Mariner East 2 Pipeline from OH, WV & PA to export Ethane & Propane

By Rebecca Britton, Delaware County Times, Swarthmore PA, October 7, 2018

The following is a response to a recent guest column by James Coyle against any moratorium in construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline:

Dear Mr. Coyle:

The pipeline incident in Beaver County is now bringing increased attention to pipeline safety issues. The incident is our worst fears being confirmed. You are correct, residents are concerned about pipelines that pass by our homes, schools and places of business. This month, every day, on the way to my child’s bus stop I smelled mercaptan. That is the additive included in natural gas to ensure our senses keep us safe. My neighbors called our provider and the issue was fixed prior to an ignition event. This is the scary scenario for high-density areas, especially for pipelines whose contents are meant for plastic production.

When Mariner East leaks we are instructed to run on foot, up wind, a half a mile. How will we know when to commence these exercises? Unlike natural gas, “natural gas liquids” are heavier than air and odorless. In all likelihood, a pipeline leak would be small, just like the natural gas one on my street. Imagine this going unnoticed.

We are going a step further, and calling for a statewide moratorium on all pipeline construction. Those of us living with the endless construction, spills, contaminated drinking water, and sinkholes have seen what under-regulated pipeline approvals has created. Legality has eclipsed morality in Pennsylvania when it comes to pipeline construction.

As you know, as a member of Tom Wolf’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force, not one of your recommendations have been crafted into law. We still have no pipeline siting agency unlike every other state. It is my guess, you as an attorney at Babst Calland, probably enjoy the benefits of this haphazard pipeline buildout. Your firm is heavily entrenched with the most powerful lobby firm in Harrisburg, the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Furthermore, your online profile states “(Keith J. Coyle) practice focuses primarily on the regulation of pipelines and the transportation of hazardous materials”.

You wrote, “I understand the anxiety that people feel after a pipeline incident. They want to know that their families are safe, and that the folks in charge are doing what is necessary to protect public safety. Every incident serves as a reminder of the additional work that needs to be done to make pipelines safer.” But by making this statement you leave me with a bad case of cognitive dissonance. Firms like yours, are lobbying our state Senate, pushing legislation like SB652 at a record pace through the House and Senate, making our “community safety coalitions” afraid to plan a peaceful protest. I do not see you pushing legislation to help ensure responsible placement and construction of pipelines though?

Pipelines are a critical part of the nation’s energy infrastructure, thank goodness our nation’s energy needs are met.

These new pipelines carrying the “wet” fracked gas, deliver dangerous materials that are meant to provide feedstock for plastics; and nothing else.

Pipelines might be the safest and most reliable means of transporting energy products. However, Pennsylvanian legislators could be investing in clean, green energy. Instead they are in bed with the likes of you, planning more pipelines. This irresponsible pipeline buildout holds the long term economic vitality of our region in the balance and is unacceptable to residents of southeastern Pennsylvania.

A statewide moratorium, on Mariner East and all pipeline construction, is the only thing that makes sense for our schools, communities and vulnerable populations. Placing colorless, odorless, heavier than air gases within feet of our children is reckless. The ban should remain in place until our legislators remember that their primary duty is to protect the health, welfare, and safety of citizens; and not lobbyists.

One last thought: You might be a Pennsylvanian native; but I live here. You might have lots of fancy job titles in the pipeline industry, but I have something – a love for my neighbors, for the innocent that work or learn in “blast zones,” love for my family. I have an actual vested stake in the outcomes.

I have one more thing you don’t. I have thousands of Pennsylvanian voters with me. You and your friends at the Marcellus Shale Coalition keep trying to bury us, but, what you fail to realize is, we are seeds.

Compressor station noise, blow-down, leaks & odors are issues!

Commentary on Fracking in Maryland

[Garrett County already has a huge natural gas storage field at Accident, MD]

In 2007 I was part of a team at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who reviewed $37 billion-dollar-plus programs.  We were trying to understand why so many DHS programs were failing.  As part of the review we’d have the program principals come in and we’d ask them questions about their program.  The last question was, “What do you want to buy?”  Remember these men and women had their hands out asking for hundreds of millions of dollars.  Many of them couldn’t answer the question.  They wanted the money but didn’t know how they were going to spend it.  They hadn’t done their homework.  Their approach from an engineering perspective was irresponsible.

On Tuesday, December 6^th, I went to the Pre-Legislative meeting in Garrett County.  I asked Delegate Bieztel and Senator Edwards some very basic questions about fracking, which they have supported since the O&G industry became interested in Maryland.  Since then our representatives have been claiming significant economic benefits which would result from fracking.

I asked them to tell me what the economic impact to the county would be especially to the average household.  They couldn’t give me any numbers.  Delegate Beitzel proceeded to tell me how to figure the amount of money land lessors could expect.

I asked them for the number, type, and duration of the jobs that we could expect and whether these jobs would be filled locally or not.  They couldn’t answer those questions except to say one had to make assumptions about lots of things.  I suppose they were telling me that it was hard to derive those numbers.  Maybe so, but if you’re asking people to support a risky proposition you should have done enough analysis to understand the basics.  I also asked them if they would require O&G companies to staff fracking operations with union workers since unions were very careful to protect the well-being (safety) of employees whereas fracking operators are not.  Fracking workers are seven times more likely to die on the job than on other type jobs according to the AFL-CIO.  Our representatives said they would not support a requirement for fracking operators to hire union workers.

The bottom line for me is our representatives are asking us to support fracking and its associated risks (costs) because of the benefits, and yet they don’t know what the benefits really are.  They are asking the average household to buy-in to their ideas without any idea how the average household will benefit.  That is, they want us all to assume the economic, health, and environmental risks associated with fracking even though they don’t know if any of us (other than land lessors) will benefit.  I ask myself and you, does it make sense to buy anything and not know the benefits?  I also ask myself if they really don’t know the basics about the benefits what do they really know about the costs (risks)?

As I think about this I become very angry.  I’m angry because they use their influence to gain support for fracking.  We trust these men to do what’s in our best interests and they exploit that trust.  I’m also angry (maybe angrier) that they don’t feel they’ve been irresponsible.  They think there’s nothing wrong with asking us to get on board even though they obviously don’t understand the benefits and probably don’t understand the costs.  We should ask these men to do their homework or perhaps find someone else to represent us.   They are after all, acting irresponsibly.

From:  Jim Guy, OldTown, Allehany County, MD

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How Fracking May Impact Your Health (Learning from Pennsylvania)

>>> From Engage Mountain Maryland, www.EngageMMd.org, EngageMountainMaryland@gmail.com

When the fracking rush consumed Pennsylvania, little was known about how industrial gas development could impact their residents’ health. With years of citizen complaints and health studies, evidence shows documented threats from fracking operations.

Studies by institutions have revealed issues such as respiratory problems, headaches, high blood pressure, anemia, heart attacks, and cancers as a result of gas drilling. Damaging effects have also been discovered on immune and reproductive systems, child development, and low birth weights for infants born near fracking sites.

Two guest speakers will be visiting Garrett County from Southwestern Pennsylvania who have been on the front lines, assisting victims of fracking. Raina Rippel, Director of  The Environmental Health Project (EHP) along with Jill Kriesky, MS, PhD, Associate Director, will be delivering a compelling program that outlines common health risks associated with communities engulfed in natural gas development.

This informative public session is to help the public better understand health risks associated with natural gas development and fracking. The general public is invited to attend this free event as well as health professionals who could greatly benefit from the program and share its content with others.

Wednesday, December 14 at 6:00PM

Ace’s Run Restaurant & Pub (lower level)

20160 Garrett Highway

Oakland, MD 21550

Pam Judy knows the truth!

Unprecedented Investigation Finds PA Prioritizes Fracking at Expense of Health, Environment & Law

From an Article by Nicole D’Alessandro, EcoWatch.com, August 7, 2014

Pennsylvania has been a hot spot for fracking — and many consequences of this from of gas drilling in the state have come to light, from social to health to environmental costs, as well as controversies, including contaminated drinking water in the town of Dimock, gag orders on doctors and victims, and the state health department’s enforced silence on the practice.

While that sounds ominous enough, a new report released by Earthworks, after a year in the making, proves that the rush to drill undermines the protection of Pennsylvanians and the enforcement of regulations.Blackout in the Gas Patch: How Pennsylvania Residents are Left in the Dark on Health and Enforcement for the first time definitively connects health and environmental impacts of fracking with a lack of state oversight on a site-by-site basis.

“Legitimate, well-funded oversight should be a prerequisite for deciding whether to permit fracking, not an afterthought,” said Nadia Steinzor, the report’s lead author. “Governor Corbett and [Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection] DEP Secretary Abruzzo often say that the state has an exemplary regulatory program—but refuse to acknowledge that it’s not being implemented properly and that air, water and health are being harmed as a result. DEP’s limited resources make it impossible to keep up with required paperwork, let alone enforce the law and hold operators accountable.”

Blackout in the Gas Patch looks at the permitting, operational and oversight records of 135 wells and facilities in seven counties and details 25 key findings of associated threats to residents’ health and the environment. It also includes seven case studies using detailed timelines and maps, including the experiences of the Judy family from Carmichaels in Greene County.

Pam Judy said of her family’s experience with fracking: “The Governor and PA-DEP claim that gas and oil operations are safe and that they have everything under control. I live with it every day, and know that’s not true—and this report confirms it.”

Based primarily on data and documents from the PA-DEP, Blackout in the Gas Patch has found that Pennsylvania prioritizes development over enforcement; neglects oversight; fails to consider known threats; undermines regulations; and prevents the public from getting information.

The report concludes that the oversight of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry is occurring with three inherent contradictions at play, which are as follows:

1. PA-DEP is charged with protecting the environment and the public, but is under strong political pressure to advance an industry that harms water, air and health.
2. Steep budget cuts to PA-DEP during a shale gas boom means the agency has to do more with less—which in effect has meant insufficient oversight and enforcement.
3. As the number of people impacted by and concerned about the impacts of gas development grows, public access to information on the activities of both operators and DEP remains limited, inconsistent and restricted.

While the report, which offers many recommendations for the state, is a firm indictment of the current situation in Pennsylvania, as Bruce Baizel, director of Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project, points out: “There’s a national crisis in fracking oversight. This report focuses on Pennsylvania, but it easily could have been written about Ohio, or the federal Bureau of Land Management, or Denton, Texas.

Blackout illustrates why many residents across the United States have given up on the idea that regulators can manage the oil and gas boom, and are working so hard to stop fracking.”

NY Finger Lakes Protest

Governor Cuomo Greeted by Hundreds of Anti-Fracking Protestors in Ithaca, NY

From Frack Action, EcoWatch, July 10, 2013

Hundreds of residents rallied against fracking and for renewable energy outside of Gov. Cuomo’s speech in Ithaca, NY, today with just hours notice of the Governor’s appearance. The concerned citizens urged the Governor not to put New York’s clean water, air, environment and economy at risk by allowing fracking. Further, they urged the Governor to aggressively invest in renewable energy, which would bring sustainable, good jobs and economic development to New York State without jeopardizing people’s health and existing jobs like fracking would.

 “Governor Cuomo must reject fracking because it would contaminate our clean water, poison our air and undermine our economy including agriculture, tourism and small businesses” said John Armstrong of Frack Action, an Ithaca resident.”Science overwhelmingly shows that fracking cannot be done safely and that it would only lead to polluted water and ruined communities, just as it has in Pennsylvania and many other states. We urge Governor Cuomo to make New York State a national leader by moving us forward to a 21st century renewable energy economy that provides long-term, good jobs, not the dirty fossil fuels of the past that will only bring destruction and toxic jobs mostly for out-of-state workers.”

“The facts, science, and an overwhelming citizen’s movement of New Yorkers insist that Governor Cuomo bans fracking. Unprecedented numbers of business owners, farmers, health professionals, vintners and New Yorkers from all walks of life are speaking out against fracking because it threatens our water, air and way of life,” said Sarah Kelsen of New Yorkers Against Fracking, also an Ithaca resident.

“We are gathered here today to give Cuomo a foreshadowing of the resistance that fracking, if approved, will face. If he is wise, he will listen to the people and not allow fracking in New York,” said Sam Law, an Ithaca Resident and organizer with Shaleshock and Finger Lakes Action Network.

Gov. Cuomo was in Ithaca for a 2:15 p.m. speech at Friends Hall, Cornell University. The rally began outside of the event at 1:30 p.m.

Independent observers have noted that the gas industry cannot be trusted when it describes fracking as safe. A recent investigation by the Times Tribune in Pennsylvania revealed many cases of water contamination from fracking.  And a recent study showed that fracking emits significant amounts of methane—a major contributor to climate change. A recent peer-reviewed study by Duke University in the renowned Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences linked fracking with water contamination in Pennsylvania.

The latest Siena Poll showed that upstate New Yorkers oppose fracking 52-38 percent. On Monday, June 17, 3,000 to demand that Gov. Cuomo reject fracking and instead aggressively pioneer a renewable energy economy. New Yorkers rallied in Albany

A recent peer-reviewed study detailed a plan for New York State to get to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Visit EcoWatch’s FRACKING page for more related news on this topic.

Stonewall Jackson Lake

On Monday, October 15th, representatives of three local organizations addressed the Lewis County Commission, asking for a moratorium until seven conditions outlined by the Sierra Club and ten other state-wide organizations could be met:  The conditions are:

1. No new permits should be issued until DEP inspections of drilling operations and gas wells become mandatory. The WV-DEP must determine the number of active wells that an inspector can effectively oversee and limit the number of permits issued to the corresponding number of inspectors on staff.

… these conditions are listed in the FrackCheckWV post of October 14th …

7. No new permits should be issued until West Virginia citizens are guaranteed a permanent replacement if their source of clean water becomes contaminated at any time within 1 mile of a natural gas drilling operation unless another source of pollution can be proven.

Myra Bonhague-Hale spoke first, representing the Sierra Club. She said the conditions were an “important step toward regulation of an industry which threatens to undermine our lifestyle and poison our water, air and land.” She pointed out that the Pocahontas County Commission had already backed the moratorium. Various activities around the state have shown citizen concern for the effect of shale drilling.

Tom Bond, representing Guardians of the West Fork, spoke second. He said there must be two Marcellus shales. The one presented by the drillers sounds like Snow White and the one seen by people in the drilling area looks like The Wicked Witch of the West. Claims for economic benefits never include such things as property devaluation, sick people, and loss of aquifers. Hunting and fishing are affected, and timber, recreation, farming and small local industries are hurt.

John Cobb spoke next. He emphasized the intensity of the industry, with many installations and occupation of much land. He also talked about how the natural beauty and rural character of Lewis County is being altered. [Let us hope that the Stonewall Jackson Resort and Lake can be protected and preserved.]

The commissioners listened politely, that’s all.  No response.  There are numerous gas drilling-related companies that have offices or facilities in or near Jane Lew and Weston, so a moratorium is not likely in Lewis county currently.

If state and local government could and would benefit from these activities, the county would be prosperous. There is no change from the old days, after the glass industry left. Recently, a new company purchase 37 acres in the industrial park. The plans for this acreage have not been announced.

The public is invited to attend a rally to demonstrate support for a moratorium on Marcellus shale drilling and fracking to be held from 10AM to 2PM on Monday, July 11, 2011 at the State Capitol Building in Charleston, WV. This event is sponsored by WV4MOM (West Virginia for a Moratorium on Marcellus). More info about an agenda, speakers, transportation, and parking will be released soon.   For more information contact frackinquestions@gmail.com.  For carpooling arrangements contact  wv4momcarpool@gmail.com.

The city council of Lewisburg, WV passed a resolution on March 15th encouraging the governor to call a special legislative session to deal with shale gas law and to cease issuing new drilling permits until such legislative action had been carried out to protect the water supply.  A copy of the resolution was presented to Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and the WV Legislature.

The text of the resolution reads:

“WHEREAS state regulations governing Marcellus Shale development in West Virginia are inadequate to protect the water resources of West Virginia including the Greenbrier River watershed, and

WHEREAS state regulations do not adequately regulate the amount of water that can be withdrawn from aquifers and public bodies of water by Marcellus Shale development companies, and

WHEREAS state regulations currently do not adequately protect public water systems including the city of Lewisburg water system from contamination from liquid by-products of hydraulic fracking technologies being released into public bodies of water, and

WHEREAS as a result of failures of the legislature to support funding, the WVDEP does not currently employ a sufficient number of inspectors on staff to adequately monitor Marcellus Shale development, and WHEREAS the WV legislature failed to act in its 2011 regular session to safely and effectively guide the development of Marcellus Shale in WV, and

WHEREAS the council of the city of Lewisburg encourage the governor to call a special session of the legislature to address this issue in a timely fashion; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the council of the city of Lewisburg resolves that no additional permits for horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale be issued within the state of West Virginia until adequate regulations are promulgated that protect public water supplies from Marcellus Shale development.”