Coal industry tells state it’s a life-sustaining business

Shell cracker, work on new pipelines slows down

Coal companies, caught offguard by Gov. Tom Wolf’s order Thursday to shut down mines, spent much of Friday lobbying the state to be considered “life-sustaining” businesses.

By the afternoon, they had succeeded.

The governor’s attempt to severely restrict which businesses are allowed to operate in an effort to prevent the rapid transmission of COVID-19 included a spreadsheet that designated coal mining as “non-life-sustaining,” while oil and gas operations were allowed to keep working.

The state said enforcement of the order will begin after midnight Saturday and that noncompliant businesses may risk state funding, disaster relief and could have their licenses suspended. Enforcement was later extended to 8 a.m. Monday.

But the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development also provided a way for companies to seek exemptions to the order.

Somerset-based Corsa Coal put in its exemption request the next morning.

The company operates three mines in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland. Its 420 employees mine and process met coal, which is used in steelmaking — a business that Mr. Wolf’s order said could continue to operate.

Corsa’s argument for an exemption was this: “We serve the steel industry. The steel industry is listed as essential,” Corsa Chief Financial Officer Kevin Harrigan said. “We are hoping the governor rescinds the order [for coal].”

Corsa ceased mining Thursday and began preparing for an idle, Mr. Harrigan said, although “we’re hoping we don’t get to that point.”

In addition to its own request, Corsa was also being represented by the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, which lobbied Mr. Wolf to exempt the whole industry from the shutdown order.

That would include thermal coal producers such as Cecil-based Consol Energy Inc. The company operates a massive underground mine complex in southwestern Pennsylvania that mostly supplies coal to power plants.

On Thursday evening, West Virginia Rep. David McKinley, a Republican, wrote a letter to President

Donald Trump and House and Senate leadership asking for a federal-level exemption for coal from state shutdown orders.

Mr. McKinley argued that because power plants that feed the electric grid are considered critical infrastructure, the coal mines that feed those plants should be regarded the same way.

By the end of the day, the governor’s office issued updated guidance that reversed coal’s place on the list of industries, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Neil Shader confirmed.

He said DEP staff “is currently prioritizing field inspections of critical infrastructure and inspections that are critical to public health and safety.

DEP will continue to receive and review public complaints and will prioritize complaint inspections on a case by case basis.”

Order says oil, gas are life-sustaining

The Pennsylvania order presented a mixed picture for oil and gas firms.

Extracting oil and natural gas and shipping it through existing pipelines was deemed life-sustaining and allowed to continue. Maintenance activities on existing pipelines was also allowed.

After some confusion, construction to install new oil and gas pipelines was ordered to stop Friday, including at the cross-state Mariner East natural gas liquids pipelines.

Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer, which is building the Mariner East and Revolution pipelines in Pennsylvania, said the company is working through the state’s exemption process “to give us the necessary time to safely suspend active construction over a reasonable period of time, as some activities have a longer shut down process.”

The company is also working with regulators to make sure that sites are maintained according to permit conditions during the temporary halt, Ms. Granado said.

While permitted to operate, drillers have also changed their operating procedures to prevent the spread of the virus.

CNX Resources Corp. in Cecil said it is “utilizing the minimum resources in the field necessary to keep operations functioning normally and to ensure our operations are safe and compliant.”

Spokesman Brian Aiello said office employees are working from home and that field employees are practicing “strict social distancing,” as well as cleaning common areas and asking contractors about doing the same.

“In challenging times like these, we’re proud that society at large comes to lean on bedrock industries like ours to help provide and maintain the quality of life that we’ve all become accustomed to and dependent upon,” Mr. Aiello said.

Shell ramps down

Shell Chemical Appalachia is decreasing its workforce at its cracker plant construction site in Potter, Beaver County, in accordance with the governor’s order to suspend all construction activities.

“In the days ahead, we anticipate having approximately 300 workers on the Beaver County construction site; that represents more than a 95% reduction of the workforce from when we suspended construction operations on March 18,” spokesman Michael Marr said.

He said that during the shutdown, the sprawling site will still require some workers to preserve equipment and clean areas.

Mr. Marr said Shell is evaluating whether it will apply for an exemption request.