National Fuel’s Northern Access pipeline has been halted by New York state, but the impacts of that decision will be felt throughout this region of Pennsylvania.
“What it really boils down to is lost jobs and lost opportunity,” said state Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint. “My hope is New York state will reconsider their decision.”
National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Empire Pipeline Inc., both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Western New York-headquartered National Fuel, received word at 11:22 p.m. on Friday, that the New York State DEC issued a denial of the Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification and other state stream and wetland permits for the Northern Access Project.
Sherri Geary, economic development director for McKean County, is hopeful that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s decision is a setback, and that the project will be permitted to continue in the future.
“Hopefully this is a delay, not a lost opportunity,” Geary said. “NY DEC is very thorough and it could be just a permitting suspension until National Fuel’s stream crossing technique receives further analysis.”
Calling New York’s decision a setback, Causer said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a “radical environmental government. Look at the moratorium they’ve put on all drilling. Yet people want the energy.”
Rob Boulware, spokesman for Seneca Resources, the drilling arm of National Fuel, said more information likely will come from National Fuel during its May 5 earnings report. However, he did point out data from past company earning reports to give an idea of what Seneca has contributed to the local economy.
From 2012 to this year, Seneca has spent more than $45 million in McKean County. Seneca had been looking to expand its operations again once the pipeline was up and running, but New York’s decision could impact that as well.
That, in turn, would impact jobs in McKean County.
Geary explained the pipeline would have gone from Sergeant Township through Keating, Annin, Ceres and Eldred townships. “Those communities would have seen an uptick in economic activity locally, with potential employment opportunities in the areas of construction, welding and union related skilled labor,” she said.
She mentioned another concern, too — lower impact fees coming back to the region.
“If we’re not drilling, there’s impact fees that slow down,” Boulware added. The bulk of Seneca’s drilling was taking place in this region of the state.
Geary said, “What is a true concern to me is the reduction of well activity, which will result in the potential loss of Act 13 funding awarded to the county. The Act 13 funding provides revenue for public infrastructure projects, tax reduction, environmental programs, housing and capital reserve funds. As state and federal funding gets cut or eliminated, the Act 13 funding becomes critical to our rural counties hosting unconventional well sites.”
In addition to the funding impact locally, the nation as a whole could be impacted by New York’s decision.
Causer explained, “We’re trying to promote energy independence, and here, there is an abundant energy source and, for political reasons, they are holding it up.”
Geary said there is a critical need for natural gas right now, “especially as New York is beginning to take the last remaining coal burning plants offline and invest in their aging nuclear facilities, which face stiff competition from cheaper natural gas plants.
“New York taxpayers are being forced to pay subsidies for the next 15 years for the nuclear plant upgrades to extend the life of these plants as they try to meet the Clean Energy Standard of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.”
Causer also pointed out that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had approved the Northern Access project in February, and was satisfied it met the same environmental requirements which New York state rejected last week.
