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.

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.

‘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.

PennEast applies for water discharge permit on pipeline

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-penn-east-drbc-20160228-story.html

PennEast’s application for a 114-mile natural gas pipeline is being reviewed by the Delaware River Basin Commission, one of the many regulatory agencies whose approval is needed for the project to move forward.

PennEast has applied for a surface water withdrawal and discharge permit from the DRBC, said PennEast spokeswoman Patricia Kornick.

The permit would grant the pipeline company the ability to conduct hydrostatic testing and horizontal directional drilling, which is a method of boring to install underground pipe beneath bodies of water, roads or other environmentally sensitive areas.

The 13,539-square-mile Delaware River Basin includes parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. As currently proposed, 100 miles of PennEast’s pipeline would cross through the basin, from milepost 14.4 in Luzerne County to milepost 111.9 in Mercer County, N.J.

The pipeline would cross 209 bodies of water in the basin area, as well as the Delaware River, just south of Riegelsville from Durham Township in Bucks County to Holland Township in Hunterdon County, N.J.

Those who come to DRBC for approval must demonstrate their project does not conflict with the commission’s comprehensive plan, which includes policies, rules and regulations intended to prevent “substantial adverse impact” on the basin’s water resources, said Clarke Rupert, DRBC spokesman.

PennEast submitted its application to the DRBC on Feb. 8, which posted the submission on its website Thursday. DRBC officials are in the early stages of their review and don’t yet know how long that process could take, Rupert said.

The DRBC will accept public comments and hold public hearings on the application, though as of Friday it wasn’t clear when or how many public hearings would be held.

The DRBC is just one of multiple federal and state agencies participating in the review process, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the lead agency tasked with approving interstate utility projects such as PennEast’s pipeline.

While FERC considers the input of other agencies, it can still grant approval of the project without the approval of other agencies, FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen said.

If one of the other agencies does not grant approval it could potentially hold up PennEast’s construction of the pipeline, Young-Allen said, adding that she could not recall another such project being delayed for not getting all the necessary approvals. PennEast is hoping to receive FERC approval later this year and begin construction in 2017.

The DRBC is among about 20 agencies PennEast has requested input or permits from, Kornick said. The process paves the way for safe construction and minimal impact on communities and the environment, she added

Other agencies involved in PennEast’s review process include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For its part, FERC is in the process of preparing a draft environmental impact statement on the project. PennEast submitted its application for FERC’s review in September. Young-Allen was unsure Friday how much longer it could take to prepare the draft. Once the statement is prepared, there will be an opportunity for the public to comment on it.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network is pleased DRBC is participating in the review process and is urging the commission to hold seven public hearings separate from FERC’s own public hearings on the application, said Delaware River Keeper Maya van Rossum.

The network wants the DRBC to come to the main areas of the basin that will be affected by the project and hear those residents, she said.

If the DRBC does not grant permits for the project, van Rossum believes that could be enough to put a halt to the pipeline, though she acknowledged that DRBC does not usually deny such permits.

According to Delaware Riverkeeper Network figures, there have been 11 pipeline projects within the Delaware River Basin since 2011. Those include upgrades to existing pipelines. In addition, there are currently 11 new pipeline projects proposed to be installed in the basin area, including PennEast’s project.

Information on how to participate in DRBC’s review is on the agency’s website: nj.gov/drbc.

Plan to Expand a Pipeline at Indian Point Raises Concern

NY state officials are on top of this.  Ironic that FERC is approving this dangerous pipeline while state government is asking them to suspend their approval!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/nyregion/plan-to-expand-a-pipeline-at-indian-point-raises-concern.html?_r=0

BUCHANAN, N.Y. — Every so often, catastrophes prompt fresh worries about the Indian Point nuclear power plant, whose twin domes loom over the Hudson River about 45 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.

In 2001, the terror attacks on Sept. 11 spurred calls to shut down the two reactors here, amid concern of a similar attack on the plant. Five years ago, the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan raised fears about the impact of a natural disaster on Indian Point.

Now, a construction project — the planned expansion of a natural gas pipeline across Indian Point property — is again putting the power plant in a harsh glare. Elected officials, residents and environmental activists have criticized the project, saying that a rupture of the pipeline could unleash a nuclear catastrophe.

Federal regulators have already approved the pipeline expansion, and Spectra Energy, the company overseeing the pipeline project, has begun construction along parts of its 1,000-mile line running through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In Westchester County, work has begun on the pipeline, including at the 240-acre Indian Point site, where Spectra plans to replace its existing 26-inch wide pipeline with one measuring 42 inches wide.

In recent months, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both New York Democrats, as well as other federal, state and local officials, have demanded an independent safety evaluation of the risks posed by the pipeline expansion at Indian Point. The project’s approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was based in part on an analysis conducted by Entergy Corporation, which owns the power plant, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which determined that the plant could continue to operate safely in the event of a rupture or could be temporarily shut down.

On Monday, the state plans to notify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it will take a hard look at the project in light of a series of problems at the nuclear plant since last May. In addition, the state will ask federal regulators to suspend their approval of the project — effectively halting construction — until the study is completed.

“I am directing my administration to commence an immediate independent safety analysis of the natural gas pipeline project,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, said. “The safety of New Yorkers is the first responsibility of state government when making any decision.”

So far, federal agencies have declined to conduct independent assessments of their own. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said a specialist within the agency had looked carefully at hypothetical accidents. “Our expert confirmed that both units could safely shut down, even if the pipeline were to rupture and a blast of flame were to come from that line,” he said.

But the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group, has asked Stephen G. Burns, the regulatory commission’s chairman, to evaluate the methodology used by its own staff. “It is not sufficient to have the right answers until all the right questions have been asked,” David A. Lochbaum, director of the group’s Nuclear Safety Project, wrote in a letter in August. Mr. Burns declined the organization’s request.

Officials from both Spectra Energy and Entergy, which will receive a one-time payment for use of the right of way on its land, say that the new pipeline will be located several hundred feet farther away from the nuclear reactors than the smaller, existing pipeline. Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for Entergy, said the new pipeline would cross the southeast corner of its property, about 1,200 feet from the Unit 3 reactor.

In addition, he said, the larger pipeline would be buried deeper than the existing one and would be covered by thick concrete slabs.

Environmental activists from New York City and Westchester County are not mollified by those precautions. Since Spectra was given the go-ahead to proceed with construction, they have gathered 30,000 signatures on a petition demanding that Mr. Cuomo stop the project and study the risks.

Mr. Cuomo has been vociferous in his demand that federal regulators not relicense Indian Point. (The reactors’ licenses expired in 2013 and 2015, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now considering their renewal.) But until now, Mr. Cuomo has been largely silent about the pipeline.

Spectra, based in Texas, is expanding sections of its so-called Algonquin Pipeline in several states to increase delivery of natural gas to meet what the company says is growing demand in New England. Besides safety concerns, critics of the pipeline also say that enhancing the delivery of fossil fuels like natural gas will hurt efforts to counter climate change.

The Massachusetts attorney general, Maura Healey, last fall released an energy report of the region. “This study demonstrates that we do not need increased gas capacity to meet electric reliability needs and that electric ratepayers shouldn’t foot the bill for additional pipelines,” she said, adding that increasing energy efficiency would “significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Problems have bedeviled Indian Point for years, sometimes leading to the temporary shutdown of its reactors. In May, a transformer fire knocked out one of the reactors and spewed oil and fire-retardant foam into the Hudson. This month, Entergy revealed that radioactive water was found in three of 40 monitoring wells on site, the result of contamination from tritium, a radioactive isotope.

In recent months, activists have turned up the intensity of their protests against the pipeline expansion. Members of faith organizations and environmental groups held a vigil on Saturday outside the house in Mount Kisco, N.Y., that Mr. Cuomo shares with his girlfriend, Sandra Lee. Their home is less than 10 miles from Indian Point.

Activists have also held rallies and engaged in acts of civil disobedience. In November, nine people joined hands and blocked a road near a site where some of Spectra Energy’s construction equipment and vehicles were stored in Montrose, a hamlet in the town of Cortlandt, not far from Indian Point.

The activists were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The defendants, who call themselves the Montrose Nine, are awaiting trial. “They felt it was their obligation to stop the construction of what they believe is an extraordinarily dangerous venture,” Martin R. Stolar, their lawyer, said.

A group called ResistAIM, which stands for the Algonquin Incremental Market project, as Spectra calls the expansion, has organized periodic workshops on the ABC’s of civil disobedience.“We organize nonviolent direct action to stop the AIM pipeline from being built,” its website says. “We do this because it is clear that we have no other alternative — we have tried everything to get the attention of elected officials and to use regulatory channels, and Spectra is building the pipeline anyway.”

Patrick Robbins, co-director of Sane Energy Project, which advocates renewable energy, also works with ResistAIM. He contends that continued resistance to the pipeline project, despite the fact that it has the needed approvals, was not fruitless. Indeed, he and others are focused on the larger war against fossil fuels, more than any one battle.

“Every day you stop construction, it hurts their timetable,” he said, referring to Spectra Energy. “And it sends a message to other companies, investors and political officials that the landscape has changed on building these pipelines, and that it’s not going to be an easy fight for them.”

Burlington County residents rally, march against proposed natural gas pipeline

http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/local/burlington-county-residents-rally-march-against-proposed-natural-gas-pipeline/article_90224112-dda8-11e5-aa84-935ee89a2211.html

CHESTERFIELD — When Katherine and Michael Marlin moved to their township home nearly seven years ago, they thought they’d found just what they were looking for.

Every day, the married couple could wake up to Chesterfield’s tranquil, bucolic allure. Someday, they’d raise kids who would enjoy a spacious area in which to play and explore.

But now, the Marlins are thinking perhaps their best move is to move out. For them, the spoiler is a proposed compressor station — which they estimate would be about 500 feet from their house — that would feed a planned high-pressure natural gas line running through several area towns and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Concerns ranging from public safety to pollution, to effects of transportation have united a large group of residents and environmental activists against the plans of New Jersey Natural Gas, which seeks to build the pipeline, and Transco Williams, the company planning to build the compressor station.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the pipeline’s route, which would begin at the compressor station. But New Jersey Natural Gas must still obtain state and local permits.

And Transco Williams is awaiting approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the compressor station.

Roughly 150 to 200 people, the Marlins included, gathered Saturday to rally against the proposals. Toting signs, stats and a civic sense, they met up in the parking lot of Holy Cross Lutheran Church on Crosswicks Road.

The meeting place came courtesy of Holy Cross Pastor Dan Sparling, who sympathizes with the protesters. Sparling told those gathered that he opposes the project out of religious conviction.

He read an excerpt from Proverbs that says, “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices.” For the pastor, that made it easy to decide where he stands.

“The reason I know this (planned pipeline) is wrong? The city is not rejoicing,” he said. “I don’t see anyone rejoicing over this plan. There are others who don’t care, but they’re not here with us.

“We are stewards over these families,” Sparling said, alluding to fears of fires, leaks and explosions in close proximity to homes and businesses. “And our stewardship is being undermined by the people planning this.”

Stephen Monson, of Bordentown Township, and his wife, Virginia Monson, were passing out packets of letters to state and federal legislators, as well as other officials, expressing strong opposition to the project.

They were trying to persuade as many people as possible to send those letters to those state and federal officials. Stephen Monson said his wife had been going door-to-door passing them out.

Among his concerns is the possibility of an explosion, fire or other disaster associated with the compressor station.

“It’s not that I’m anti-development, but why put so many people at risk?” he argued.

Fellow protesters carried signs with quips often heard uttered throughout the march: “Pinelands, not Pipelands;” “Honk to stop the pipeline;” “Clean air for kids.”

Agnes Marsalla, of Chesterfield, who with a bullhorn led the day’s rally, lamented what she says is government’s tendency to bow to lobbyists and special interests.

“Money talks and the rest of us walk,” she said, referring to the march to the proposed compressor station site the group was about to undertake.

The protesters marched down Crosswicks Road, which passes over the New Jersey Turnpike before becoming Bordentown-Chesterfield Road. There, close to the Turnpike, is where the compressor station would be built.

From that site, Katherine Marlin could point to her home.

“Concerned, devastated, worried,” she said of how she felt about the possibility the station would be built. “We’re concerned about each other, our family, our dogs, our house and the future.”

Marlin added she worries the value of her home will drop.

“We talked about moving because we don’t know what else to do,” she said. “We feel really stuck.”

As those planning the compressor and pipeline await government approvals, New Jersey Natural Gas is suing in an attempt to negate a Burlington County road opening policy that company officials say is meant to impede pipeline construction.

The county freeholders in late December adopted that policy which, in part, allows them and the county engineer to deny or revoke permits “in the interest of public safety,” and gives officials control over construction hours, among other factors.

New Jersey Natural Gas officials have said the pipeline would provide a second transmission feed to its territory, one critical to reliability and resilience.

Gas Export Decision Stirs Debate Over Mass. Pipeline Need

http://www.wbur.org/2016/02/25/natural-gas-massachusetts-pipelines

“She’s right. This particular pipeline is only being built to satisfy profiteers who want to export to Europe,” said attorney Vincent DeVito, who represents Northeast Energy Solutions, a coalition of environmental and land trusts in the region opposed to the pipeline that the Texas-based company Kinder Morgan wants to build through southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts.

DeVito, a former senior Energy Department official in the George W. Bush administration, has a “war room” — an office storage closet filled with boxes containing documents Kinder Morgan filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking permission to build its pipeline.

While the documents don’t tie the company directly to exports, DeVito says they show Kinder Morgan has only found buyers for half the gas its proposed pipeline can carry.

“This particular pipeline doesn’t fit any need in our state,” DeVito said.

In its filing with federal regulators, Kinder Morgan says it plans to use the new pipeline to deliver gas to a terminal in Dracut, but DeVito claims most of the fuel will wind up being exported to Canada and beyond by reversing the flow of an existing pipeline.

This month the Department of Energy granted two companies permission to use the pipeline to export gas from Dracut to Canada, where the gas would be turned into a liquid and then reexported on special tankers to nations around the world — in effect, floating international pipelines.

“It proves what a lot of people suspect all along,” DeVito said. “Even though Kinder Morgan never fessed up to it, it really is an export project.”

But Kinder Morgan denies this.

“The key thing is, we don’t have any [liquefied natural gas] contracts,” said its communications director, Richard Wheatley. “As an open access pipeline, we provide access and capacity and it’s up to the customers and shippers where they want to move gas from point A to point B.”

The Canadian companies that were granted permission to export gas coming from Massachusetts won’t say more. And that doesn’t sit well with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey. He calls the gas export decision “a disaster.”

“The companies proposing these pipeline projects need to be more honest about the ultimate fate of the gas that would be transported through Massachusetts,” the Democratic senator said. “This LNG export strategy will harm our consumers and not help.”

The Department of Energy contends LNG exports will benefit the nation’s overall economy but acknowledges there will be winners and losers.

Who Wins? Who Loses?

Exporting gas will increase prices domestically and everyone will pay higher utility bills here. That will hurt fixed income wage earners the most. But those with investments in energy companies — typically the richest among us — stand to gain.

Said Markey: “We will need more natural gas, but that should be determined by our needs and not the needs of the Canadians, not the needs of countries around the world.”

In the past if a company wanted to build a pipeline in Massachusetts it would finance the upfront cost, but recently the state Department of Public Utilities approved a special tariff that would shift the expense of constructing gas pipelines to electricity ratepayers.

“Electric customers have never been asked to pay for gas pipelines before and if it turns out in five or 10 years that that was a bad bet, well, too bad, we’ve already paid for it,” said Peter Shattuck, director of the Clean Energy Initiative at the environmental organization Acadia Center. “The real risk is that forcing the public to underwrite gas pipelines carries enormous risks for the climate and consumers if exports link us to higher-priced global markets.”