Natural gas pipelines

Citizens for the Preservation of Floyd County

Citizens for the Preservation of Floyd County

http://preservefloyd.org

Overview

1. Mountain Valley pipeline proposed June, 2014

2. FERC Process 3. Basic gas pipeline information 4. History of manufactured and natural gas – Safety problems – Current controversies

5. Pro – Con 6. More information

1. Mountain Valley Pipeline• Proposed June 12, 2014 • A 330 mile 42-inch pipeline

– from West Virginia to Pittsylvania County, Virginia

• Partners are EQT and NextEra Energy – EQT (Pa. 2,500 miles of gas pipelines)

– NextEra Energy Inc. ($15 bn, 42 Gw capacity, Ct., Fla. -- Florida Power & Light)

• Requests for contracts (open season) closed July 10. More information soon.

• Purpose: To bring Marcellus and Utica shale gas (from fracking) to South Atlantic markets; possibly also exports.

Crossing the middle of Floyd County

This is from the EQT “open season” documentJune 12.

It is the best official map we have as of July 20, 2014

We asked EQT for a better map

• Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with a map that is any more detailed than that provided in the open season document, and sent along with the news release (same map).

• At this time, a fully detailed map with exact routing, pipe diameter, intersect points, etc is not available until the open season is "closed" and capacity interest is evaluated.

• The project remains at the very early stages of gauging interest from producers and other potential shippers.

• Community outreach information, schedules, and detailed maps for pipeline projects are typically made available once the feasibility process is complete. The only public documentation available is the news release and open season. Thank you and I hope this information helps you to understand where we are in the process.

• Julie Cox, EQT, July 9, 2014

Preliminary map of the MVP route through Floyd.

Even though Floyd residents are being asked to allow surveyors on their land, EQT has not released a detailed map of the pipeline route.

This map, by Jeff Walker, is based on reported contacts with Floyd residents by EQT surveyors around mid-July, 2014.

Rt. 221

Rt. 8

BR Parkway

2. Process with FERC

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – Has authority to issue permits & licenses – Pre-filing process will include: • Open House, in which EQT and NextEra show their

maps, make their case to the public, and listen to questions • Scoping process, in which FERC takes testimony on

environmental impacts and issues

Pipeline permitting process from FERC

(Continued on next slide)

Pipeline permitting process from FERC

(from previous slide)

What we don’t know

• What are exact proposed routes? Who might be affected?

• What safety issues? What improvements could be made with citizen input?

• What environmental impacts (eg, anti-corrosive chemicals, blasting)

• What historical assets or endangered species are in the path?

• Where are compressor stations planned? • Are LNG storage stations planned?

3. Basic facts & terms

• ‘Natural’ gas – methane from oil and gas wells

• ‘Manufactured gas’ from coal, widespread use 1800s - 1950s. Gas industry still responsible for many century - old cleanup issues

• Fracking – Hydraulic fracturing of rock to recover natural gas from formations thousands of feet deep. Controversial.

• LPG – Liquefied petroleum gas – cooking gas -- propane or butane, liquefies under modest pressure @ room temp. “Rhino” and other commercial brands. Not dangerous if used with care.

• LNG – Liquefied natural gas -- methane – stored at minus 260 below zero F. Used in very large-scale export and storage facilities. Dangerous.

Gas pipeline system 305,000 miles (More than Interstate highways)

4. Background

• Coal Gas lights installed, Pall Mall, London, 1812 • Coal Gas lights streets of Baltimore 1816 • First major environmental controversies, laws and

lawsuits result from discharges of coal tar from the plants in 1820s and 30s

• By 1850s, most US and European cities had coal gas light

• By 1950s, “natural” gas begins to replace 52,000 “manufactured” coal gas plants. Most MGPs were never cleaned up.

20th Century gas accidents • 1927, Nov. 14, Pittsburgh, Equitable Gas explosion, 28 dead, hundreds injured. Workers searched for leak in gas tank with blow torch.

•1937, March 18, New London (Rusk) Tx. school explosion, 500 dead.

• 1944, Oct. 20, Cleveland East Ohio, LNG seeped into sewers, explosion, 130 people killed, 1 sq mile destroyed, manhole covers miles away.

• 1973, Feb. 10, Staten Island, 40 workers died during cleaning operation inside an LNG tank which had been drained 10 months earlier. • Dozens more: search Gas explosions, wikipedia

LNG storage on Staten Island was never used after the 1973 accident that killed 40 workers

2013 Photo – see Staten Island Live story

Pipeline accidents

• 1986 – 2012 (ProPublica study) – 7,763 incidents ( half gas, half chemicals) – 536 fatalities, 2,366 injuries– $6.75 billion property damage – Virginia 95 incidents, 5 deaths, 33 injuries

• Example: At 6:11 p.m. on September 6, 2010, San Bruno, Calif. 911 received

an urgent call. A gas station had just exploded and a fire with flames reaching 300 feet was raging through the neighborhood.

Pipeline incidents by cause

16 % -- Other outside force damage

22% -- Outside force damage

22% -- Material weld equipment failure

6% -- Incorrect operation 13% -- Excavation damage 14% -- Corrosion 6% -- All other causes

Peak - 2005 - 361 incidents

Data and chart by ProPublica

Rail & truck versus pipeline

• Trucks – 20 incidents per billion ton-miles – 37 times more likely to injure workers than

pipelines • Trains – 2 incidents per billion ton-miles • 30 times more likely to injure workers than pipelines

• Pipelines – 0.6 incidents per billion ton-miles

Source: Frasier Institute

Erin Brockovich • Natural gas compressor stations once used

highly carcinogenic hexavalent chromium (aka chromium 6) as anti-corrosive agent

• Brockovich organized a lawsuit against PG&E in 1993;

• She found PG&E had known of dangers since 1960s but grossly irresponsible disposal killed many town residents

• Film starred Julia Roberts 2000 • Still many problems in Hinkley, California;

not a Hollywood ending• Brockovich continues to campaign for

environmental justice

Keystone XL is an oil pipeline

• Controversial because it helps open Canadian tar sands

• Numerous climate-related protests

• Obama administration decision deferred until 2015

4. Current controversy• Hydraulic fracturing is source of new gas & reason

for pipeline expansion • Water quality issues – including simple disclosure

of chemicals (esp. Penn.) – Also Okla. earthquakes clearly linked to deep well

injection of toxic chemicals from fracking– Exports of fracked gas a big concern

• Some New York state communities have banned fracking production / but not pipeline construction

July 14, 2014

Two dozen protesters were arrested in Washington Monday after they blocked entrances to the federal commission reviewing a proposed natural gas export terminal and liquefaction plant in Southern Maryland. – Balt. Sun.

Fracking controversy

• New York towns can ban fracking under a June 30, 2014 state court decision

• California is stopped the re-injection of fracking wastewater, saying it is contaminating aquifers

• Scientists have linked re-injection to earthquakes in Oklahoma

EDF’s five concerns about gas

• Protect groundwater (mercury, cr 6)

• Treat fracking wastewater (proper disposal)

• Control air emissions (benzene, other air toxics)

• Ensure climate benefits (stop methane leaks)

• Empower and inform communities (disclose all fracking and gas transmission chemicals)

Environmental Defense Fund / natural gas

5. Pro / con pipeline* Pro: • Far safer way to deliver

gas than rail or trucks • Cleaner burning than

coal or oil • Possibly better for

climate, but maybe not, due to methane leakage

Con: • Environmental impacts –

groundwater, toxics, heavy metals

• Blasting may affect groundwater

• Laws don’t empower citizens

• Impacts on rural areas

* Preliminary

6. More information • FERC main site and process information

• Safety issues • http://projects.propublica.org/pipelines/ • http://earthjustice.org/our_work/cases/2011/pennsylvania-gas-pipeline-challenged • http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/10/17/pipelines-safer-than-trains-and-trucks-report-says/ • http://www2.worksafebc.com/i/posters/2012/WS_12_01.html • http://www.pbs.org/wnet/expose/2008/11/wfaa-homepage.html• • Environmental issues • http://www.garfieldfoundation.org/resources/docs/NaturalGasSector%20FS_04hr.pdf• http://www.edf.org/climate/five-areas-of-concern • Erin Brockovich - http://www.brockovich.com •

• Citizens for the Preservation of Floyd County – http://PreserveFloyd.org