Why should our valuable chemicals be exported enmass?

From an Article by Bill Rettew, Daily Local News, West Chester, PA, August 25, 2018

MIDDLETOWN >> The Battle of Mariner East 2 continues to heat up. Three “Mama Bears” – local moms who fiercely oppose Sunoco’s pipeline plan – were arrested and led to off to jail in handcuffs early Saturday while protesting the massive Sunoco project near Glenwood Elementary School.

More than two dozen fellow protesters supported the three Mama Bears – two of whom are senior citizens – who sat in the Sunoco right-of-way while holding a “bake sale” or “picnic” on a pleasant morning.

The Mama Bears waited for about an hour, just 300 yards from the school, which is located in what pipeline foes often refer to as the “blast zone.” They were surrounded by dozens of stuffed teddy bears and even handed out homemade cookies.

Police led Abbie Wysor and Barbara Montabana, both of Delaware County, and Ann Dixon, of Philadelphia, to jail after they were ordered by police to dismiss. The three women refused to leave. They were charged with a summary offense, defiant trespass, and released after less than two hours.

The Mama Bear’s lawyer, Tanner Rouse, said the protesters have “tremendous gratitude” for law enforcement. “The state police treated them with great respect,” Rouse said. “These are people who respect the law but the law has left them exposed – with a great risk to the elementary school.”

Protesters were segregated into three categories. They were either, red, yellow or green, depending on the level of risk taken. Almost all the protesters wrote the phone number of legal support, with Sharpie pens, on an arm. The black marks resembled homemade tattoos.

The demonstrators were told by group leaders to carry only basic information, ID, a phone number for an emergency contact, and to leave their cell phones behind and be prepared to list their medications if detained overnight.

The protesters were organized, in part, by Middletown Coalition for Community, the grassroots organization that has been leading the charge against Sunoco’s project, which will transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of volatile gases every day across central Chester County and western Delaware County to a facility in Marcus Hook.

They group said they are promoting safety and showing solidarity in fighting the jailing of grandmother and retired special education teacher Ellen Sue Gerhart, who is serving a two- to six-month sentence, with a $2,000 fine, for fighting pipeline construction on her own property.

The protesters held several signs and banners high. Sentiments displayed included: “We live here;” “Safe schools no pipeline;” “Mama Bear brigade protects our cubs;” and “Revoke the permits.” Several wore T-shirts reading, “Defend what you love.”

As the Mama Bears were led away, with heads bowed, the group sang. “Gonna keep on walkin’, keep on talkin’ and gonna shut this pipeline down,” the demonstrators sang.

Nancy Harkins, of Westtown, asked once again for Gov. Tom Wolf to stop the project. “I’m here because we really want to raise awareness about Ellen and others harmed by this project,” she said. “It’s too dangerous.”

Lora Snyder lives in Edgmont. “I’m here to stand up for our community and our children – at the school in the blast zone – where children would be 600 feet from an explosion is unacceptable,” she said. “We are unwilling guinea pigs in this experiment.”

Spokesperson Eric Friedman noted that there have been two Sunoco pipeline “accidents” near the elementary school, a leak in 1996 and a recent incident in which a work crew from the Aqua Pa. water company struck the non-functioning ME2 line this year. The crew was told the pipeline was buried at 9 feet but they struck the still offline pipeline at 6 feet.

“We realize that Sunoco may feel differently about the safety of children than we Pennsylvanians do,” Friedman said, “It’s disappointing that Gov. Wolf continues to disregard the risk to children and seniors, but the people, in partnership with five impacted municipalities will fill the gap left by his inaction.

A spokesperson for Sunoco Logistics, which is building the multi-billion dollar, 350-mile pipeline that will traverse the width of the state, from the Marcellus Shale regions to Delaware County, did not return a request for comment.

A pipeline risk assessment will be presented by Del Chesco United for Public Safety at Fugett Middle School in West Chester, on Tuesday August 28th, at 7 p.m.

“We look forward to the public presentation this Tuesday of the Citizen’s Risk Assessment that will quantify the size of the blast zone associated with Sunoco’s dangerous proposed export pipeline,” Friedman said.

Also Saturday, 40 protesters waved signs and motorists honked at the corner of Boot Road and Paoli Pike in Chester County.

Demonstrator Jerry McMullen has lived near the site of the Chester County Library and Exton Mall for 43 years. He too is worried about the proposed pipeline’s distance from 40 schools, including SS. Simon and Jude, at 194 feet, and SS. Peter and Paul, at just 7 feet. His bedroom is 32 feet from the 1930s era and already-operating Mariner East 1 pipeline.

Sunoco is either “inept or irresponsible,” McMullen said. “Gov. Wolf has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the safety of our communities and our children.”

Joan Herman also was protesting at Boot and Paoli Pike. “Our neighbors, our children, our safety is being put in danger with this pipeline project,” Herman said. “It’s not safe.

“Sunoco is cutting corners. If this project proceeds as Sunoco has planned, they have to be accountable and safe.”

Lancaster County PA is southeast of Harrisburg PA

From an Article by Ad Crable, Lancaster Online, December 19, 2017

“The bottom line is the quality of life is being affected,” says Ed Burns, a retiree who pulls down the blinds and turns up the television to try to keep the intrusions out of his home.

Since November 28th, residents of about 10 homes near Safe Harbor have had an unwelcome front-row seat to a six-day-a-week, all-night unusual work zone: near-constant drilling under the Conestoga River as part of the Atlantic Sunrise gas pipeline. Drilling on a lesser scale began in early October.

And now the residents know their complaints of quality-of-life disruptions have not fallen on deaf ears.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told LNP on Monday that after resident complaints, a FERC compliance monitor in the last few days confirmed there are indeed noise and lighting problems.

The pipeline builder has been ordered to “look into ways to mitigate the situation so the public will not be inconvenienced,” said Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokeswoman.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience.” Corrective measures will have to be “performance-based,” she said.

Company’s statement

When contacted by LNP, pipeline builder Williams acknowledged the FERC order and issued this statement:

“We have been in contact with two landowners who have expressed concerns recently related to noise or other issues associated with our horizontal drilling operation near the Conestoga River.

“Our, Land, Engineering and Construction teams are coordinating with FERC to ensure any landowner issues are resolved in a prompt and appropriate manner.”

To make way for the Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline, contractors for the Transcontinental Pipe Line are slowly boring under the Conestoga River simultaneously from both sides of the waterway.

One drilling operation is based on a 107-acre farm in Conestoga Township that Oklahoma-based Williams Partners purchased for $2.8 million. Transco is a subsidiary of Williams.

But on the west side of the river, boring is going on nearly non-stop in a farm field that is ringed by houses that sit on higher ground.

Headaches and lost sleep

In addition to complaints about trouble sleeping and a constant hum, some residents worry about cracks to the foundations and walls of their old homes and contamination of wells.

One resident, Troy Thorne, said vibrations have given him headaches. “The noise you can deal with,” Thorne said. “When the vibrations start, it runs you out of the house. You can feel it in your inner ear. It just kind of makes you feel weird.”

“The noise you can deal with. When the vibrations start, it runs you out of the house.”

For his wife, the noise is the foremost disturbance. “It is just horrible,” she said. “It’s just constant.”

She said the family keeps fans turned on to provide white noise in the bedrooms of their three children. Their son was home from college Saturday night and complained that he only got three hours of sleep, she added.

Payments and relocations?

As a result of residents’ complaints, Williams told FERC last week in its weekly summary of pipeline construction that it was investigating new ways to address noise levels at the site, including paying homeowners for the disturbances and offering to relocate them until the drilling is finished.

The company said it had installed a sound wall and baffles on equipment on Oct. 24. Two noise readings by the company taken on December 9th were below the 55-decibel action reading, but one from the front door of a home on Witmer Road was 70.2 decibels.

Seventy decibels is akin to the sound of a vacuum cleaner.

Thorne has taken readings from a cell phone app and has recorded a high of 77 decibels from the road in front of the family’s home. That level is equivalent to the sound of a passenger car going 65 mph as heard from a distance of 25 feet.

Pans on the kitchen wall tap each other and rattle from vibrations given off by the drilling under the earth, says Cynthia Heiland. To block out the noise, she sleeps with ear plugs, but that has created a new problem as she can’t hear the alarm clock.

“And they’re not even drilling with the largest drill yet,” she says. “It could get worse.”

Lack of information

“We didn’t know this was going to be this intense,” adds a woman who lives on Safe Harbor Road and did not want her name used.

All the residents interviewed complained that no one ever approached them to inform them of the impending drilling or what to expect.

“No one has ever come over here to say here’s what we’re doing. There’s no transparency,” said Ed Burns.

“We didn’t know this was going to be this intense.”

Residents said they have complained to Williams, Manor Township officials, FERC and a state legislator, but without noticeable results.

Ryan Strohecker, Manor Township manager, said he checked the township noise ordinance and found that utilities are exempt. He said jurisdiction with the drilling lies with FERC and the pipeline builder.

The drilling under the Conestoga is expected to be complete in early 2018, Williams said.

The $3 billion, 197-mile pipeline is scheduled to be completed in July 2018. About 37 miles of the project run through western and southern Lancaster County.

Leaks, Fires, Explosions, Climate Change

From Megan Harris, WESA, NPR StateImpact Pennsylvania, September 27, 2017

Oil and gas industry executives are gathered at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh for the annual Shale Insight conference.Oil and gas industry executives gathered Wednesday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh for the annual Shale Insight conference.

Natural gas infrastructure has been the target of organized demonstrations since the Marcellus Shale boom began a decade ago, but law enforcement agencies aren’t interested in putting protesters behind bars, according to panel speakers at a natural gas industry conference Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Panelists told attendees at a breakout session at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center that protesting creates an inherent safety concern when it’s conducted on or around manufacturing or energy extraction equipment.

Sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the annual two-day Shale Insight conference caters to industry executives, politicians, technology representatives and policy wonks. This year’s lineup is expected to draw about 1,000 attendees, according to organizers.

Michael Oglesby, first sergeant with the West Virginia State Police, told a small group Wednesday that communication between energy officials and communities is essential.
Most demonstrators aren’t familiar with well sites, he said, and the company’s employees might not know how to deal with protesters, especially if they aren’t peaceful. Business owners big and small should proactively introduce themselves to police and investigators, he said.

“You don’t want a protest or major accident to be the first time you’ve met the local first responders,” he said.

Oglesby encouraged industry insiders to invite the community in, show them the well pad and make sure law enforcement feel informed if an incident were to occur. That could include data sharing or building a rapport through email list-servs, said Mark Warden, chief sheriff’s deputy in Washington County, Ohio.

Warden said most protestors are peaceful; they understand their rights and those of the property owner. But others can be difficult to deal with.

Fellow presenter and former Pennsylvania State Police trooper Mike Hutson said when incidents do occur, police often get accused of being enforcers for the shale industry.

“That isn’t the case,” he said. “I’ve arrested people in the industry, [and] I’ve been involved in investigations against protest activity.”

Though he, Oglesby and others said they’re are always on the look out for instances of ecoterrorism — a federal charge implying intended malice and an ideological drive — the most common offenses are trespassing and the destruction of public or private property.

“When a crime’s been committed, we’re obligated — mandated — to take the appropriate actions,” he said.

Hutson said most police officers would benefit from more training on how to deal with all types of protests. The conference concludes Thursday with a keynote address by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Sabal Trail Pipeline Project (AL-GA-FL)

Gas pipeline project headed to Suwannee River leaks into Georgia waterway; sparks environmental worries

From an Article by Steve Patterson, Jacksonville News, November 14, 2016

A leak in the shaft for a natural gas pipeline beneath a Georgia river has reinforced environmental worries at Florida’s Suwannee River and other waterways in the pipeline’s path.

The leak into the Withlacoochee River near Valdosta, Ga. underscored earlier concerns about twin hazards from the Sabal Trail pipeline: that pipeline shafts could leak contaminants into rivers, and let river water escape through cracks in the area’s sinkhole-riddled bedrock.

“What they said couldn’t happen did happen,” said John Quarterman, president of the WWALS Watershed Coalition Inc., a group fighting work on the 515-mile pipeline planned to cross three states.

The aquifer feeding North Central Florida’s signature rivers and springs already faces long-term supply strains, and pipeline critics argue that underground drilling could compound those if it accidentally opened routes for water to drain into underground voids and caverns.

The leak last month didn’t cause any harm, but the pipeline was already controversial.

Fourteen people – five from the Jacksonville area – were jailed over the weekend in Gilchrist County, west of Gainesville, after a demonstration protesting the project’s use of water from the Santa Fe River.

Another demonstration, opposing both Sabal Trail and the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota, is planned Tuesday outside the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office on Jacksonville’s Southbank.

A contractor for Sabal Trail Transmission, the company building the pipeline, told Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division last month that material it described as “drilling mud” appeared in the Withlacoochee west of Valdosta, Ga., while workers were drilling a pilot hole under the river, a first step toward installing the pipeline.

Drilling mud is made with bentonite, a clay containing aluminum that’s used in some constuction for waterproofing. But it wasn’t waterproof enough last month.

As a crew drilled Oct. 20 under the Withlacoochee, near U.S. 84 between Valdosta and Quitman, Ga., an environmental contractor emailed regulators that “some kind of substance” floated to the river’s surface, and workers put up a barrier to keep it from moving downstream. The next day, the same contractor told the state drilling mud was found on the riverbed in about 2 feet of water.

A Sabal Trail Transmission spokeswoman, Andrea Grover, said the state and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “have reviewed and are satisfied that the work and containment is appropriate.”

Quarterman said he learned of the contractor’s emails Friday, when a state employee working through the Veteran’s Day holiday forwarded them to him as part of a public records request.

Quarterman said he didn’t know how the state reacted to the leak last month, but that two members of his organization checked the river Saturday and found a barrier still looping around a section of the waterway that was discolored.

The contractor’s emails to the state said drilling for the pilot hole was about 400 feet short of being complete on Oct. 21, but a construction progress report filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said that by Oct. 30 the pilot hole had been completed.

The report to the commission, which regulates gas pipelines, didn’t mention a leak. “There was never any danger to human health or safety, and no harm to the environment,” Grover said. But pipeline opponents had warned about risks before and said the leak shouldn’t have happened.

“I am so angry because this is what we said would happen and we were assured the rivers wouldn’t be affected because they were drilling under them,” Deanna Mericle, a member of WWALS, said in a release from the group describing the river Saturday.

“… We told them it was likely because of our karst geology and we got patronized and patted on the head. You can guarantee they will downplay it and just drill another hole,” Mericle said in the weekend statement.

Karst geology is the pattern of limestone bedrock and unpredictable voids that happens in a lot of Florida where water has gradually washed away porous rock. That process leads to sinkholes, and water management officials questioned whether underground drilling for the pipeline could create problems.

“We were considering the crossings of the rivers. … The porosity in the area is pretty high,” Carlos Herd, director of the Suwannee River Water Management District’s water supply division, said during a videotaped hearing last year about a challenge WWALS brought last year to fight approval of the pipeline by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection.

An administrative law judge concluded the group, which advocates for several watersheds near the Florida-Georgia border, didn’t show it had legal standing for the challenge. The judge said concerns the group’s members couldn’t enjoy rivers like the Suwannee or Santa Fe if they were damaged was “speculative.”

A spokeswoman for Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection said the federal commission will regulate the pipeline, but state regulators inspected work as it progressed, the most recent time being last week. No problems were found, said the spokeswoman, Dee Ann Miller.

State officials will examine the Santa Fe by boat this week for water-quality violations or problems with construction runoff or other debris making the river too cloudy, Miller said.

Demonstrators arrested over the weekend were protesting the fact that water from the Santa Fe was being loaded into trucks for work on the pipeline project.

Protesters blocked a truck as it tried to move into a work area, with some climbing onto the trailer truck or getting under it, said Gilchrist County chief deputy Jeff Manning. He said one person used a bicycle lock around his neck to attach himself to the truck.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net