Proposal: Scrap the WNY Pipeline

National Fuel has put forth an amended proposal for its Northern Access 2016 Project, a rather innocent and misleading name – for its Pennsylvania to New York fracked gas pipeline. The proposal is at the FERC web-site and is Docket Number CP-15-115-001 (Amendment).

Let's start at the starting point – McKean County, Pennsylvania. The existing pipeline map from Pennsylvania shows that this ties into areas that use fracking for gas production. Science (real -not the fabrication conducted by the companies) shows that hydro-fracking is a dangerous method of producing gas. From the cancer causing chemicals injected into the wells, to the toxic brine that is extracted, the methane gas leaks (which are four times as dangerous for greenhouse gas warming – thank you Exxon Mobil for that leak), and the gas flares – which disrupt the night sky and add further chemical pollution to the atmosphere, everyone knows that this is the least intelligent way to produce energy. I forgot to throw into that already long list the fires that take specialized crews to put out and the earthquakes from when the broken shale settles. Yes, let's remember those earthquakes and that we are on a very dangerous earthquake fault. Go out to Clarence and look at the escarpment on Salt Road and on Goodrich road. That's how powerful they can be.

Next – the pipeline itself. It will be a 24 inch pipe. (Pull out a yardstick and mark off 2 feet.) No small line. Not reinforced. No protective hull around it. A pipeline of that size, if ruptured can leak hundreds of gallons of gas very quickly and easily. And given the recent history of pipeline ruptures in the United States and the industry's inability to detect the leak until too late, and it's inability to properly clean up it's mess, I have exactly no (that's zero, 0 for the mathematicians out there) confidence in National Fuel's ability to properly and safely monitor this pipeline for ruptures. And, given that is is fracked gas, exactly no confidence that they will be able to clean up the mess afterwards. I sincerely doubt that National Fuel is capable of cleaning all the fracking chemicals out of the gas before it is pumped into the pipeline.

There are sections of the pipeline that already exist that “don't need replacing.” Seriously? Old pipeline plus new pipeline? That is an accident waiting to happen. I'm going to skip commenting on this part.

There are plans to put a pressure reduction station in Elma for transitioning the pipeline to Pendleton. Elma is a more populated area. The dangers are greater. The reduction station would change the pipe from 24 inches to 16 inches. That's a 33% reduction in size. And this is going to be safer? The volume on the 24 inch line better be low. I've played with blowguns (and have friends that have hunted small game with them.) Reduction in pipe creates greater pressure and if something is off by even a small amount – you have a problem. In the case of fracked gas, a big problem.

At the compressor stations – If (actually when. We know an accident is going to happen) a fire starts, are the local fire companies going to be able to put the fire out? Or are they going to have to wait for specialized teams to come in to extinguish the blaze and clean up the mess because of the fracked gas? How do they plan to clean up the pollution in the air? Or the soot and residue that settles on peoples' houses? I haven't seen any plans on that. And I don't think that they want to talk about it.

National Fuel states that the purpose of this new line and transmission system is to bring safe and reliable energy to the Northeast US. Safe and reliable is home based solar cells, wind turbines, and (since we live near Lake Erie and have tidal flows) tidal energy using underwater turbines.

Home based solar can cut down on the use of dirty energy and, during power outages, provide a base amount of electricity for cooking, refrigerators, etc so that people can keep their food safe and cook. I've seen solar versions of baseboard heating – which is very efficient. Especially in cold weather.

Windmills are no longer those huge and ugly towers that stand in the “Steel Winds” projects. I've seen several small models that use horizontal cloth sails to run the turbine. These take up very little space and can generate electricity in wind as low as 2 mph.

Tidal energy has been used in Scandinavian countries for years now. They have underwater turbines that screen out fish (no harm to them) and generate electricity as long as the water is flowing. There are good underwater currents in Niagara Falls, the various local rivers, and in Lakes Erie and Ontario that we could use to generate electricity year round.

And we need this fracked gas pipeline because?

We don't.

Update – November 20, 2015

Part of the pipeline is going to be above ground. My my reading of the map, some of the potential areas are either in more populated areas or in areas where hunting is possible.

Is that pipeline going to be able to take a direct hit from a shotgun? Or from a 40 to 50 caliber weapon? I have a female student that is all excited because her father said she can apply for a black powder permit next year. (According to the gun club where she goes for training, she operates the weapon with great safety and is a good shot.) A 50 cal black powder rifle can take down a bear, moose, or elk with one round.

Is the area around the pipeline going to be appropriately marked so that hunters avoid shooting in the direction of the pipeline?

Are there going to be daily inspections of the line during the hunting seasons to make sure that it is operating properly?

The pipelines in Michigan and Arkansas that ruptured pumped out oil for hours before anyone knew that there was a problem. By that time, hundreds of gallons of toxic oil and chemicals had flooded into fresh water streams and into neighborhoods, spreading contaminants and damaging the environment.

What safety precautions is National Fuel going to take to protect their proposed pipeline?

If they follow the industry standard, not enough.