Gas pipeline welder at Hastings, WV (Wetzel County)

Donald Watts was born January 1, 1929 in Mannington, WV son of the late Rev. Glenn D. and Minnie J. (Thomas) Watts.

He was a retired welder for C.N.G. Transmission in Hastings, WV, a member of New Martinsville United Methodist Church and a member of Wetzel Lodge #39 A.F.&A.M. He was a loving father and pap and always there to lend a helping hand to neighbors and friends.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by three brothers, Dale, George “Buck” and Robert Watts; infant sister, Betty Jane Watts and son-in-law, Kenneth “Bill” Fisher.

Surviving are his high school sweetheart and beloved wife of seventy-three years, Erma O. (Barr) Watts; two daughters, Donna (Robert) Jones of Paden City, WV and Brenda (Steve) Rector of New Martinsville, WV; four grandchildren, Marsha (Joseph) Craycraft of Wheeling, WV, Kenneth (Lori) Fisher of Asheville, NC, Brian Jones of Paden City, WV and Angela (Jordan) Swanberg of Paden City, WV; eight great-grandchildren, Nathan, Kelsey and Lola Fisher, Emma and Sarah Craycraft and Josiah, Autumn and Aspen Swanberg and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends received 4-7 p.m., Thursday, February 10, 2022 at the Jarvis-Williams Funeral Home, 1224 S Bridge St., New Martinsville. Funeral service 1 p.m., Friday, February 11, 2022 at the New Martinsville United Methodist Church with son-in-law, Pastor Steven Rector officiating. Burial to follow in Paden Memorial Gardens in Paden City, WV.

Memorial contributions may be made to New Martinsville United Methodist Church, 10 Howard Jeffers Dr., New Martinsville, WV 26155. Family is requesting everyone to wear a mask.

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Dominion to work on Hastings natural gas plant in late September of 2013

From the Reuters News Staff, August 13, 2013

NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Dominion Transmission Inc, a unit of Dominion Resources Inc, on Tuesday said it would take the Hastings natural gas extraction plant in West Virginia out of service for planned maintenance from Sept. 30 through Oct. 3.

In a website posting, the company said all gathering system production and direct taps feeding into its system flowing to Hastings would be shut-in for the work.

Gathering production feeding the Lightburn and Schultz extraction plants, also in West Virginia, may not be shut-in if such production can continue to flow without constraints, the posting said.

Dominion Transmission said it would monitor field pressures in order to preserve system integrity and may need to adjust flows to each plant during the outage.

The Hastings extraction/fractionation plant is located near Pine Grove, West Virginia. It produces and supplies natural gas liquids including propane, normal butane, isobutane and natural gasoline, according to the company’s website.

Stored Underground NGL Fire and Explosion Hazards for Two Counties in OH and Marshall County in WV

From the Concerned Ohio River Residents, January 25, 2021

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is currently considering a permit application to construct the Mountaineer natural gas liquids (NGL) storage facility 2.5 miles from Clarington, OH, along Ohio Route 7 in Salem Township. The facility would store up to 3.25 million barrels of highly flammable, explosive natural gas liquids (NGLs) in underground caverns near dozens of frack wells and adjacent to the Ohio River, posing a significant threat to our region’s public health and natural resources.

Last Thursday, CORR and a coalition of advocacy groups hosted a community meeting on the the Mountaineer facility. We outlined the specific threats posed by the facility’s construction, including groundwater contamination, air pollution, subsidence, and an increase in fracking and fracking waste. Other underground storage facilities have seen serious and even deadly incidents caused by inadequate regulation, including fires, explosions, chemical leaks, earthquakes, and sinkholes.

How can we be sure a similar disaster wouldn’t happen to Mountaineer? Get the facts they won’t tell us:

Click here to view a recording of our Mountaineer Community Meeting.

Concerned about the Mountaineer NGL Storage Facility? You can help make a difference. Submit a public comment to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources today. You can use our draft template to quickly submit a blanket list of comments to ODNR, but we encourage you to add a few sentences about any specific concerns you may have about the facility. Unique comments carry more weight in the permit evaluation process. How would storing explosive natural gas liquids near the Ohio River affect you and your family?

Click here for more information on how to submit public comment.

Get the Facts on the Mountaineer NGL Storage Facility:

Powhatan Salt Company LLC has applied through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for three solution mining well permits to begin creating storage caverns in the Salina salt formation, just 2.5 miles north of Clarington, OH along the Ohio River in Monroe County, so that its sister company, Mountaineer NGL Storage LLC can store natural gas liquids (NGL) next to and potentially beneath the Ohio River.

The Mountaineer NGL storage facility would store natural gas liquids like ethane, propane, and butanes extracted from fracking, supporting the industry proliferation and increasing the massive amount of toxic, radioactive waste it generates. To create these storage caverns, Powhatan Salt Company would inject millions of gallons of fresh water underground at high pressures to carve out salt cavities. Powhatan would withdraw approximately 1,928,000 gallons of fresh water each day from the Ohio River to carve out the first storage cavern. More caverns could be constructed to increase storage capacity, each of which would require approximately 380,200,000 gallons of freshwater.

We believe the existing application materials for these wells do not contain enough information for anyone to evaluate the safety of these operations. The applications do not fully consider the possibility of contaminants migrating to underground sources of drinking water, and they include no real emergency response plan. How will we find out if the caverns leak? What will we do if they leak? Without a doubt, local residents will be the ones to suffer the consequences.

Take action today. Click here to submit your concerns to ODNR.

Contact Us:

CORR’s website: www.concernedohioriverresidents.org

Email: general@concernedohioriverresidents.org

§ Concerned Ohio River Residents P.O. Box 135 Bridgeport, OH 43912

MarkWest isolates Ethane, Propane and Butanes from “Wet” Natural Gas

From an Article by Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 14, 2018

Four people remain hospitalized, one in critical condition, after an explosion at a Washington County gas processing plant Thursday night.

The explosion involved two storage tanks at the MarkWest Energy facility at 800 Western Ave., in Houston, Pa. It was reported at 6:03 p.m. and the fire brought under control within an hour, according to county emergency officials.

All of the injured workers suffered burns. Two were flown to UPMC Mercy, including one person who was in critical condition Friday morning, officials said. The other two injured were flown to West Penn Hospital.

Nine fire departments and three EMS crews responded, as did the county’s hazmat unit. No homes were evacuated.

A MarkWest official said in a statement that the explosion occurred “near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance, resulting in a fire.”

“Although the processing plant was not involved in the incident, it was shut down as a precaution and at this time there are no off-site impacts,” the statement read. “Agency notifications have been made and an investigation into the cause of this event is underway. Our prayers are with our injured colleagues and their families.”

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From WTAE Action 4 News:

The Marathon Petroleum Corporation issued the following statement:

“At approximately 6 p.m. local time, the MarkWest processing plant in Houston, Pennsylvania, experienced an incident near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance, resulting in a fire. There were injuries and four individuals have been transported to area hospitals. Local fire departments responded and the fire has been extinguished. The processing plant has been shut down as a precaution and at this time there were no off-site impacts. Agency notifications have been made and an investigation into the cause of this event is underway. Our prayers are with our injured colleagues and their families.”

A spokesperson for the PA Department of Environmental Protection told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 a team did respond to the site. Crews investigated and determined chemicals from the foam used by firefighters to put out the fire did not leak into any nearby water supply.

The PA-DEP said the company has until January 15 to submit a report detailing the incident.

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.

### MarkWest lets contract for Hopedale Ohio fractionator for propane plus three higher hydrocarbons ###

Article by Robert Brelsford, Downstream Technology Editor, Oil & Gas Journal, 02/12/18

MarkWest Energy Partners LP—a wholly owned subsidiary of MPLX LP—has let a contract to a division of Honeywell UOP LLC to deliver a natural gas liquids fractionation unit at its existing Hopedale complex in Jewett, Harrison County, Ohio.

As part of the contract, UOP will provide one of its proprietary, pre-engineered UOP Russell fractionation plants capable of producing 60,000 b/d of NGLs, the service provider said.

The fractionation system will recover propane, isobutane, normal butane, and natural gasoline from mixed Marcellus and Utica shale NGL production to be used as feedstock in petrochemical manufacturing.

While neither UOP nor MarkWest immediately disclosed a value or duration of the contract, MPLX told investors on February 1st that it planned to complete and commission the proposed 60,000-b/d Hopedale IV propane-plus fractionation plant during this year’s fourth quarter.

MarkWest most recently commissioned its 60,000-b/d Hopedale III propane-plus fractionation plant in first-quarter 2017, according to a January 8th presentation from MPLX.

Including Hopedale III, the Hopedale complex currently houses three units providing 180,000 b/d of propane-plus fractionation capacity (OGJ Online, Feb. 6, 2017).

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FRACTIONATOR Stuck in Intersection — Superload breaks down, will sit idle for a week in Steubenville OH

From an Article by David Singer, WTOV (Steubenville), Sunday, July 29th 2018 —

The over-sized “superload” scheduled to make its way through West Virginia over to Harrison County, Ohio has halted in Steubenville.

The super load truck initially got stuck early Sunday morning in Weirton on US Route 22 before breaking down on the University Boulevard ramp just across the river. And that is where the super load will stay until next Sunday.

Crews had initially hoped to make an all-day trip to get the load to Hopedale, but the breakdown means the haul will have to stay in place until it can make another attempt next weekend. Until then, the OH Route 7 and US Route 22 exit ramp for University Boulevard will remain closed.

This is the detour until further notice:

Drivers exiting onto University Boulevard from southbound OH Route 7 must take 7 until the light, then turn right. Those travelling east on US Route 22 must take the Route 7 north exit and proceed until the second light. Drivers will then turn onto University Boulevard.

MarkWest Fractionator as Distillation Column for Hopedale OH

Spawning coral wrapped in waste plastics

From an Article by Katherine Bourzac, Chemical & Engineering News, Volume 96 Issue 5 | p. 7 | News of The Week, January 29, 2018

A photograph of a spawning coral with a piece of plastic wrapped around it.

Coral reefs around the world face an existential threat from overfishing, climate change, nutrient runoff, and ocean acidification. Now researchers have added another hazard to the list: plastic waste. In a survey of reefs in the Asia-Pacific region, marine biologists found that contact with plastic garbage increased corals’ risk of disease from 4 to 89% (Science 2018, DOI: 10.1126/science.aar3320).

Researchers and environmentalists have been sounding the alarm about the 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic that lands in the oceans every year. Still, says Douglas Rader, chief oceans scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and one of the study’s coleaders, the strong connection between coral disease and plastic was extremely surprising. “This is striking, particularly in the context of all the other risks to reefs,” he says.

The plastics study, an international effort involving researchers from Cornell University and collaborators in Indonesia, Hawaii, and Australia, studied 159 reefs in Myanmar, Australia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Researchers looked for signs of disease, including bands of necrotic tissue on the corals. They also noted whether the corals were in contact with pieces of plastic 50 mm in diameter or larger. Courtney Couch, a coral disease ecologist at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology who surveyed reefs in Indonesia, says she saw many corals wrapped in plastic fishing lines and plastic bags.

This study is the first to show that plastic waste is associated with risk of disease in a marine organism. Although the researchers didn’t establish a mechanism to explain the correlation, Couch notes that plastic ocean trash can carry pathogens. Plastic also can wrap around coral, which causes stress and in turn leaves the organism vulnerable to infection.

Marine chemist Tracy Mincer of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who says he reads studies about plastic in the ocean with a skeptical eye, is convinced. “It is a lot of work to do these surveys, and the increased disease susceptibility is a big signal,” he says. The study opens the door to further research on the marine-plastic microbiome and its effects on ecosystems, Mincer says.

Rader notes that some biologists expect the world’s reef ecosystems to almost entirely collapse by 2050. “That’s a profound risk, not just to biodiversity but also to hundreds of millions of people’s livelihoods and well-being,” Rader says. But plastic pollution is a more tangible problem for coral than climate change, Couch says, and can be addressed through better waste management strategies and by using less plastic.

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See also: ARTICLE BY LAURA PARKER, PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY OLSON, National Geographic, June 2018

Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of INEOS, now a billionaire

Corporate News Statement from Richard Longden (INEOS), July 3, 2018

INEOS commits to building a new world scale chemical cracker and PDH plant in North West Europe. The €2.7 billion is the biggest capital investment ever made by INEOS.

This is the first cracker to be built in Europe in over 20 years. Jim Ratcliffe, Founder and Chairman of INEOS says, “This is the largest investment to be made in the European chemical sector for a generation. It will be a game changer for the industry and shows our commitment to manufacturing.”

Today INEOS has approved a €2.7 billion capital project to build both a world scale ethane cracker and a PDH (Propane Dehydrogenation) unit in Northern Europe. Both units will benefit from US shale gas economics.

This will be the first new cracker built in Europe for two decades. It will also be one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly plants of its type in the world.

The location of the site will be determined soon and it is likely to be on the coast of North West Europe. A project team has been assigned to consider options and the project is expected to be completed within four years.

Gerd Franken, Chairman INEOS Olefins and Polymers North says, “This new project will increase INEOS self-sufficiency in all key olefin products and give further support to our derivatives business and polymer plants in Europe. All our assets will benefit from our ability to import competitive raw materials from the USA and the rest of the world”

This new investment follows a decision taken by INEOS last year to increase the capacity of its existing crackers.

Jim Ratcliffe adds, “INEOS is going from strength to strength. This new investment builds on the huge investment we made in bringing US shale gas to Europe and will ensure the long-term future of our European chemical plants.”

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NOTE: The name INEOS is derived from INspec Ethylene Oxide Specialities, a previous name of the business. It also stems from one Latin and two Greek words that founder Jim Ratcliffe and his two sons found when searching for a company name. “Ineo” is Latin for a new beginning, “Eos” is the Greek goddess of dawn and “neos” means something new and innovative. As a result, the name Ineos represents the “dawn of something new and innovative”. Jim Ratcliffe, 65, chief executive of Ineos, in May 2018 topped the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £21.05 billion, making him the UK’s wealthiest person.

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See also: Following Spills and Sinkholes, Mariner East Pipeline Opponents Call on PA Governor Wolf to Stop Construction, Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, June 11, 2018

NGL to be collected from OH, WV & PA for foreign countries

From an Article by Bill Rettew, Daily Local News, West Chester, PA, March 19, 2018

EAST GOSHEN >> Sunoco Pipeline was found guilty March 13 in district court of exceeding allowable noise levels during pipeline construction.

District Judge Thomas Tartaglio, of District Court 15-1-02, found Sunoco guilty of exceeding permissible noise levels in a residential community on seven instances occurring between October 11 and December 15. The judge found in favor of Sunoco on two other dates.

The township financed a study by Pennoni, a noise testing service, to test at a site of drilling for the Sunoco Mariner East 2 pipeline, near the Giant Market, at the Hershey’s Mill subdivision.

Sunoco was fined $1,000, plus costs, for each of seven violations for exceeding township ordinances limiting noise levels to 60 dBA, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The testimony presented by the testing firm showed that Sunoco was well over the threshold of the ordinance. Testing showed, noise levels reached more than 70 dBAs at the residential development.

Sunoco has attempted to remediate the situation by placing sound barriers at the site.

Township Supervisor Marty Shane said if Sunoco chooses it might appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Depending on the outcome, either side might then appeal to Commonwealth Court.

“We had worked closely with Sunoco during the entire process,” Shane said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to cite them for the noise violations. “Our residents have been very patient; however, they are beginning to run out of patience.”

When asked for comment, Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields said that Sunoco Pipeline’s policy is to not comment on pending legal matters.

Plans call for the now-under-construction Sunoco Mariner East 2 pipeline to stretch 350 miles from Marcellus Shale deposits in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania to the former Sunoco Refinery in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. The pipeline would carry highly volatile liquids within feet of senior care centers, schools and homes, through densely populated Delaware and Chester counties.

The Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy and Consumer Protection and Licensure Committees will hold a joint public hearing on pipeline safety, Tuesday, March 20 at 11 a.m.

The hearing will take place in Hearing Room No. 1 of the North Office Building in Harrisburg.

Mariner East 2 goes thru farmland & suburbs

Is construction of Mariner East 2 causing the sinkholes on Mariner East 1?

From an Article by Jon Hurdle, NPR StateImpact PA, March 9, 2018

Sunoco scrambled to inspect an ageing pipeline on Friday in the backyards of Chester County homes where drilling for two new pipelines has caused several sinkholes to open up.

Yellow backhoes dug holes in several places among homes along Lisa Drive and Lynetree Drive in West Whiteland Township after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ordered Sunoco to temporarily halt operations of the Mariner East 1 pipeline. The PUC cited the risk of what it called “catastrophic results” if the pipeline leaks any of its natural gas liquids.

The risk to the older pipeline stemmed from the sinkholes that have appeared during the construction of the Mariner East 2 and 2X pipelines, the PUC said. The first holes appeared in late 2017 and have multiplied over the last week, prompting the regulator’s order that Sunoco stop operating the line while it ensures its integrity for a mile on either side of the sinkholes.

The PUC, in its order on Wednesday, said the sinkholes developed because of unstable geology in the area.

Lisa Drive resident T.J. Allen’s backyard is dominated by a fenced enclosure which he says contains two sinkholes. About 10 feet from his house, another hole surrounded by orange fencing had been filled with concrete by Sunoco in an attempt to protect Mariner East 1 from the sinkholes a few feet away, Allen said.

The combination of sinkholes and a pipeline from the 1930s, which is when Mariner East 1 was built, makes Allen fear for his safety and that of his 72-year-old mother, who lives with him. “They put us all in danger, didn’t evacuate us, didn’t even tell me, didn’t knock on our door,” said Allen, 46, an independent construction contractor. “It’s crazy, man.”

Allen said he’s ready to leave at a moment’s notice. “It feels as though at any minute I might have to run out my house and get my valuables together,” he said. “I have a go bag in there with my medication, my mom’s medication, my deed, everything.”

Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields said there are only three holes, all of which have been grouted and secured. Shields rejected complaints from some residents who say that people are asked to leave the area where Sunoco and its contractors are working.

The suspension of Mariner East 1 operations for an estimated 10-14 days will allow Sunoco to show that the pipeline is safe, as it has been since it was built, Shields said.

“This period should allow us to share what our professional geologist has established to date – that the Mariner East 1 pipeline is stable, is located in suitably safe geology, and will continue to operate safely as it has done for decades,” Shields said in a statement.

He said the company has no reports of structural damage to homes on Lisa Drive. But Andrew Neuwirth, an attorney for Allen’s next-door neighbor, Russell March, said there is damage to drywall, a chimney and a fireplace in his client’s home that has coincided with the appearance of the sink holes.

“All these homes have lost a tremendous amount of value as a result of this,” Neuwirth said in an interview on Lisa Drive. He said he is in touch with Sunoco’s lawyers but will be taking “further action.”

John Mattia, whose home also backs on to the sinkhole site, says he doubts he could sell his house if he wanted to. “I’m not sure selling is a realistic possibility at this point,” said Mattia, 48, who has lived in the house for 17 years and raised his children there. “I am not sure what action we are going to take at this point. The whole thing is very depressing.”

Mattia said he had agreed to Sunoco’s compensation for taking an easement on his land, but said the sum was lower than he wanted and that the company had threatened to take the land by eminent domain if he did not accept the offer.

The sinkholes and the remedial work on the older line are taking place about 200 yards from a rail line carrying Amtrak and Septa passenger trains. The new pipelines are due to run underneath the rail line.

The PUC said it identified three sinkholes and an unspecified number of additional holes that on March 5 were “developing” on the south side of Lisa Drive. Shields said the additional holes were identified before construction started and so are not related to the drilling.

In response, the water utility Aqua sent a crew to Lisa Drive on Friday to prepare its water main there to be shut off in the event that it was compromised by a sink hole. “Aqua is taking precautionary steps to reduce to the impact to our infrastructure and the surrounding community should the Mariner sink holes cause a failure of our infrastructure,” said Aqua spokeswoman Donna Alston.

Sunoco resumed construction on the new Mariner East lines in February after a month-long shutdown ordered by the PA Department of Environmental Protection in response to multiple violations.

Mariner East 2, carrying propane, ethane and butane across southern Pennsylvania, is due for completion by the end of the second quarter of this year.

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THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF A LEBANON COUNTY FARMER WASN’T PREPARED FOR THE TROUBLE THE ATLANTIC SUNRISE PIPELINE CAUSED.

“Devastation”: Atlantic Sunrise pipeline construction impacts Quittapahilla Creek and family farm

Ethane, propane and butane (NGL) by-product from Marcellus and Utica shale wells

From an Article by Casey Junkins, Martins Ferry Times-Leader, December 22, 2017

CLARINGTON –A new U.S. Department of Energy report identifies a plan to store 420 million barrels of ethane, propane and butane in underground salt caverns along the Ohio River as a key to developing the $36 billion Appalachian Storage Hub that experts say ultimately could create 100,000 jobs.

Mountaineer NGL Storage Managing Director David Hooker said his firm plans to spend at least $150 million to build the salt caverns along Ohio Route 7 in Monroe County, while the total investment for the project could reach $500 million. He hopes to begin storing ethane and other natural gas liquids along the river by the end of 2019 –- at a site that will be only about 10 miles south of the proposed $6 billion PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker.

“We’re pleased to see that the federal government has identified the need for NGL storage in the region and specifically sites Mountaineer NGL Storage as part of this Natural Gas Liquids Primer. We commend the DOE for providing this resource to help educate the public on the importance of keeping NGLs local to the region and believe our project is vital to help foster additional investments across the NGL supply chain,” Hooker said.

Hooker said he already has a permit from the Ohio Department of Transportation, but is still waiting for authorization from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Hooker said he expects all environmental permits for the project to be obtained within the first six months of 2018, after which construction can begin.

Hooker, along with elected officials and other industry leaders, said the DOE report shows how vital and viable his project is.

“This Department of Energy study proves that what we are doing here in the local region is a national issue. Underground natural gas liquids storage — and the Mountaineer NGL project in particular — is critical to the future of shale development in our region,” Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher said. “We need to utilize our natural resources locally and grow jobs in our local economies rather than exporting our natural resources with little benefit to our residents.”

Since discussion of a Marcellus and Utica shale ethane cracker commenced, industry leaders have maintained a major obstacle is the lack of underground storage capacity for the natural gas liquid. This is needed, they say, to ensure a constant source of ethane to the cracker plant in the event of supply disruptions.

“The Mountaineer NGL Storage Project is centrally located to an existing pipeline network that can both deliver ethane to storage and withdraw it and deliver it to markets that need it now and in the future. As additional consumers of ethane and propane locate or expand in West Virginia, Mountaineer NGL will be ready to serve their needs,” West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association Executive Director Anne Blankenship said.

Monroe County Commissioner Carl Davis said he believes the Mountaineer NGL project is “essential to the future of the proposed PTT Global project, as well as the Marcellus and Utica shale plays and future exploration and production of our natural resources.”

“This is very good news for Belmont County and the entire Upper Ohio Valley region,” Belmont County Commissioner Mark Thomas added of the study.