Pipeline Delayed - Not Denied

The Sunday April 3, 2016 Buffalo News reports that National Fuel is delaying the start of the construction of its “Northern Access 2016” pipeline for one year.

This is not a victory (the pipeline not being built at all) it is merely a delay in the projected starting time of the project.

The purpose of the “Northern Access 2016” pipeline is to send fracked gas from the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale region to Canada. There is a glut in the US market (with the resulting low prices) so National Fuel and the Pennsylvania frackers need to get their poisonous product to a market where they can make money.

That market is Canada.

The hang-ups in the project are in Wheatfield and Pendleton.

In Pendleton National Fuel (or Fool) needs to install two compressors (totaling 22,000 horsepower) to help pump the gas up to Canada. The citizens of the community don't want the constant noise that those compressors would make or the fire risk that the compressors and fracked gas have. A fracked gas fire is more dangerous than a regular gas fire because of the additional toxic chemicals used. The local fire fighters aren't trained in fighting these fires and they lack the equipment.

In Wheatfield National Fuel wants to install an evaporator that would remove water from the fracked gas. Canada's standards allows for less water in gas than the US. To bring the gas up to Canadian standards the water has to be removed. The citizens of Wheatfield are concerned about the water, the toxic chemicals that would also be removed, and the explosion/fire risk that the evaporator would have.

Given all the fire and explosion risks, who is going to pay to have all the needed equipment housed in strategic locations and who is going to pay for the firefighters? The fore risk is not like a house fire – it's worse than a gas station or as bad as a chemical plant fire. My friend that is a firefighter says that the training for chemical fires is different and more intensive than fighting a house fire and with much greater risks to the firefighters and the surrounding community.

So the project is delayed and National Fuel is adamant on making that point.

We, the people that have to live with this health and safety hazard need to be adamant in our point: Not In Our Back Yards.

No to the pipeline and to the safety hazards.

National Fuel should spend the money that it plans to waste on this useless pipeline and environmental hazard in solar and wind energy projects.