Watching An Environmental Disaster In The Making

The Rockies Express (REX) East pipeline right of way clearing has been going on for several weeks. The REX contractors took off for Christmas and left us with this mess which we discovered today, December 28, 2008. These photos were shot in western Franklin County (Indiana) less than a mile from my home. The location is just north of Snake Road, along a creek that is known to be prone to extreme flooding conditions. You can't see any of the 42" pipe yet, but the erosion is apparent. Note especially the "porta potty" sitting in the rain-made pool. Also, if you observe the pictures showing the ROW clearing coming down the hill (looking West), you can see the erosion ruts already. No effort to control the erosion appears in these pictures, such as straw on the hillside or effective barriers. So, as REX prepares to cut through the creek to lay their pipe, more damage will occur.

Due to the highly erodible, sandy nature of soil in this area of Indiana, the pipe will be subject to nature's ferocity when the normal Spring, Summer and Fall rainfalls swell the creeks and overflow the banks.

All of this information was provided to the FERC earlier, but it fell on deaf ears. REX's real problems will start after they bury their pipe. They have not studied the flooding history in this area, nor do they have any known plans to compensate for it. But, the gas will flow and they will make their money regardless!

REX equipment along ROW










The Creek Looking North









A Few Feet Farther North

Portable Potty in the Construction Area

FERC Filing

This should appear on the docket tomorrow. Thanks to Mike G for taking the pics. What a mess we have out here and in Franklin County. More later.

December 14, 2008

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington , DC 20426
Re: Docket CP07-208-000 Rockies Express, LLC---East

Dear Ms. Bose:

Now that FERC has allowed REX to construct their pipeline, and REX is actually speeding up and down our roads all day long, it would seem that you would want to keep track of how the project is going on the ground in Decatur and Franklin counties in Indiana. I received this email today from a citizen of Franklin County who is retired from the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. He knows the environmental consequences of the erosion taking place in our area due to REX’s land clearing efforts.

I am pasting his email here and attached some pictures he sent with it. These photos were taken from Wolf Creek Road, west of Fore’s Hill Road, and from Fore’s Hill Road itself, all in Franklin County. He asked me to inform the FERC what is happening out here, so I am accommodating him. I can say, our area of Decatur County looks much the same as these photos depict, but you should be able to get the drift of what is happening from his emails and photos.

“Here are some of the 15 photos I took earlier today (14, December, 2008) in Franklin County . The straw bales appear to be the only feeble attempt to do "something" about erosion. It didn't work. Notice that there are no silt fences protecting the creeks, no mulching whatsoever is present on these very steep slopes. This is a prime example of REX's lack of concern for the land, the waters, and natural resources in general. For the governmental entities to not demand Rex control erosion created by their actions is appalling. I am losing faith in "laws to protect us." What good are they if they won't be enforced. A person building a home on one acre of relatively flat land will be denied a building permit if they don't comply with the very laws Rex is ignoring. Rex can afford to install adequate erosion control measures. They should be fined heavily and daily, till such adequate erosion control measures are implemented. It can be easily proven on paper that excessive erosion will occur from these sites. NRCS offices in all counties can prove it. IDNR Division of Soil Conservation is also capable of producing these figures....It's time someone holds Rex accountable for their lack of action on this matter. Mike Gribben (Retired NRCS)”

I know FERC doesn’t care about this situation and you won’t do anything, but at least the record will show that you were advised what was going on. This is an environmental disaster in the making, as you have been told all along by the many landowners, stakeholders and elected representatives who have written to you over the last two and a half years. FERC still chose to allow the poorly designed route through our area and into Ohio , and now the onus is on you to justify your decisions.

Sedimentation Photos

I am passing this info along from Mike Hardamon in Johnson County so all affected landowners can be aware of the things he has learned about the REX pipeline process so far, and how to file a complaint with FERC. Note especially how you need to work with REX ahead of time to make sure you are not blocked from accessing your property by pipe that is welded but not yet buried. Our mess over here in eastern Decatur County is just about as bad, especially with the recent rain and snow melt.

Thanks to Mike for passing this along.

From: mike@med-care.com
Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 11:19 AM
Subject: Fw: Sedimentation photos

Joe,

I know you'll find it hard to believe but I had to file a complaint w/FERC due to:

1. Sedimentation reaching my pond and creek.

2. Once welded the pipeline will prevent me from accessing 1/2 of my property for a minimum of 3 weeks, possibly 3 months depending on when the pipe is buried.

Property owners need to be aware of this fact. REX will leave you an access which they will weld prior to burying the pipe so as to allow access across the easement but you need to ask ahead of time. If the agent (and watch out for Ron Mimna - his ethics would make an Illinois governor blush) gives any crap, call FERC at 888.889.8030 to lodge a complaint.

The link to the pictures follows.

Thanks

Mike

http://www1.snapfish.com/shareereg/p=572121229111000004/l=452195493/g=147587212/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/pns/share/p=572121229111000004/l=452195493/g=147587212/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

REX Sues Franklin County

You can read this article from the Indiana Law Blog. It speaks for itself. Maybe Franklin County will get to the Supreme Court yet! Here is the link and I am pasting the blog below. I must have missed the article in the Indy Star.
http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2008/12/ind_courts_even_18.html

It seems odd that REX recognized the State of Indiana as necessary to issue a permit. It follows, in my mind, that the State petitioning process through the Natural Resources Commission should also be a valid one in the eyes of REX. The fact that REX has filed the suit, must indicate that FERC isn't siding with REX on this. We will see. I believe the Indiana NRC Administrative Law Judge, Sandra Jensen, should have a ruling on the validity of the permit after the first of the year, so REX must not see it as breaking in their favor or they would not have taken this action.


Ind. Courts - Even more on Rockies Express Pipeline suing Indiana counties

Adding to the list of ILB entries on the Rockies Express Pipeline project making its way across our state, Jason Thomas of the Indianapolis Star reported yesterday:
A floodway in southeastern Indiana represents the latest obstacle for the builders of a multistate natural gas pipeline.

Lawyers for Rockies Express Pipeline LLC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday over access to the Whitewater River in Franklin County.

In January, the Department of Natural Resources granted the pipeline builders a certificate of approval to construct the 42-inch underground pipeline in the floodway.

Shortly thereafter, the Franklin County Drainage Board and several water utilities filed petitions with the Indiana Natural Resources Commission, requesting that the certificate of approval be overturned or reversed, according to the lawsuit.
In June, pipeline lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the commission's review of the certificate, stating that federal law pre-empted the commission's authority; the commission denied the motion in September.

The commission's denial of the pipeline's motion conflicts with the federal Natural Gas Act, according to the lawsuit.

The pipeline will suffer irreparable harm if the commission is not kept from reviewing the Department of Natural Resources' certificate, the lawsuit states.
Damage would include construction delays and contractual liabilities to contractors and equipment suppliers.

The pipeline firm is seeking an order declaring that the commission does not have authority to review the certificate and a temporary order restraining the commission from conducting an administrative review of the certificate.

The lawsuit also is seeking attorney fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit. Rockies Express has been awarded federal approval to build the final portion of a 1,600-mile pipeline from Colorado to Ohio.

The final leg, called Rockies Express-East, will run through nine Indiana counties as it stretches from Missouri to Ohio.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 13, 2008 08:59 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts

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.

AP Article: Pipelines race out of the mountains, into yards

This AP article appeared in the Gainesville (FL) Sun newspaper. I thought it was of general interest. It mentions the John Rowe's horse farm near Dayton. Here is the link and I pasted the article below:
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081128/NEWS/811280247/&template=printpicart

Pipelines race out of the mountains; into yards
The Associated Press
Published: Friday, November 28, 2008 at 5:23 p.m.

Hannah and her father Scott McClelland stand on the top of a proposed site for a 42-inch natural gas pipeline grid across their family farm Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 in Somerset, Ohio.

DENVER -- In the push toward more energy independence, massive infrastructure projects that will help to deliver it have clashed with cherished rights of land ownership.

Proven natural gas reserves have jumped 10 of the past 11 years, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, and thousands of miles of new pipelines have snaked in every direction.

In just the past 10 years alone, more than 20,000 miles of new natural gas pipelines have been built and brought on line. Those pipelines can carry more than 97 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day.

The owners of property over which new pipelines are planned are concerned about leaks into water and soil, land damaged by construction, land lost to a right of way and, in some cases, even loss of livelihood.

Those concerns range from a Midwestern horse farm which stands to lose grazing land, to Betty Wahle's family vineyard in Yamhill, Ore.

Her land is actually ground zero for not one, but two pipelines. The developers would dig up chunks of rich dirt and some vines that have been nurtured for more than three decades, she said.

Those vines, said Wahle, 68, would not be restored to their current state in her lifetime.

"It's just going to be devastating," she said.

The bulk of the new natural gas supply is in the energy-rich Rockies and Texas. Producers are sinking traditional oil and gas wells and drilling into coal-bed methane reserves in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. In Texas, it's the Barnett Shale, a 6,000-square-mile bedrock region of natural gas, and the Bossier Sands tight-gas formation.

Between 1998 and 2006, natural gas production in these two regions jumped 96 percent and proved natural gas reserves climbed 127 percent, government statistics show.

There are currently about 288,000 miles of gas pipelines with a capacity of 187 billion cubic feed per day.

From 2008 to 2010, about 200 projects have been proposed to add 10,100 more miles, according to the Energy Information Administration.

If all are finished, the nation's natural gas capacity will jump by more than 38 percent, the EIA said, at an overall cost of about $28 billion.

But the massive expansion comes as energy use is decreasing, which could lead to its own bust and boom cycle on prices, said E. Russell Braziel, managing director of Bentek Energy, an energy markets information company based.

"With additional infrastructure construction being completed and new projects coming online over the next few years, we expect to see significant volatility in regional price differentials for a while to come," he wrote.

The behemoth of the new pipelines is the $4 billion Rockies Express, a joint venture by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a unit of Sempra Energy and ConocoPhillips. Construction of the 1,679-mile, 42-inch pipeline began two years ago about 160 miles northwest of Denver.

Buried under 3 to 5 feet of earth, the Rockies Express is expected to reach Clarion County, Ohio, by next summer.

The pipeline will have the capacity to move 1.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, and will send it to markets east of the Mississippi River.

When the massive construction project worked its way through rural, sparsely populated areas there was little protest. That has changed as it approaches more urban areas in the Midwest.

Near Lancaster, Ohio, Scott McClelland said the Rockies Express will restrict access to cattle and put a kink his children's plans to buy nearby property for another farm.

"It'll never be the same I guarantee you," he said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the plans, leaving McClelland resigned to the development.

"What am I going to do? I can't sit out there and fight; I've got to make a living," McClelland said.

Natural gas in the United States is plentiful, and so are its backers. They say natural gas will serve as a bridge until renewable energy technology can be developed more.

But as natural gas is shipped from West to East, the pipelines intersect with plans that people have made for their own livelihoods.

The Rockies Express will also likely cross farm where University of Dayton biology professor John Rowe and his wife, Robbie, planned to raise race horses.

The couple settled with developers on the advice of their attorney, but say it will take up to five years to rebuild pastures to grazing quality.

Rockies Express spokesman Allen Fore said they have worked with federal and state officials throughout the process and accommodated requests where they could. He said the natural gas is pressurized so it won't leak into the ground and if there is some type of impact, the pipeline shuts down automatically.

"We have made literally hundreds of adjustments, minor adjustments, to deal with landowner concerns," he said. "Most folks believe we give them a fair price. They understand the significance of this project."

Some of the projects, while less likely to play a role in someone's livelihood, can change the landscape for others.

Owners of summer homes in the Scare Canyon Ranch area are worried by El Paso Corp.'s proposed Ruby Pipeline in northeastern Utah, which would require a 150-foot wide swath of trees be cut down during construction.

Ray Gibbons, head of the canyon ranch homeowners association also said there are 22 underground springs that the association owns, which he said may be threatened by the 42-inch pipe.

"They've been pretty decent about trying to work with us but if they get FERC backing, then there will be no stopping it," he said.

On a steep hillside in northwest Oregon, the Wahle family planted their first vines in the 1970s on a 100-acre plot.

Developers have proposed routes across the property for the 220-mile, 36-inch pipeline which would connect TransCanada's system in central Oregon with NW Natural's distribution system. It is pending federal authorization.

Oregon Pipeline Co., which said it always tries to work closely with landowners, has proposed a 117-mile pipeline that also could cross the vineyard.

"They won't allow us to replant vines above the pipelines," she said. "There's very little that you could actually do with this piece of property."

Cost Overrun on REX West

REX filed with FERC today a document detailing their actual costs on REX West versus their original budget estimates. In this case, they were only over 20%, or $324,000,000. REX West was a piece of cake compared to what they have encountered on REX East, as we told FERC from the very beginning. In any case, REX/Kinder Morgan was plenty inept, even though they were collocating with other existing pipelines much of the way. At least their ROW/Damage costs were more in line. I find it interesting that their material cost was actually less than budget while it was over budget in REX East. Labor was their biggest budget buster, for some strange reason. It would seem that would be one of the easier costs to forecast. Seems kind of strange that labor was over-budget by almost $400,000,000, or almost 95%!

Here is the link to the FERC docket posting and I pasted the comparison chart below:

On 11/18/2008, the following Filing was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C.:

Filer: Rockies Express Pipeline LLC
No Organization Found (as Agent)
Docket(s): CP06-354-000
CP06-354-001
Filing Type: Supplemental/Additional Information
Description: Rockies Express Pipeline LLC, Statement of Actual Costs of Facilities Constructed, REX-West Project under CP06-354-000, et. al..

To view the document for this Filing, click here
http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20081118-5016

Gas Pipeline Sabotage in Canada

I have been following the press reports from Canada, in northeast British Columbia, about two gas pipeline explosions up there that have been attributed to sabotage. While the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) do not know who is behind the explosions, they are leaning towards someone with environmental concerns. Also, since the blasts have not caused significant damage, some industry people speculate they are more warnings than truly trying to cause a rupture which would be devastating. Since this is "sour" natural gas, an explosion can release a cloud of toxic gas (Hydrogen Sulfide) when it breaches containment, unlike the natural gas we will have in the REX pipeline. Thank God for small favors! But, if a nut case decides to do something like that around the high pressure REX line, the area within 2,400 to 3,000 square foot diameter (called the "thermal blast zone") would be burned by the intense heat it would generate. It would not be a pretty sight. As we all know, there will be no security along the pipeline, so it is an easy target and everyone must always be vigilant, for their own good.
Here is a link to one recent story and I pasted it below:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081019/pipeline_explosion_081019/20081019?hub=TopStories

Gas pipelines vulnerable to terrorism: expert
Updated Sun. Oct. 19 2008 10:39 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

Two recent gas pipeline bombings in B.C. demonstrate how vulnerable Canada's energy installations are to a terror attack, a security expert says.

Explosions have damaged two EnCana pipelines over the past week, and the RCMP's anti-terror unit is investigating.

"I think that the alarm bells are going off and that is indicated by the fact that the RCMP are bringing in the people who deal with terrorism to look at this," Mercedes Stephenson, a military analyst, told CTV Newsnet Sunday.

She said that there are 2,000 wells around Calgary and most of them are unmonitored, and a easy target.

Stephenson said that the cost of protecting the pipelines would be immense and that gas companies would have feel terrorism was a significant possibility before investing in pipeline security.

"To justify that kind of cost-benefit analysis they're going to have to believe the threat is very real and long-term," she said.

Stephenson said one of the reasons there hasn't been much security invested into gas pipelines is because it's not "mass casualty terrorism."

"You don't blow up part of a pipeline and kill lots of people . . . you disrupt the economy," she said.

She said that Alberta supplies more than 90 per cent of California's natural gas supply.
"You are not disrupting just Canada but you are disrupting Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego."

Stephenson said the Alberta government could put money towards the pipelines' protection but that EnCana is ultimately the one that needs to put resources in.

"It's in everyone interests to keep our economy strong, especially in this economic downturn," she said.

The investigation

Sgt. Tim Shields said the investigation has focused on the area near the second blast, located east of Dawson Creek, near the Alberta border.

The force's explosives unit, national terrorism team and local search crews, are conducting a grid search of the area.

"We've seized a number of exhibits and it's just too early to tell if any of them will lead to something that might lead to a break in the case," Shields told The Canadian Press Sunday.
"We have to seize and analyze every piece of evidence no matter how small or insignificant it looks."

Investigators said they are interested in a truck that was spotted leaving the scene of the explosion at 6 a.m. Thursday,

There have been conflicting descriptions of the truck, Shields said.

"The explosion likely happened a number of hours before (the truck was spotted)," he said. "The description of the truck is somewhat vague ... but we're just trying to firm up exactly what type of truck that might have been before we go any further with it."

The two blasts - one last weekend and one on Wednesday - were followed by a threatening letter sent to the local media.

REX Photo Gallery from Indianapolis Star

Some of you may find this series of photos interesting. It was on line at Indy Star today. No report, just pictures around the Bainbridge Compressor Station.

http://www2.indystar.com/autofocus/galleries/show/3957/1

Promises Promises

Since everyone is ready to be graced with the presence of Rockies Express, LLC, you will probably be interested in how well they did a portion of their work in Nebraska on REX West. This link is to a TV report from station KHAS in Hastings, NE. Be sure to play the video to see how well the "restored" and cleaned up on Mr. Sack's property. Lessons to be learned to apply here! http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=14591&storytopic=4


Blue Hill man not satisified with promises made to restore his land

(9/21/08) By Adam Lefkoe - The Rockies Express Pipeline West carries natural gas from Missouri to Colorado.

Everything seems to be fine underground but an area resident is upset with what is happening above it.

42 inch pipes, running right through Robert Sack's property.

“We are basically sitting on top of their pipe,” said Robert Sack of Blue Hill.

He says the pipe is not the problem; it is above ground that concerns him.

“That is not grass. They just basically pushed dirt in a hole and ran over it once with a bulldozer and said they were all done,” said Sack.

The project has been complete for almost a year. Before construction, Sack said the company that built the pipeline made promises to restore his land.

All Sack has seen is enormous weeds and severe erosion.

“And it is just about to my knees.

“They did not do anything correct. Makes you wonder if they are ever going to get it back to where it belongs,” said Sack.

Sack has kept every payment since construction began...

“That brings it close to $7,000 for just the fencing,” he said.

He said the company did pay to restore his land; it was just done poorly.

“I would like to see them do exactly what they promised,” said Sack.

He says ruined soil and cheap fences were not a part of that pledge.

“It is rotten,” he said.

Sack has had his land surveyed by numerous agencies. Soil issues alone would cost more him than $200,000.

“It is kind of heartbreaking because I spent my whole life here,” said Sack.

Sack has a meeting with pipeline officials next week. He hopes they will understand his problems and give him some honest answers.