Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Williams Atlantic Sunrise to feed fracked methane to Sabal Trail: Videos of Scoping Meetings

August 18, 2014Economy, FERC, Fracking, Law, LNG, PennsylvaniaAtlantic Sunrise, Economy, FERC, FPL, Fracking, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, methane, NextEra Energy, Pennsylvania, PF14-6, PF14-8, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

FERC’s scoping meetings seem just as much a farce at the other end of Williams’ Transco pipeline from the Hillabee Expansion (PF14-6) that would feed Spectra’s Sabal Trail (PF14-1), Williams is pushing its Atlantic Sunrise Project (PF14-8) to suck up more Marcellus Shale fracked methane from Pennsylvania and ship it down here to Alabama, Georgia, and Florida and out through LNG export. Activists up there videoed several Pennsylvania Scoping Meetings, so you can see the show for yourself.

Don’t believe me that Atlantic Sunrise is to feed Sabal Trail; believe Housley Carr in Oil & Gas Financial Journal 17 january 1014, MIAMI 2017 – MARCELLUS GAS HEADING TO FLORIDA, Continue reading Williams Atlantic Sunrise to feed fracked methane to Sabal Trail: Videos of Scoping Meetings →

Arrests at anti-fracking FERC sit-in protest

July 20, 2014FERC, Law, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginiaarrest, ccan, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cove Point, DC, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Politics, protest, Sane Energy Project, sit-in, SpectraBusters, VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

225 years after the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, an activist dressed as the Statue of Liberty, a French gift to the United States, was one of 24 arrested in front of FERC, protesting fracking, pipelines, and LNG export.

Brandon Baker wrote for EcoWatch 14 July 2014, 24 Anti-Fracking Activists Arrested in Washington at First-Ever FERC Sit-In Protest,

Twenty-four anti-fracking activists were arrested Monday morning in Washington D.C. in protest of proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in the U.S., according to environmental groups tweeting from the scene.

The protest centered on Cove Point, an export terminal that Continue reading Arrests at anti-fracking FERC sit-in protest →

March on FERC against Cove Point LNG exports 2014-07-13

July 20, 2014FERC, Law, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginiaccan, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cove Point, DC, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sane Energy Project, SpectraBusters, VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

Opposition to fracking, pipelines, and LNG export is nationwide and growing. One week ago, activists from Maryland, DC, and Virginia marched on Washington to demand an end to plans for exporting fracked methane from Maryland.

Mike Tidwell wrote for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (ccan) 15 July 2014, ALL ABOUT UNITY: THANK YOU AND ONWARD FROM THE STOP GAS EXPORTS RALLY,

Wow. On Sunday, the heat scorching the streets of DC was palpable. But, even more so, was the passion and power of our movement. THANKS to everyone who turned out to say NO to fracking, NO to gas exports at Cove Point, NO to runaway climate change, and YES to real clean energy solutions.

Click here to check out all the photos on Facebook, and share them to spread the word!

We know the gas industry is all about division — blasting apart the rock beneath our earth, running pipelines through our towns, and further disrupting our fragile climate — now to ship the gas overseas for higher profit.
Continue reading March on FERC against Cove Point LNG exports 2014-07-13 →

Pipeline EIA insufficient without interstate highway option –EPA

June 16, 2014Constitution Pipeline, EPA, FE, FERC, Hazards, Law, New York, PennsylvaniaConstitution Pipeline, EPA, FERC, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Judy-Ann Mitchell, New York, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

If FERC needs to consider an interstate highway route for the Constitution Pipeline through Pennsylvania and New York State, it also needs to consider running down I-75 through Georgia and Florida for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline. Just as numerous state and federal agencies insisted on that in New York and Pennsylvania, state agencies in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida and the same federal agencies can insist on the same for the Transco -> Sabal Trail -> FSC 100-foot-wide gash to the sea.

Joe Mahoney wrote for The Daily Star 17 April 2014, EPA deems pipeline study ‘insufficient’,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that a draft report on the environmental impacts of the proposed Constitution Pipeline is “insufficient,” and that a potential option of co-locating the transmission line along Interstate 88 “has Continue reading Pipeline EIA insufficient without interstate highway option –EPA →

FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects

June 7, 2014Alabama, Environment, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Law, LNG, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, SolarAlabama, court, cumulative, Delaware Riverkeeper, environment, FERC, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, Fracking, Georgia, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Sierra Club, solar, SONAT, Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

Would this U.S. Court of Appeals ruling mean FERC needs to consider the cumulative effects of the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline on the same properties as the existing SONAT pipeline? And what about those LNG export authorizations FERC has repeatedly claimed it knows nothing about? And how can FERC justify that project at all, given that solar power is faster, cheaper, and far less environmentally damaging?

Katie Colaneri wrote for NPR 6 June 2014, Court rules federal regulators must consider cumulative impacts of pipeline project,

Regulators violated federal law by not considering the cumulative environmental impacts of multiple upgrades to a natural gas pipeline that runs from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, a federal appeals court said on Friday.

Three environmental groups argued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have been allowed to conduct an environmental review for one expansion project on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline without considering three other proposed upgrades on the same line.

The U.S. Court of Appeals agreed.

The judges ruled that FERC failed “to include any meaningful analysis of the cumulative impacts of the upgrade projects.” The judges also found Continue reading FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects →

Explain why the gas is needed –EPA to FERC

April 23, 2014Environment, FERC, Florida, Law, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Watercaves, Clean Air Act, CO2, environment, EPA, export, FERC, FGT, Florida, Florida Gas Transmission, Gulf of Mexico, Gulfstream, John S. Quarterman, karst, landfill, Law, limestone, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Port Dolphin, SpectraBusters, swamp, Tennessee, Texas, Transco, Water, wetlands, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

EPA isn’t buying FPL’s need for new power in Florida,

or that methane is better than many alternatives (including that renewable energy sources should be considered together, not separately), or that a pipeline is the best way to get gas (specifically suggesting Port Dolphin instead), or that any of the proposed routes are appropriate, not to mention catching inconsistent numbers of compressor stations and asking to see any non-FPL customers. And EPA asked for GIS data, as well as further information on water withdrawals and water re-emitted into the environment. My favorite is this one:

EPA recommends FERC provide in the EIS readable and comprehensible maps and figures, and clearly describe all potential impacts with the proposed action upon children’s health. For example, maps of schools, day-care facilities, multifamily housing, and hospitals should have different legend colors and be created at scales providing appropriate information, i.e., proximity of sensitive receptors to the navigation and transportation corridors.

FERC shows EPA’s comments as filed 23 April 2014, although they are dated two days earlier. -jsq

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Continue reading Explain why the gas is needed –EPA to FERC →

Spectra fined $18.6 million + $200 million cleanup for PCBs by Pennsylvania in 1991

April 21, 2014Corrosion, Economy, Environment, Fracking, Health, Law, Leak, Pennsylvania, Safety10-K, cancer, contamination, corrosion, Economy, environment, EPA, fine, Fracking, Health, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, Marcellus Shale, PCB, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, SEC, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Texas Eastern Pipeline, toxicJohn S. Quarterman

That 1989 $15 million fine against Spectra for leaking PCBs at 89 pipeline locations was a record for EPA at that time, but Pennsylvania topped it a few years later.

Russell E. Eshleman Jr. wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer 15 May 1991, Pipeline Firm To Pay $218.6 Million For Pcb Contamination Across Pa.,

Texas Eastern Pipeline Corp. has agreed to pay Pennsylvania $18.6 million in penalties and $200 million in cleanup costs for dumping PCBs at 19 sites across the state, the Casey administration announced yesterday….

Remember, Texas Eastern is part of Spectra Energy now.

Penn. had asked for even more than it got, so it got enough: Continue reading Spectra fined $18.6 million + $200 million cleanup for PCBs by Pennsylvania in 1991 →

Small town denies request to build a methane compressor station

February 25, 2014PennsylvaniaArmstrong County, compressor, John S. Quarterman, Pennsylvania, South Buffalo, SpectraBusters, XTO, zoningJohn S. Quarterman

A town of less than 3,000 people has done what larger local governments could also do: it used zoning to deny a methane gas pipeline facility.

Jodi Weigand wrote for triblive.com today, South Buffalo denies XTO Energy request to build natural gas compressor station

South Buffalo Supervisors on Monday denied XTO Energy’s request to build a natural gas compressor station on the McIntyre Farm near Ford City Road and Grandview Drive.

The vote was met with applause and a chorus of thank yous from many of the 60 residents in attendance. Most of them spoke in opposition to the gas processing station being located so close to their homes in an area zoned residential.

“We’re very happy; they did the right thing,” said Craig Chodkowski, whose Ford City Road home is less than 500 feet from XTO’s chosen site.

He and other residents were concerned about noise and pollution from the facility, which was proposed to have four engines used to run the compressors located inside a building designed to muffle sound.

XTO officials could not answer Chodkowski’s most pressing question about a blast radius if something should go wrong.

That last part sounds familiar. In Searsmont, Maine, they didn’t stop a compressor station, and now they’re sorry.

This Pennsylvania town isn’t scared of a lawsuit, either: Continue reading Small town denies request to build a methane compressor station →

Fracking unsafe in at least four states

January 29, 2014Fracking, Hazards, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginiadrilling, Fracking, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Ohio, Pennsylvania, SpectraBusters, Texas, transparency, wells, West VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

If it’s so safe, why is it so hard to find out how safe it is? And why did injecting toxic chemicals into ground water ever get approved? Since methane leaks out of pipelines and compressor stations, as well as wells, it’s time to stop fracking and pipelines and get on with solar and wind power.

Kevin Begos wrote for AP 5:20 p.m. EST January 5, 2014, 4 states confirm water pollution from drilling

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In at least four states that have nurtured the nation’s energy boom, hundreds of complaints have been made about well-water contamination from oil or gas drilling, and pollution was confirmed in a number of them, according to a review that casts doubt on industry suggestions that such problems rarely happen.

The Associated Press requested data on drilling-related complaints in Continue reading Fracking unsafe in at least four states →

Local governments can restrict pipelines –Penn. Supreme Court

December 29, 2013Alabama, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Law, Lowndes County, PennsylvaniaAlabama, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, Fracking, Georgia, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, Lowndes County, Marcellus Shale, Pennsylvania, pipeline, Sabal Trail Transmission, SpectraBusters, TranscoJohn S. Quarterman

Alabama, Georgia, and Florida probably don’t even have a restrictive law like the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just struck down, so local governments in the states along the proposed Sabal Trail, Florida Southeast Connection, and Transco Hillabee Expansion Project pipelines apparently can pass restrictions on pipelines. As can state legislatures.

Mark Scolforo and Marc Levy wrote for Associated Press 20 December 2013, Pa. Gas Drilling Decision Leaves Future Uncertain,

The energy industry and policy makers in Pennsylvania, the heart of the nation’s gas drilling boom, are thinking about their next moves after the state’s highest court threw out significant portions of a law that limited the power of cities and counties to regulate the industry.

The state Supreme Court voted 4-2 on Thursday to strike down portions of a 2012 law that had been crafted by Gov. Tom Corbett and his industry-friendly allies in the Legislature.

The article talks about corporate “need”: Continue reading Local governments can restrict pipelines –Penn. Supreme Court →