Letter to FERC about REX Worker's Meth Lab

Here is my latest letter to Cong. Pence and copied to FERC. You may have seen the Greensburg Daily News article already.


December 7, 2008

Representative Mike Pence
1134 Meridian Plaza
Anderson , IN 46204

Re: Rockies Express, LLC Abuse

Dear Congressman Pence:

In our meeting in Greensburg in the fall of 2006, we discussed the Rockies Express, LLC (REX) natural gas pipeline. In that meeting you stated this project must proceed according to the rule of law, which we citizens have done. However, once again REX is in violation of our local laws. This time it appears one of their contract welders had a meth lab in his local hotel room. I am attaching a copy of the article that appeared in the Greensburg Daily News on Friday, December 5, 2008 for your review, and available at this link: http://www.greensburgdailynews.com/archivesearch/local_story_339192448.html

Since the REX East project was announced to landowners and stakeholders in the summer of 2006, REX has violated local laws/ordinances on several occasions, beginning with illegal trespassing on private land and damaging property in the process. Their contract employee, John Taylor, was finally sentenced in Franklin County ( Indiana ) earlier this year, pleading guilty to both offenses.

Then, Decatur County officials found REX contractors offloading and storing gas pipe in the northern part of our county late last year. The local county road official was out looking for a Christmas tree when he discovered what was going on. The county had to fine the landowner for a period of time for not getting zoning approval for this use of his farm land. After several weeks, REX complied.

Now, we have the most egregious offense to date (at least, that we know of) of allowing a drug user to be a welder on the REX pipeline in violation of United States government law. I am printing here for you an excerpt from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) website:

Drug & Alcohol Regulations
49 CFR Part 199 (PHMSA drug and alcohol testing regulation) and 49 CFR Part 40 (DOT drug and alcohol testing regulation) require operators to conduct drug and alcohol testing of covered employees who perform operation, maintenance, or emergency-response functions regulated by 49 CFR Parts 192, 193, or 195.

And further:
Drug tests required.
§ 199.105 Each operator shall conduct the following drug tests for the presence of a prohibited drug:(a) Pre-employment testing. No operator may hire or contract for the use of any person as an employee unless that person passes a drug test or is covered by an anti-drug program that conforms to the requirements of this part.

In the past, REX has always used the argument that the problem is with their contractors, not Rockies Express. I feel any company that cannot control their sub-contractors, especially welders on the largest natural gas pipeline ever built in the U.S., should be called to account for this. How many other welders and employees are working here in Indiana and elsewhere who have not been tested, or a least monitored for their drug use? I know PHMSA has responsibility for pipeline safety and they will be inspecting the work, but that begs the question. On REX West, PHMSA had to require REX to dig up significant portions of the installed pipe to check for quality of welds. According to credible news accounts, the contractor even threatened inspectors and dumped anchors they were supposed to use to secure the pipe in water body crossings. FERC gives the pipeline operators a lot of leeway regarding compliance with environmental requirements. PHMSA may also do this. In the case of REX, this has not been a good idea and can potentially harm the citizens and environment of Indiana , worse than they already have. We deserve better than this from our government.

I would ask that you contact FERC and PHMSA and have them require REX to submit their pre-employment drug testing records, and have them certify to you how they conduct on-going drug screening, so we can be sure our communities will not be infested with more meth labs from their wayward contract employees. If this requires putting a hold on their current activities, I think it is the least they should be willing to do for the privilege they receive from our federal government.