Lax Oversight of Pipelines is Chronic Problem

Editorial, Lancaster PA New Era, May 13, 2014

Reports critical of federal government oversight of the natural gas industry should give pause to Lancaster County residents as they face the prospect of a Marcellus Shale natural gas pipeline traversing the county.

One report, by the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General, says the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — the federal agency responsible for making sure states effectively oversee the safety of natural gas and other pipelines — is not ensuring key state inspectors are properly trained or that inspections are being conducted frequently enough.

Also, the agency isn’t making sure that inspections target the most risky pipelines, the report said.

The second report, by the Government Accountability Office, found that the U.S. government has neglected to inspect thousands of oil and natural gas wells that pose a potential threat to the environment.

In addition, the GAO uncovered outdated technologies still in use and lax safety regulations. Both reports raise the specter of an environmental disaster waiting to happen.

The safety administration defended its record, pointing to a two-thirds decline in accidents and incidents involving gas-distribution pipelines over the last 30 years.

Meanwhile, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management — identified in the GAO report as the root of the problem of high risk oil and gas wells — claimed to be hampered by “limited money and staff.”

The reports should concern Lancaster County residents who worry about the impact of the proposed Central Penn Line South pipeline project that follows the Susquehanna River corridor.

Residents’ concerns center largely on the environmental impact of the project and potential safety risks from explosions and leaking gas.

Representatives from Williams Partners, the company behind the pipeline, have offered assurances that they are committed to environmental stewardship. Williams’ Cindy Ivey said the goal is to “avoid, minimize and then mitigate” natural resources.

They also said the pipeline will be closely monitored to assure its safety and that of the public.

Those assurances now ring somewhat hollow in light of the scathing reports about lax oversight of the nation’s 2.5 million miles of pipelines that move, among other things, 55 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day.   

Gas Pipelines Multiply in WV

On June 30, 2011, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the release of preliminary  revised regulations on hydraulic fracturing.  I was initially impressed with the scope and depth of the regulation, particularly since the regulations included banning fracking on public lands and air pollution regulations.

However, the New York Water Rangers Campaign, a collection of seven public health/environmental advocate groups, issued a press release that itemizes what the groups have collectively prioritized as the Top Ten Fracking Flaws in the preliminary revised regulations.  Below is an abbreviated version of the list.

1. New York State isn’t proposing to ban any chemicals, even those known to be toxic and carcinogenic.
2. The preliminary draft allows drilling waste to escape treatment as hazardous waste, even if it is in fact hazardous under the law. This means fracking waste could be sent to treatment facilities unable to properly treat it, putting the health and safety of our waters and communities at grave risk.
3. The state proposes allowing sewage plants to treat drilling wastes.
4. Drinking water supplies would be inadequately protected. The preliminary draft increases buffers and setbacks from aquifers and wells. However the protections are inconsistent and can be waived in some instances.
5. Some fracking restrictions would have sunset dates.
6. The preliminary draft does not analyze public health impacts, despite the fact that fracking-related air pollution and the potential for water contamination have serious effects on people—especially the elderly and children, and communities downwind and downstream of proposed fracking operations. There is growing evidence of negative health impacts related to gas extraction in other states.
7. The DEC proposes issuing permits before formal rulemaking is complete, a backward move that leaves New York’s waters and communities at risk.
8. The state is breaking up environmental impact reviews. The thousands of miles of pipelines or compressor stations required for drilling to get the resulting gas to market will be reviewed by a different agency under a different process.
9. While proposing to put the New York City and Syracuse watersheds off- limits to drilling, critical water supply infrastructure would not be protected. The state proposes…….(an inadequate)….. buffer around New York City drinking water infrastructure in which only an additional review would be required and upon which projects could be permitted—not a formal ban.
10. New York’s environmental agency has been subject to steep budget and staff cuts and does not have adequate staff or resources to properly oversee fracking, even if every possible protection were in place.

“Without providing the necessary measures that will prevent pollution from drilling and fracking, New York’s communities and environment will suffer like Pennsylvania’s,where drilling is running wild. On the whole, the revised Draft doesn’t cure the ills of gas development that are the most dangerous so the industry’s interests will win out over public health,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

A press release by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation summarizes the preliminary changes.  The recommendations contain these major revisions:

• High-volume fracturing would be prohibited in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, including a buffer zone;
• Drilling would be prohibited within primary aquifers and within 500 feet of their boundaries;
• Surface drilling would be prohibited on state-owned land including parks, forest areas and wildlife management areas;
• High-volume fracturing will be permitted on privately held lands under rigorous and effective controls; and
• DEC will issue regulations to codify these recommendations into state law.

The complete revised draft is expected to be released for public comment and review in August. The groups are strongly requesting the DEC to expand public comment period from 60 days, one month less than the public comment period for the first draft of the SGEIS, to at least 180 days.

The full 1,095 page Preliminary Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement is available here.

This article highlights drilling inspection problems in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  West Virginia has been facing the same issue, according to Randy Huffman, head of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

“We simply do not have the number of people necessary to do the job,” Huffman said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s easy to issue a permit. What I think we’re doing is issuing permits faster than we have the ability to keep up with them on the ground.”

There is debate about where additional funding to pay for inspectors should come from. What do you think?