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

US Forest Service to clear way for pipeline

Ms. Harwood brings up a valid point, "Why should we allow an energy company special treatment?" The unfortunate answer is that the federal government passed a law called the Natural Gas Act of 1938 that gives companies who transport natural gas special legal status, including the right to use Eminent Domain, to acquire the rights of way to build their pipelines. This power does not extend even to oil transportation companies, only those transporting natural gas. So, if the Oregonians try to fight this on the basis that a private company should not be allowed to run a pipeline through government property, they will run afoul of a body of well established law that states they have the right to do it. Their only hope is to raise political awareness NOW before the Palomar proponents submit a pre-application to FERC for a preliminary determination of the environmental acceptability of the general path of the pipeline. If it gets to the pre-filing stage at FERC, the battle will more than likely be lost! I cannot emphasize this too much, FERC is tasked with paving the way for, not stopping, natural gas pipeline projects. If FERC does there approval, the U.S. Forest Service will fall into line.
The new administration in Washington, and most environmental groups, think a natural gas pipeline is a better alternative than coal or oil sources of supply, so they will not oppose it.
Palomar needs to know now that the the Oregon federal congress members, House and Senate, oppose the path through Mount Hood. A pipeline right of way 47 miles long, and 120 feet wide, means a huge swath of forest will be decimated. The permanent easement will probably be 50 feet wide, but all old growth trees will be gone, 70 feet will be replanted, and 50 feet will be barren forever! Build the coalition now or all will be lost!

12/25/2008, 3:09 p.m. PST
The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service plans to alter its environmental standards to allow a proposed $800 million natural gas pipeline to run through 47 miles of Mount Hood National Forest.

The proposed Palomar pipeline would require opening a path measuring 120 feet wide. The path would stretch through forest areas that have been protected from clear-cutting and other disturbances under the department's management plans.
The Forest Service would also have to revise other rules, such as limiting cutting around Wild and Scenic Clackamas River, spotted owl habitats and recreational areas.

The pipeline is a joint venture of Northwest Natural Gas Co. and TransCanada Corp. Construction is scheduled to start in November 2011.
If approved, it will feed into a natural gas network east of the Cascades and extend across 217 miles.

Supporters of the project say it would provide a much-needed alternative to a natural gas pipeline running through the Columbia River Gorge and into the Willamette Valley.

Natural gas is a resource that could ease potential petroleum shortages and provide an alternative to coal, which generates about 40 percent of the electricity used in Oregon, Palomar spokesman David Dodson said.

"We support renewable energy, but natural gas will have to be part of the mix," Dodson said.

Opponents of the project argue portions of the forest would be lost, and if a pipeline should be built at all, it should be closer aligned with existing roads.
"If this was a timber sale, it would be illegal," said Amy Harwood, program director for conservation group Bark, which advocates preserving forests surrounding Mount Hood. "Why should we allow an energy company special treatment?"

Once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has authority over the project, decides whether to allow the project to proceed, the Forest Service will begin deciding the specific changes it will make to its management plans.

FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen said the agency approves most pipeline proposals, and tends to focus on requirements companies must meet to mitigate environmental damage. The agency will likely evaluate the project within the next 12 months.
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On the Net: http://www.ferc.gov
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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."