The Accident Gas Storage Field in Western Maryland is an Issue!

by Duane Nichols on June 18, 2015

Accident Compressor Station in MD

YOU are Invited to Come to Accident in Maryland with purpose!

From Engage Mountain Maryland, June 10, 2015

Have you heard of the “Accident Dome”? It is a name used for part of an aging underground natural gas storage facility in Accident, MD built in the 1960s. The site houses a compressor station and an underground storage field covering roughly 53 square miles which is owned and managed by Spectra Energy (Texas Eastern), a natural gas company.

The site is currently emitting into the air an estimated 10,000 tons of methane and other fugitive gases per year, some carcinogenic, which is of concern to many area residents.

Engage Mountain Maryland will be hosting a public information meeting about the state and federal regulations for facilities like the Accident Compressor Station and Storage Dome. Residents will have an opportunity to hear about this facility and associated natural gas infrastructure directly from the Maryland Department of the Environment, Spectra Energy, and Department of Natural Resources. Presenters will help explain the permitting process to educate the public about measures taken to protect our air and water quality, and health and safety of neighboring communities. Engage Mountain Maryland would like to extend an invitation to all citizens of Western Maryland and surrounding areas for this very informative evening:

Come to Accident with purpose on June 23rd at 7:00 PM

Location: Career Technology Training Center, 116 Industrial Drive, Accident, MD 21520

>>> If you have a friend or neighbor who is not internet connected, please share this important meeting with them. We will be running two public announcements in the Republican News paper to try to reach the broadest audience. <<<

Bigger than Accident …….. Emissions are not isolated:
The map below shows the general area of the Accident Storage Field which is a natural underground formation. The small red circles indicate the numerous vertical wells that have tapped into the natural gas deposit. These wells are old and no longer active but they are leaking. The concern with emissions is that once they are released, they cannot be contained. Besides the direct area of emission, those positioned down-wind can also be affected. Our hope is that the massive amounts of methane and volatile organic compounds, VOCs, being released can be regulated and reduced to within a safe level for those in and around the 34,000 acre footprint of the storage field. It is exceptionally important that we set a precedent now for Garrett County regarding what we expect for our citizens’ health and safety. Please come and become educated and be heard. This will prove to be a highly informative evening!

GUEST SPEAKERS

Paul Durham, Engage Mountain Maryland — Introduction and Overview

Ann Nau, Myersville Citizens for a Rural Community — Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits for compressor stations

Eric Robison, Engage Mountain Maryland — Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulations

Karen Irons, Manager, Air Quality Permits Program, and Angelo Bianca, Deputy Director, Air and Radiation Management Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment — Compressor station construction and operating permits, air monitoring & compliance

Richard Ortt, Director, Maryland Geological Survey, Department of Natural Resources — Geologic storage of methane and potential geological faulting in the Accident Quadrangle

SPECTRA Energy (formerly Texas Eastern) — Accident facility and air monitoring

Accident Gas Storage Field Between I-68 & Deep Creek Lake, MD

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Judy McDade June 19, 2015 at 10:41 pm

RE: Huge natural gas leakage over Accident Dome

Would be the same problem occuring over New Mexico, the methane cloud hanging there? Judy McDade, WV.

P. S. See the extensive and comprehensive article below with great photos!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/huge-methane-hotspot-american-southwest/

Why is there a huge methane hotspot in the American Southwest?

By Laura Santhanam, PBS News Hour,  June 3, 2015 

A team of scientists scrambles to better understand a gigantic cloud of methane looming over the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest. This single cloud is believed to comprise nearly 10 percent of all methane emissions derived from natural gas in the United States. But its origins remain a mystery.

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