How big is the U.S. pipeline network? 510,917 miles, according to PHMSA’s National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS).
According to the Q4 2010 newsletter of Pipeline Open Data Standarrd (pods.org, you can get this map of pipelines and compressor stations through PHMSA’s National Pipeline Mapping System. Should it be suprising when some of these compressor stations leak or some of this half-million miles of pipe explodes?
Has anybody ever heard of an exploding solar panel?
-jsq
Apparently pipeline companies are the last to know that pipelines can be dangerous,
even after Williams Co’s four strikes this year.
Maybe they should stop believing their own propaganda.
And why do pipeline companies get four strikes and they’re still not out, anyway?
Dory Hippauf wrote for No Fracking Way 8 May 2014 Williams Co Has Gomer Pyle Moment,
Follow the link for the list of Williams Co. incidents, which includes many more than these few big ones from 2014:Recently, the Williams Company, the 4th largest pipeline operator in the US, experienced 3 accidents in rapid succession between Feb-Apr 2014.
As reported by Bloomberg news “Williams Reviews Safety After Fire, Explosions at Gas Plants“, May 1, 2014:
“Certainly, this has come as a big surprise to our organization,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said on a conference call with analysts today. “We are conducting very thorough investigations into each incident to determine if there’s any common or root cause.”
Why it comes as a big surprise to CEO Armstrong is, well, surprising. It’s well known that pipelines and related infrastructure do have spills, leaks, fires and explosions resulting in property damage, injuries and deaths. At a time when fossil fuel corporations are expanding and building new infrastructures and pipelines, safety, not profits, should be the foremost consideration.
PHMSA deputized Oregon PUC to investigate three-month Williams Co. methane leak, starting 10 January 2014
Williams fire and explosion near Plymouth, WA 2014-03-31
Williams Oak Grove explosion in Marshall County, WV 2014-04-05
Williams explosion and fire, Opal, WY 2014-04-23
That’s four “abnormal operations” or accidents so far in 2014 alone. In baseball only three strikes and Williams would be out. Why does a pipeline company get nothing but PR out of all this?
What’s an actual accident or “abnormal operations” anyway? PHMSA uses definitions from the American Petroleum Institute (API), and requires pipeline operators to put out propaganda according to API guidelines. Maybe Williams CEO Alan Armstrong actually believed that API propaganda.
The No Fracking Way article also notes:
According to Tom Droege, Williams Co. spokesperson, as stated in an email, over the last five years, Williams has had a lower rate of incidents on its pipelines than the industry average, he said, citing federal statistics.
Hm, so if Williams has fewer than the industry average, where does Spectra rank?
Droege failed to mention the industrial average was 1.6 pipeline incidents per day, so what does a “lower rate of incidents” really mean?
And who ever heard of a solar panel leak or explosion? What say we cancel the pipeline and go straight to faster, cheaper, safer, job-creating solar power.
-jsq
Apparently an actual fire or explosion may (or may not) count
as an accident according to PHMSA,
but there’s a huge gap in PHMSA’s definitions:
they don’t seem to say they apply to methane.
And guess whose Public Awareness Program PHMSA requires pipeline operators to follow?
According to PHMSA’s Glossary and Definitions,
Accident
A release of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide transported that results in any of the following:
- explosion or fire not intentionally set by the operator.
- release of Continue reading PHMSA abnormal vs. accident
A fossil fuel needle desperately trying to get another fix hit an artery and leaked oily mud and methane into a creek near Beverly, Ohio, forcing evacuation of people nearby. Once again, state agencies had to deal with a problem caused by a private company. This collateral damage drew in yet another fracking opponent, this time one founded by an opponent of the first Superfund.
Dean Narciso wrote for the Columbus Dispatch 8 May 2014, Shale well leaks during drilling process, forcing evacuations in Morgan County,
A Morgan County shale well being drilled in preparation for fracking began leaking on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents.
State and federal environmental emergency-response teams and the drilling company finally contained the mess yesterday, but not before it reached a nearby creek.
The leak was discovered Continue reading Ohio town fracked by well leak
FWW has been on the case against H.R. 6 that would authorize LNG exports to all WTO member countries since that bill passed the subcommittee in early April, before it passed the main committee April 30th.
Food & Water Watch press release 9 April 2014, House Subcommittee’s Approval of LNG Exports Means More Money for Big Oil and Gas, More Fracking In U.S. Communities: Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director, Wenonah Hauter,
Washington, D.C. — “On Wednesday, the U.S. House’s Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power voted in favor of a bill to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) abroad under the guise of aiding Ukraine. But this bill, H.R.6, would only serve to increase profits for the oil and gas industry, greatly accelerating fracking here at home, endangering American communities, public health and the climate. We strongly recommend that both houses of Congress reject any and all plans to export LNG overseas.
“Selling LNG abroad will drive up the industry’s profit margins, ultimately increasing gas prices here in the U.S.. Ramping up fracking in the U.S., Continue reading Food and Water Watch against LNG exports
Fourth major incident this year for Williams, this time in Wyoming.
Yet again locals and their local and state governments were left
to pick up the tab,
and the cause is still “under investigation”.
Ryan Parker wrote for the Denver Post 23 April 2014, Wyoming town evacuated after gas plant explosion,
There was an explosion followed by a fire Wednesday afternoon at the Williams Gas Plant near Opal, Wyo..
The entire town of Opal was evacuated Continue reading Williams explosion and fire, Opal, WY 2014-04-23
In which Williams admits subsidence can cause a gas pipeline explosion. So does an even larger (36-inch vs. 12-inch) pipeline through the fragile karst sinkhole-prone limestone of the Floridan Aquifer for the Sabal Trail pipeline connected to Williams’ Transco sound like a good idea? Especially considering pipeline companies aren’t held accountable for the expense of their explosions, leaving local and state governments to pick up the tab?
Jeff Jenkins wrote for MetroNews 5 April 2014, Resident describes natural gas line explosion in Marshall County,
The site is about a mile from Dobbs’ home. The line is owned by a subsidiary of Williams, LP and carries unprocessed natural gas from production wells according to a statement from the company.
Emergency officials initially believed the rupture may have been caused by a mudslide. The line was Continue reading Williams Oak Grove explosion in Marshall County, WV 2014-04-05
A two-mile evacuation ratio around a Williams fracked methane facility
in Oregon, and once again a state agency investigates while federal
PHMSA does nothing, same near Plymouth, WA, as on Sauvie Island, OR.
Kristi Phil reported for the Tri-City Herald 31 March 2014, UPDATE: Evacuation radius near Plymouth plant to be reduced,
It’s unknown when Plymouth residents will be able to return to their homes after an explosion and fire at a nearby natural gas facility Monday morning triggered fears of a second, larger explosion.
Up to 1,000 residents and agricultural workers were evacuated from a two-mile radius around Northwest Pipeline in south Benton County after the explosion, which caused slow leaks from a massive storage tank and injured five people.
Hazardous materials experts entered the liquefied natural gas facility Monday afternoon for the first time nearly eight hours after the initial explosion and fire inside a building at Northwest Pipeline, a subsidiary of Williams Partners.
Claire Graham and Emily Bowman reported for KNDO 23 and KNDU 25 1 April 2014, Fire and Explosion at Natural Gas Plant near Plymouth,
Pipeline safety investigators from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission are responding Continue reading Williams fire and explosion near Plymouth, WA 2014-03-31
Unless somebody dies or is injured, it’s not a reportable incident, says the federal agency in charge of investigating fracked methane pipeline safety. PHMSA finally deputized a state Oregon safety organization after three months of leaks from a pipeline owned by Williams Company, also owner of Transco, the first pipeline in the Transco -> Sabal Trail -> FSC chain to the sea through Alabama and Georgia to LNG export from Florida.
Lynne Terry reported for Oregon Live 10 January 2014,
Safety switch triggers natural gas leak on Sauvie Island,
Williams spokesman Tom Droege said gas spewed into the air in a controlled manner for about 70 minutes. He said Williams personnel switched the gas flow to a secondary line. The station is now operating normally.
Gas service was not interrupted during the leak and no one was injured, Droege said.
The company apologized for inconvenience to residents. Households were evacuated and the bridge was closed in response to the leak.
Three months later, Continue reading PHMSA deputized Oregon PUC to investigate three-month Williams Co. methane leak
What is FERC required to do to justifiy a pipeline certificate
and eminent domain?
John Peconom of FERC told me that
federal eminent domain was justified by Florida needing the gas,
therefore it was for the good of the United States.
Peconom didn’t provide a reference, but FERC’s own documents say FERC is supposed to balance public benefits,
which means somebody has to demonstrate those public benefits.
Also, one-time payments to landowners may not be enough.
In FERC’s own Natural Gas Environmental Guidelines, GUIDANCE MANUAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT PREPARATION, Continue reading What is FERC required to do?