors of denial.
How are Cuomo’s actions on the Northern Access pipeline any different than what he did on the Constitution pipeline? He is just going with what has worked in the past. He is also begging to be sued in federal court so that he can delay it for any number of years with appeals of decisions against him. Just delaying northeastern use of Marcellus and Utica gas is good enough for him.
Don’t waste time saying how hypocritical is for him to be limiting the supply of gas New York State and City are dependent on. Anti’s have declared war on the future of gas, not the present use that many of their supporters are dependent on and that they can’t and don’t want to do anything about. They are the Wizards of Oz, saying “pay no attention to the man behind the green curtained present”, but rather some dream of a dazzling perfect scheme of renewables in a someday “real soon now” future.
Unfortunately, Rep. Collins is wrong too. Cuomo is an Eric Hoffer “True Believer”, who whether confronted with unlimited obstacles or opportunities, is willing to do anything to achieve his ends. Cuomo is not an extortionist, demanding payment; he wants the extinction of gas in the future because it can compete with and delay his renewable vision for the future. To him, present day use of gas is what economists call a “sunk cost”. It is too costly to undo now and will, by his reasoning, fade away as its infrastructure wears out.
Back in the early 2000’s, Cuomo was a surprise; now he is depressingly predictable. How is it that the gas and pipelines companies haven’t figured out a strategy for this?
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