HELFRECHT: NJNG pipeline isn’t needed

http://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/03/08/southern-reliability-link-pipeline/81475244/

For the past year and a half, hundreds of citizens from Bordentown to Upper Freehold have spent countless hours and sleepless nights organizing, attending town and county meetings, and writing letters to the state Board of Public Utilities, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state and federal officials because of the grave concerns raised by New Jersey Natural Gas’ Southern Reliability Link.

NJNG claims the pipeline, which to the north will cut through Plumsted before terminating in Manchester, is needed to enhance “resiliency, reliability, and provide redundancy of the gas supply” in the event another superstorm Sandy hits, or if a disruption in the current Texas Eastern Transmission interstate supply system occurs.

But here are the facts:

•NJNG’s “disruption” was caused by Sandy’s destruction of the Mantoloking Bridge, which resulted in the detachment of the gas distribution main on the bridge. Fires started all over the barrier island due to other breaches in the gas distribution lines.

•There was no curtailment of gas transmission through the Texas Eastern interstate supply that feeds the NJNG system from Middlesex County. When queried in direct testimony by the BPU as to how many disruptions of this type have occurred in the past 60 years, NJNG could not point to even one such incident.

•There was no service loss west, north, or south of Brick or Toms River, or in any of the bayside communities in Ocean County. NJNG made the conscious decision to shut off all gas service to the barrier island. But that does not constitute a failure of the system.

•Even if a redundant interstate supply had been feeding the southern end of the NJNG system, all gas service would still have been shut off to the barrier island for safety reasons, to mitigate fire or explosion risks and to allow emergency personnel to safely respond.

•NJNG engaged the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to describe a military “need” at the behest of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, which told NJNG it would have an easier time getting the pipeline approved. The base had no need then, and its mission is not compromised today.

•Joint Base personnel asked a simple question to which NJNG tersely responded that they knew of “no calculation” describing a “blast area,” adding “that term typically is used by anti-pipeline groups who are looking to raise fear of a pipeline installation.” Every pipeline operator in the U.S., whether interstate or intrastate, knows full well such a calculation does exist and is used on a daily basis. It is found in the Code of Federal Regulations.

•In its petition to the BPU, NJNG demands waiver of all local ordinances, road opening applications, permits and the BPU’s own safety regulations that require pipelines operating at 250 psi or higher be built no closer than 100 feet to habitable structures. The Municipal Land Use Law is supposed to give municipalities the strength to guide — or even resist — development of unwanted or unusual land uses within their jurisdictions. Here is a case of the state-created body called the BPU and the state-legislated Municipal Land Use Law being thrown into irreconcilable conflict, leaving the BPU omniscient and municipalities impotent. The BPU commissioners are nominated at the pleasure of the sitting governor, so there are political influences that also prevail. The citizens get a raw deal.

•A Williams/Transco interstate transmission pipeline extension and new compressor station are required for the Southern Reliability Link. This noisy machinery operates 24/7, will leak methane, “blow down” to regulate pressure, and has the potential for explosion with effects for at least a 1-mile radius. And there are associated health problems.

•This whole project is tied to Penn East’s pipeline project now being challenged by nearly 40 municipalities along its route into Hopewell Township and in which there is a partial-ownership interest by New Jersey Resources, the parent company of NJNG.

How does one countenance such blatant lying? Why will no one face up to the fact that this is not a needed infrastructure?

This is not a “done deal.” There would be permits required from the state Department of Environmental Protection as well as FERC. Join now and raise your voices loudly opposing the BPU’s potential approval of this project. Please visit http://www.responsible-pipeline.com to learn more.

Walter Helfrecht is webmaster of Responsible-Pipeline.com and treasurer of the Crosswicks-Doctors Creek Watershed Association. He lives in Upper Freehold.

Armed U.S. Marshals Enforce Eminent Domain

https://www.popularresistance.org/armed-u-s-marshals-enforce-eminent-domain/

New Milford, PA – The land of the free got a little smaller this week when cutters from Williams Partners Company began clear-cutting trees on the Zeffer-Holleran property, readying it for construction of the Constitution pipeline. Five acres of the property were condemned under eminent domain to build the natural gas pipeline.

A dozen Pennsylvania State police and heavily armed U.S. Marshals escorted scores of tree cutters to remove hundreds of sugar bush maple trees from the property. The Marshals carried AR-15 assault weapons and wore bullet proof vests.

But when the cutters began tree removal they encountered trees with U.S. flags activists had painted on them. Activists stood out of the way during the cutting but held large signs spelling “People Not Pipelines.”

As land owner Megan Holleran watched the tree removal she kneeled in silence as the maples fell. “They made a very clear demonstration today, that all of their talk of dealing with landowners with respect and fairness couldn’t be further from the truth. They refused to see us as people and brought guns to our home,” she said.

Her mother, Catherine Holleran said, “We were shocked. I don’t know what in the world they thought they were going to encounter,” she said in response to the militarized force. “Nobody was giving them a hard time,” she said.

The Hollerans were joined by over a hundred environmentalists and supporters from the region in the month-long delay of the project. Nearly a thousand more supported them with donations of money and supplies, according to land owner Catherine Holleran. Calls of encouragement came from countries around the world, including France, Chile, Australia, according to Megan Holleran.

Vera Scroggins, a resident of Susquehanna County, railed against the builders, calling them “bullies” responsible for “raiding land and destroying property for profit.” Scroggins also rebuked Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf for being “nowhere to be found” when the people of Pennsylvania needed him most. “Our state has become a corporatocracy – where are our elected officials?” she asked. She documented the cutting with video and photographs.

The Hollerans have owned the 23-acre tract since 1950, when Megan Holleran’s grandfather bought it to start the Harford Maple Syrup business. Losing the hundreds of sugar bush maple trees will effectively end 90% of their business.

Cabot Oil & Gas Company and Williams Partners applied for permission to build the 124-mile project in 2013. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted the first approvals to cut trees in Susquehanna County in January of this year. However, no permits have been issued to begin cutting in New York. The 30″ pipeline is planned to run from Susquehanna County, PA to Scholaire County, NY, 24 miles of which runs through Pennsylvania.

Williams representatives and tree cutters first showed up at the Holleran property on February 11th, but the Hollerans and about 30 supporters, asked them not to begin cutting. The Williams official called State police, but police refused to enforce the permit, so the cutters left. But on February 19, a Federal Magistrate called the Hollerans into court, ordering them to comply with the order to cut.

The $683 million Constitution pipeline has been at the center of a growing regional resistance in Pennsylvania against hydraulic fracturing infrastructure, also known as “fracking.” Thousands of miles of gas pipelines have already been approved and permitted across the nation by FERC. Since 2009, when the fracking boom began ramping up in the Northeast U.S., over 9,000 fracking wells have been drilled across Pennsylvania. Susquehanna County sits on top of the Marcellus coal belt, the source of natural gas from fracking.

Company testing 79 miles of two natural gas pipelines in wake of June’s rupture

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/company_testing_79_miles_of_tw.html

An Oklahoma-based company is conducting integrity tests on 79 miles of two of its Transco natural gas transmission pipelines in northern Pennsylvania to try to prevent a rupture like the one that occurred in June in eastern Lycoming County.

Williams Partners has determined the failure of a 24-inch transmission line was caused by a form of corrosion that began on the external surface, spokesman Chris Stockton said Monday.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation has yet to announce its findings.

Approximately 150 people were evacuated and Routes 118 and 42 were closed after 34 feet of the pipeline failed about three miles east of Unityville at 10:41 p.m. on June 9. No one was injured.

The escaping gas that was under pressure caused a loud noise but there was no fire or explosion. Initial 911 calls were for a plane crash.

Integrity testing is being done on the two pipelines in a common right of way between the Leidy underground storage facility in Tammerack in Clinton County and the Benton area in Columbia County, Stockton said.

The tests include the use of a smart pig whose sensors measure the thickness of the steel and sending water under pressure through the lines, he said.

A 14-mile segment of the line installed in 1963 in which the failure occurred has been isolated and pressure has been reduced in the second, he said.

“We want to be sure the same corrosion does not exist elsewhere,” Stockton said. “We want to take time to make sure everything is done right.”

The integrity testing, which has taken longer than normal due to the winter heating season, is anticipated to continue into spring, he said.

A third and in some places a fourth transmission line in the same right of way are not being tested because they are newer, he explained.

All the lines continue east from where the failure occurred into New Jersey where they connect with a Transco mainline, he said.

Williams is doing more work than the federal agency requires in a corrective action order issued last summer “to protect the public, property and the environment from potential hazards.” Stockton pointed out.

Join us for World Water Day to Walk Against PennEast Pipeline

From the NJ Sierra Club:

This year for “World Water Day” we are walking along the Delaware & Raritan Canal, one of the many water resources that would be impacted by the proposed PennEast Pipeline. We are joining to protect our water from this proposal that will threaten the drinking water for millions of people. The PennEast Pipeline will cut an ugly scar through communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as cross over 88 waterways, including the Delaware River and D&R Canal.

On Sunday, March 20th we will walk for three miles along the D&R Canal towpath to bring awareness to the impact PennEast Pipeline will have on our water resources and surrounding residents along the proposed route.

The Lower Delaware River has been designated by the federal government as Wild and Scenic for its aesthetic and environmental value. However, PennEast Pipeline will ruin this area’s cultural and historic value by impact 39 parks, 44 wetlands, 33 farms and other open space areas, including the D&R Canal Park, Goat Hill, and Baldpate Mountain. This pipeline will not only promote fracking and climate change, it will cause water and air pollution, but is a safety hazard.

Walk with us on the D&R Canal towpath from Bulls Island State Park to Prallsville Mills and learn how to stop the pipeline. We will discuss the pipeline’s environmental impacts, stage of its application to various agencies, and how to get involved.

The walk will be three miles and cars will bring us back to original destination.

When: Sunday, March 20nd at 10 AM

Where:

Bulls Island State Park

2185 Daniel Bray Hwy

Stockton, NJ 08559

Other details: Bring water, snacks and lunch. Leashed pets are welcome. Kids of all ages are also encouraged to attend. Hiking boots are not required but may be easier to walk in if path is slick. This event is rain or shine.

PLEASE carpool since parking is limited. You can e-mail toni.granato@sierraclub.org to find a carpool in your area.

RSVP: Toni Granato at toni.granato@sierraclub.org.

Column: Growing movement against West Roxbury Lateral pipeline

http://westwood.wickedlocal.com/news/20160305/column-growing-movement-against-west-roxbury-lateral-pipeline

“Have you seen those “Stop the Pipeline” roadside signs popping up across Massachusetts? A grassroots movement is rising up in opposition to several energy infrastructure projects.

Don’t dismiss this dissent as a “Not in My Backyard” trend. This growing movement brings together mayors, selectmen, state senators and engaged neighbors concerned about health and safety, unnecessary rate increases, and the irresponsibility of constructing new fossil fuel infrastructure in light of accelerating climate change. They are alarmed by a system that allows private corporations, in narrow pursuit of their own profits, to override local concerns, put our health and safety at risk, and dictate our future.

In Western Massachusetts, residents are mobilizing against the proposed Kinder-Morgan pipeline. In West Roxbury, we learned 17 months ago that the Texas-based Spectra Energy was building a high-pressure gas pipeline into the heart of a densely populated neighborhood terminating across from an active blasting quarry.

Despite vocal opposition by the entire Boston City Council, Mayor Marty Walsh, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and our elected state representatives and senators, the pipeline was approved. Spectra sued the City of Boston to take our streets by eminent domain. On Sept. 22, 2015, a federal judge ruled in favor of Spectra. Hours later, the company’s contractors began digging up our streets.

Spectra refuses to coordinate with Boston city officials on underground logistics. As a result, on Oct. 20, a Spectra contractor severed a water main, cutting off water to Washington Street residents and leaving the city scrambling to restore service. Spectra refuses to meet with neighbors about the design of the metering and regulation station to be constructed in the Grove neighborhood of West Roxbury.

How is it possible, in a democratic society, for this to happen?

The answer lies with a little known and unaccountable federal agency called the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Under the Gas Act of 1938, passed by Congress, FERC may grant private corporations the power of eminent domain over local jurisdictions.

In 1938, this may have been necessary to build our modern energy system. But today, we need a federal energy agency that will balance a wider set of considerations, not just the interests of a politically powerful gas industry.

In the last few years, FERC has authorized just about every project the natural gas industry has sought to build. These include high-pressure pipelines running next to nuclear power plants, across fragile water supplies, and, in the case of West Roxbury, next to an active quarry with regular dynamite blasting. The West Roxbury pipeline enters a densely populated residential area, passing within 40 feet of the front doors of residents, shops and restaurants.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FERC is a “rogue agency.” Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey should convene hearings to examine FERC overreach. Congress must modernize the Gas Act to protect communities and reduce carbon and methane emissions.

The City of Boston recently appealed FERC’s approval of the West Roxbury Lateral. In the meantime, elected officials should press for a moratorium on construction of the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline until three conditions are met. First, there should be an independent health and safety assessment of the pipeline route and quarry location. Industry funded studies sanctioned by a captured regulatory agency have failed to win the public trust.

Secondly, there should be an independent assessment of the region’s energy needs, building on a recent study by Attorney General Healy. Such an assessment might find that we can meet our short-term energy needs with sources (solar, wind, hydro, fixing leaks, demand management, etc.) that don’t require billions of dollars in new fossil-fuel infrastructure. Ratepayers should not pay for infrastructure when, as has become clear, it is primarily driven by the industry’s desire to export this gas, not to meet local needs.

Finally, FERC should review the climate change implications of all New England projects, as the EPA has instructed them to do going forward. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure should be an absolute last resort on a warming planet.

Decisions about our energy future should be made independent of a self-interested gas industry and investor-owned utilities. For the sake of the planet and our democracy, other voices must be at the table.”

Delaware Riverkeeper trains pipeline protesters

Delaware Township resident, artist & fierce pipeline opponent Jacqueline Evans tells the reporter the truth about PennEast & their unwanted & unneeded pipeline!

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/2016/03/06/delaware-riverkeeper-trains-pipeline-protesters/81212372/

LAWRENCEVILLE – About 25 Central Jersey property owners and concerned citizens have joined a growing group of community activists monitoring the wetlands and other sensitive sites along the proposed route of the PennEast pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

They were part of a training session conducted Saturday at Rider University by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the same organization that filed suit against FERC last week for conflict of interest in regulating the construction of pipelines.

The attendees at Saturday’s session were all New Jersey residents. A similar group in Pennsylvania was trained the previous Saturday.

Faith Zerbe, director of monitoring for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, led the training, which included but was not limited to identifying the wetlands that community groups contend will be adversely affected if the PennEast pipeline is built and identifying the endangered native species of flora and fauna whose habitats will be affected. Zerbe said the pipeline route is about 114 miles long, although it gets modified from time to time as the PennEast consortium of companies reroutes the pipeline to meet certain conditions on the ground. She said changes had come as recently as this past week.

Should it be built, PennEast’s 36-inch pipeline will begin in the fracking fields of Pennsylvania near Wilkes Barre and extend across the Delaware River into Hunterdon County, then follow the river south into Mercer County. The route affects 87 waterways, 54 wetlands, 23 parks and 31 easements across the two states. Impacted sites include the Delaware and Raritan Canal and  several unnamed tributaries to the Delaware River.

“We are going through the PennEast aquatic resource reports to see what threatened and endangered species they have identified,” Zerbe said. “Then we are going out to find those species on the ground now, and we will continue to monitor them. Sometimes, the people who write these reports only consult maps and reports. They don’t actually visit the sites, and the maps and charts they consult may be out-of-date. Our monitoring can help prove how sensitive these resources are and help convince the regulatory authorities not to allow the pipeline to be built. ”

Some of the animals and plants that were discussed in the monitors’ training include the Indiana and Northern Long-eared bats, the Dwarf Wedge Muscle, the Atlantic and Short-nosed Sturgeon, the Bald Eagle, the Timber Rattlesnake, the Northern Flying Squirrel, the Bobolink, the Red-headed Woodpecker, the Wood Turtle, and the White-fringed orchid. A complete list of the endangered and threatened species in New Jersey can be found at http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/tandespp.htm.

In this preconstruction stage, Zerbe said, the monitors are really looking at wetlands and wildlife, to better bolster their arguments against the pipeline’s construction.

“We hope the pipeline is never built,” Zerbe added.

“The number of residents who have come out for this training shows clearly that we, the people, are not going to stop fighting this pipeline; rather, we are amping up our efforts. We will not let PennEast destroy our environment for profit,” said Kim Robinson, a Hopewell resident.

Delaware Township resident Jacqueline Evans owns a 6.51-acre farm on wetlands, with a stream flowing over one corner, as well as spring seeps and a pond. She raises goats, chickens, ducks and bees, practicing organic farming. She says if the PennEast pipeline is built, it will destroy her farm and her livelihood, and the stress is making her sick and scaring her three children.  But she is determined to fight it.

“In 1994, a 36-inch gas pipe exploded in Edison, creating a huge fire and a crater that was at least 100 feet,” Evans said. “That pipe had 980 psi (pounds per square inch). But because the PennEast pipeline would cross two states, it would be built to federal standards, which are lower than New Jersey standards, so it would be a weaker pipe with about 1480 psi,” she said. “In  the Edison fire, there was a safety valve every 2.5 miles and they still had trouble shutting it off. In the PennEast pipeline, they’re only going to have a safety valve every 10 miles. In fact, I had a 38-minute discussion with Jeff England, the project manager for UGI, the contractor for PennEast, and he said it would probably be even longer between safety valves because the area is less densely populated.”

Evans also pointed out the pipeline would be 150 to 180 feet from her house. If the Edison explosion created a crater that was at least 100 feet wide, she thinks that 150 feet isn’t enough of a safety buffer for her family, given her understanding that PennEast would use a weaker pipe with fewer safety features and at a much higher pressure.

For this and other reasons, she’s committed to fighting the pipeline to the fullest extent she can. She said that the pipeline proposal already has made it impossible to sell homes in Delaware Township, thus depriving her of her ability to send her daughters to college or to take care of her aging mother. And, she added, most mortgages have a clause that if a mortgagee leaves a property under conditions that have caused it to lose value, the mortgagor can call the loan to be paid in full.

Although she feels stressed, she said the opposition to the pipeline has united her community.

“We have wonderful people (in Delaware Township) and I have made so many great friends. This gives me strength,” she said.

Zerbe said that the Delaware Riverkeeper Network will be conducting more training sessions for people who want to monitor the sensitive wetlands and native species along the route. To find out more about future training sessions, contact her at faith@delawareriverkeeper.org or call her office at 215-369-1188, ext 110.

Midstream Energy Companies Defend Contracts as Producers Head to Bankruptcy Court

http://www.wsj.com/articles/midstream-energy-companies-defend-contracts-as-producers-head-to-bankruptcy-court-1456949286

As more oil and gas explorers head to bankruptcy court and try to exit pipeline and fuel-transport contracts, midstream companies are mobilizing to protect the deals meant to compensate them for billions of dollars in investments.

Two trade groups for the so-called midstream sector of the oil and gas industry, which processes and transports oil and natural gas, stepped forward in producer Quicksilver Resources Inc. ’s chapter 11 case to argue against its bid to get out of pipeline agreements that were reached before fuel prices plummeted.

The outcome of the Quicksilver case could serve as a bellwether for pipeline operators and other midstream companies, which are confronting the distress of its customers. According to law firm Haynes and Boone, 48 oil and gas producers in North America filed for bankruptcy last year, and more are expected to follow this year.

The Gas Processors Association and the Texas Pipeline Association, which together represent some 140 midstream companies, on Tuesday filed papers in Delaware bankruptcy court warning that allowing Quicksilver to exit these agreements would open the door for other bankrupt oil and gas companies to seek similar relief. This would have dire consequences for their sector as well as the economy, they say.

Specifically, such a ruling would “threaten the sanctity of thousands of bargained-for contracts between midstream companies and their producer counterparties,” the organizations say, and it would also serve to “undermine investor confidence in midstream companies” and “would ultimately raise prices for consumers.”

The ability to exit pipeline agreements with Crestwood Midstream Partners LP is a condition of Quicksilver’s pending $245 million sale to BlueStone Natural Resources II LLC. Crestwood says the agreements can’t be broken under bankruptcy law. It said if BlueStone walks away, Quicksilver has a backup buyer, albeit with a lower bid, waiting in the wings.

At least two other producers have sought to exit similar agreements. A New York bankruptcy court is set to rule next week on Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. ’s request to reject deals with two pipeline operators so it can be free to negotiate more favorable deals as well as save up to $115 million. The pipeline companies, including an affiliate of Cheniere Energy Inc., oppose the request.

And Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. on Tuesday filed papers with the Delaware bankruptcy court seeking to exit a natural gas transport and sale agreement with Tenaska Marketing Ventures after concluding its above-market terms make it “an unnecessary drain” on its resources that “will become a larger burden” as time goes by.

However, unlike Quicksilver and Sabine, Magnum doesn’t face an objection and reached a settlement with Tenaska to let it out of the deal.

The Delaware court will hear arguments in the Quicksilver case on Friday, and the trade groups want to be heard on the grounds that a ruling for Quicksilver would “fundamentally alter the structural and financial underpinnings of the midstream gas gathering and delivery systems that are critical to the operation of our nation’s gas markets.”

According to the trade groups, midstream companies invest billions of dollars to build the infrastructure needed to gather, process and transport oil and gas. They do so on the belief that they’ll be compensated over time through essentially unbreakable contracts that remain with a production site even if a new oil and gas producer takes over.

The trade groups argued that letting producers break these contracts not only isn’t allowed under bankruptcy law but would also break state law and deprive midstream companies of protection under these important contracts.

‘Corrupt, rogue agency’ approves 100% of gas pipeline projects, suit says

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2016/03/corrupt_rogue_agency_approves_100_of_gas_pipeline.html

The federal commission in charge of overseeing new interstate pipelines is a “corrupt, rogue” agency and its processes violate the U.S. Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by environmentalists on Thursday.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network filed the suit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in U.S. District Court, charging that the commission’s financing structure precludes it from an open, unbiased hearing of interstate pipeline applications.

The commission, which has final say over which pipelines get built and where, gets its entire operational budget from fees it charges companies applying to build pipelines, the lawsuit says.

As a result, FERC has not denied a gas pipeline application in 30 years, according to the suit.

“Because FERC gets its funding from the big companies it is supposed to be monitoring, it has become, perhaps inevitably, a corrupt, rogue agency,” Maya van Rossum, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said in a release. “That’s why FERC has approved 100 percent of pipeline projects — literally every single one of the — that it has considered since 1986.”

The commission is biased in favor of pipeline companies because of its financial structure and denies the 5^th Amendment right to due process to the Riverkeeper Network and other environmental groups fighting pipeline construction, the suit says.

The suit seeks a declaration that the commission’s pipeline approval process is biased and deprives the Riverkeeper Network and other environmental groups fighting pipeline construction of due process. It also seeks to declare the commission’s funding structure and its ability to grant the power of eminent domain unconstitutional, according to the suit.

Mary O’Driscoll, spokeswoman for commission, said the agency does not comment on lawsuits.

Environmental Group Sues Federal Agency for Alleged Conflict of Interest

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/03/02/environmental-group-sues-federal-agency-for-alleged-conflict-of-interest/#

In its suit against FERC, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network claims the review and approval process for pipeline projects is fundamentally flawed

Maya Van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper

Ratcheting up a fight against the expansion of natural-gas pipelines, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network yesterday filed a lawsuit against the federal agency that oversees construction of such projects.

In a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the group claimed that the review and approval process for pipeline projects by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is infected by structural bias.

The lawsuit is seeking fundamental changes to the agency that — the group asserts –would make it accountable and consistent with democratic governance. The lawsuit alleges the bias is based on the agency’s financial structure, which recovers the full cost of its operations through the charges and fees assessed on the industries it regulates.

“Because FERC gets its funding from the big companies it is supposed to be monitoring, it has become, perhaps inevitably, a corrupt, rogue agency,’’ said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and the leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

The lawsuit is the second action taken against the commission by the organization this year. In January, it asked the General Accountability Office to initiate an investigation into FERC, saying it has approved 100 percent of the gas pipeline projects that have come before it, the highest approval rate of any independent federal agency.

The issue is politically volatile in New Jersey, where at least 15 pipeline expansion or new projects are in various stages of planning and construction. Most have been met with widespread opposition because some projects intersect private property while others cut through environmentally sensitive areas, some of which have been preserved with public money.

Others, however, have welcomed the pipelines because they have helped lower heating costs for hundreds of thousands of customers, taking advantage of plentiful and cheaper supplies of natural gas found in Pennsylvania and other nearby states.

The Riverkeeper Network has been in the forefront of opposition to one of the more controversial projects — the PennEast pipeline, a proposed 118-mile conduit that would cut through parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Critics say it will run through forested land, cross hundreds of bodies of water, and affect 55 acres of wetlands. It also would impact many homeowners because the approval process could give the company the power of eminent domain.

PennEast recently filed an application for the project with the Delaware River Basin Commission because a portion of the proposed pipeline would run under the Delaware River, the source of drinking water for millions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In its federal lawsuit, the Riverkeeper Network said by the nature of its financing, FERC faces a conflict of interest because such projects constitute a big portion of its income.

The organization is seeking a declaration that FERC engages in a biased process, one that deprives DRN of due process and causes irreparable harm. It also wants its funding structure declared unconstitutional and to prohibit the exercise of eminent domain for such projects.

The Riverkeeper is still awaiting a decision by the GAO on whether it will investigate the federal agency, van Rossum said.

Governor Cuomo Directs an Immediate Independent Safety Analysis of the Algonquin Pipeline Near Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-directs-immediate-independent-safety-analysis-algonquin-pipeline-near-indian

Four state agencies request that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission halt construction of the Algonquin Pipeline until the independent risk review is completed

View the letter to the FERC.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo directed state agencies to issue a letter calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to immediately halt construction of the Algonquin natural gas pipeline until a comprehensive safety review is completed. The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Public Service Commission, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Health issued the letter today.

“The safety of New Yorkers is the first responsibility of state government when making any decision. Over the past several months there have been a series of serious incidents at the Indian Point Nuclear Facility, which my administration is investigating,” Governor Cuomo said. “At the same time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a natural gas pipeline in close proximity of Indian Point. I am directing my administration to commence an immediate independent safety analysis of the natural gas pipeline project and until that occurs, we urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to suspend the project.”

At the direction of Governor Cuomo, these agencies are currently conducting a full investigation into several recent failures that could pose a risk to the health and safety of those who live and work in the vicinity of Indian Point. This investigation is examining multiple unplanned shutdowns, a transformer fire that triggered the declaration of an unusual event level emergency, and most recently, a radioactive tritium leak that has caused groundwater radioactivity levels to rise more than 65,000 percent.

Although the project applicant has agreed to more stringent construction measures near Indian Point, ongoing State investigations will assess the adequacy of these measures and may also reveal new information about the environmental, health and safety risks posed by the project’s siting. The State therefore urges the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to cease the construction of the Algonquin natural gas pipeline until the State’s analysis is complete and it can be determined that the project will not impact the health and safety of surrounding communities.