Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
New York State Governor
The Capitol
Albany, NY

Greetings:

We, the undersigned, write to request that you deny all pending applications for Water Quality Certification regarding natural gas, crude oil and petroleum product infrastructure projects in New York due to the state's well-documented inability to fulfill the requirements of Section 401 of the U. S. Clean Water Act.

You have a clear duty to deny these Water Quality Certification Applications because according to your Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC):

"In accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, applicants for a Federal license or permit for activities (including but not limited to the construction or operation of facilities that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States) are required to apply for and obtain a Water Quality Certification from DEC indicating that the proposed activity will not violate water quality standards (emphasis added)."

DEC is also required to enforce "Required General Conditions" for "Non-contamination of Waters" for projects involving Section 401 Water Quality certifications:

"All necessary precautions shall be taken to preclude contamination of any wetland or waterway (emphasis added) by suspended solids, resins, sediments, fuels, solvents, lubricants, epoxy coatings, paints, concrete, leachate or any other environmentally deleterious materials associated with the project."

Please see below a total of 114 spill profiles which document that natural gas, crude oil and petroleum product infrastructure projects all over New York have resulted in major explosions, fires, leaks, accidents, spills and toxic discharges which caused extensive water pollution hazards.

These examples document that DEC obviously cannot fulfill its Section 401 obligations. See below and: Natural Gas, Crude Oil and Petroleum Product Pipeline Fires, Explosions, Accidents, Ruptures and Spills

GAS PIPELINE EXPLOSION PARKER SCHOOLHOUSE RD HARPERSFIELD, NY Spill Number: 0311969. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

01/25/2004. "Some form of failure in the pipeline that caused a release of propane − the propane did ignite."

"CAUSE TO BE DETERMINED BUT SEEMS TO BE EQPT FAILURE AT SHUTOFF VALVE. ESTIMATE ~357,000 G GAS RELEASED. BURN TIME ~18 HRS. ONE HOME LEVELED ~100 YDS AWAY."

NATIONAL FUEL GAS Spill Number: 9407666 CENTERLINE ROAD AURORA, NY.

09/07/1994. "GAS PIPELINE EXPLOSION."

NATIONAL FUEL GAS SUPPLY CORP Eden, NY 20090141

12/21/2009 "THERE WAS A NATURAL GAS INCIDENT IN THE VICINITY OF 9999 NEW OREGON RD. IN NORTH COLLINS, ERIE COUNTY, NY. DISPATCHER DETERMINED FROM SCADA AND OTHER PHONE CONTACTS, THAT LINE KNY WAS EXPERIENCING GAS LOSS."

"IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A RUPTURE HAD OCCURRED ON LINE KNY APPROXIMATELY 641’ SOUTH OF LOWER KNOLL RD, AND NORTH OF NEW OREGON RD."

"THERE WAS SOME PROPERTY DAMAGE AT 9999 NEW OREGON RD."

ENTERPRISE PIPELINE KEYSER KILL @ FLAT CREEK KEYSER KILL RD @ FLAT CREEK RD GILBOA, NY Spill Number: 1005911 Meets Clean up Standards: No

08/27/2010. "PROPANE LEAK FROM PIPE, TOWN OF GILBOA"
PROPANE GAS 137886 GALLONS

"8/30/10−about 100 homes evacuated."

CORNING NATURAL GAS PIPELINE Spill Number: 0912284 ACROSS FROM 2177 BAILEY CREEK ROAD CORNING, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No

02/22/2010. "CALLER REPORTS GAS LEAK FROM MAIN SUPPLY LINE. GAS IS BUBBLING THROUGH A BEAVER DAM POOL."

TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE RT 20 Spill Number: 9313704 RT 20 (2840?) STA. #249 CARLISLE, NY

02/22/1994.

"03/10/1994 EQUIPMENT FAILURE ETHYLENE GLYCOL HAZARDOUS MATERIAL 1000 GALLONS

"RELEASE VALVE LET GO"

MILLENNIUM PIPELINE Spill Number: 0802580 ST RT 96 CANDOR, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

"06/06/2008. FOUND CONTAMINATED SOIL , COULD BE FROM OLDER PIPELINES, IN A WETLAND AREA,"

"AGES completed a groundwater investigation and found weathered petroleum and low level groundwater contamination from the former Rockefeller crude oil transmission line installed in the 1920’s."

RAVENSWOOD GENERATING STATION Spill Number: 0912294 38−54 VERNON BLVD LONG ISLAND CITY, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

02/24/2010. Material Spilled: Kerosene.

"Originally thought to be a 'contained leak' of 250 gal into an outdoor containment moat mixed with water."

"2/26/2010 − Sangesland spoke to rep from TransCanada Ravenswood. They now believe there was a massive leak from an underground pipe. Approx 24,000 gallons of kerosene is "unaccounted for" and is assumed to be under the plant. Kerosene has shown up in a manhole in a nearby service road."

"9/9/13 − Raphael Ketani. The spill case was reassigned to me today.

The spill happened on 2/24/10 as a result of a hole in a kerosene supply line. About 25,000 gals. were lost under the plant. A Stipulation Agreement was executed on 5/9/11 for cleaning up the site. Drilling took place below the turbine floor, but no product was found. According to a 7/29/10 case note, 6,000 gals. of kerosene have been recovered. According to Ms. Kann, there is still one well with product. They are collecting very little product. Bedrock is present in the northwest part of the site. It is not certain where the rest of the kerosene is. It could be abutting the Roosevelt Island bridge foundation, trapped in the sediments below the plant, in the fractures in the bedrock, or pinned against the west side of the plant’s foundation."

BUCKEYE PIPELINE Spill Number: 1107816 TURNPIKE AND TOWNSEND RD AUBURN, NY

09/20/2011. Material Spilled: GASOLINE Quantity Spilled: 24990 GALLONS Quantity Recovered: 4350 GALLONS

"farmer Todd Dumond was installing 4" drainage pipe approx 30 inches deep when he struck an active 10 inch dia liquid petroleum pipeline approx 24 inches deep owned by Buckeye Pipeline Co."

"Gasoline did travel south through drainage piping at least 3000 feet."

"Containment of the release was completed about 12:00pm when the end of the spill was identified in the drainage ditch in a heavily forested remote area. This ditch receives the water from the drain tiled lined field. The total extent of contamination is approximately 1 mile from the original spill location and does not reach the crossing located at the bridge on Fosterville Rd. This drainage ditch appears as a stream on topographic map but is a dug ditch in the field. I observed dead frogs in this water and it was reported that there was a dead turtle."

BUCKEYE PIPELINE LEAK/ERIE CANAL Spill Number: 0410251 837 BUFFALO ROAD GATES, NY. Meets Clean up standards: No.

12/15/2004. Material Spilled: Gasoline Quantity Spilled 4200 GALLONS

"A BUCKEYE PIPELINE INVESTIGATOR (ED) IS ON SITE AND REPORTS A PIPELINE FAILURE WITH A POSSIBLE SEVERAL THOUSAND GALLON GASOLINE AND DIESEL RELEASE."

"GASOLINE AND DIESEL HAS FLOWED FROM THE RELEASE POINT TO AN OIL/WATER SEPARATOR. THE SEPARATOR OVERFLOWED AND PRODUCT WAS THEN RELEASED TO THE CANAL THROUGH THE STORM WATER DRAINAGE SYSTEM."

Y−49 FEEDER Spill Number: 0211789 DAVENPORT RD NEW ROCHELLE, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

02/27/2003. Material Spilled: Dielectric Fluid Quantify Spilled: 5600 Gallons

"feeder stopped working. runs from westchester co to long island.(port washington long island)"

"Iriquios (stet) Gas Co. was installing a gas pipline when the work barge pulled an anchor.

The anchor struck y−49, causing a leak of di−elctric fluid. Leak rate is 200 gallons/hr."

NATIONAL FUEL GAS SUPPLY CORP Deby, NY Report # 20090107

9/29/2009. "AT APPROXIMATELY 11:55 AM NATIONAL FUEL SUPPLY CORPORATION ("NFGSC") PERSONNEL RECEIVED AN EMERGENCY WARNING NOTIFICATION FROM ITS SCADA SYSTEM THAT AN INCIDENT HAD OCCURED AT DERBY COMPRESSOR STATION LOCATED AT 7393 VERSAILLES PLANK ROAD, DERBY, NEW YORK. ON ARRIVAL, NFGSC PERSONNEL OBSERVED DAMAGE TO THE INGERSOLL-RAND MODEL #4XVG 75HP COMPRESSOR, THE COMPRESSOR STATION BUILDING, AND THE FOUR-INCH BURIED DISCHARGE PIPING."

"FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCIDENT REVEALED A RUPTURE IN THE BURIED FOUR-INCH DISCHARGE PIPING."

ZOAR VALLEY COMPRESSOR STATION Spill Number: 0751227 WILSON KONERT RD COLLINS, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

12/16/2007. Material Spilled: ETHYLENE GLYCOL Material Class: Hazardous Material Quantity Spilled: 600.00 GALLONS

"ETHYLENE GLYCOL WATER MIX SPILLED SPILLED FROM THE HEATER ON SITE DUE TO AN EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION"

PIPELINE RUPTURE Spill Number: 1100418 UPPER BIRCH RUN ALLEGANY, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No

04/12/2011. Material Spilled: Crude Oil Quantity Spilled: 210 Gallons

"pipeline rupture from a crude oil line. it got into a spring, about 1000 ft affected."

TEXAS BRINE CO Spill Number: 1111384 NIAGARA FALLS BLVD. NEAR SCHULTZ RD WHEATFIELD, NY.

12/22/2011. Material Spilled: Brine Quantify Spilled: 400000 GALLONS

"STRETCH OF LINE LOSING PRESSURE IS ABOUT 12 MILES."

"THE SECTION DID HAVE A HOLE ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FIST."

"THE LEAK WAS FOUND WHEN THE LINE WAS PRESSURIZED
WITH AIR AND CAUSED A JET OF WATER TO RISE IN SAWYER CREEK."

MOBIL PIPELINE Spill Number: 9008783 805 HARLEM ROAD WEST SENECA, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

11/10/1990. Material Spilled: Gasoline Quantify Spilled: 5,000 GALLONS Quantity Recovered: 4,000 Gallons

"MOBIL OIL 6" PIPELINE BREAK AT HARLEM AND MINERAL SPRINGS"

BUCKEYE PIPELINE, BKLYN Spill Number: 8602436 AVE H & 43RD ST BROOKLYN, NY

07/14/1986. Material Spilled: Gasoline Quantify Spilled: 4,000 GALLONS Quantity Recovered: 2,000 Gallons

"BULL DOZER OPERATED BY LA QUILA CONSTRUCTION RAN INTO AND PUNCTUNED 12 INCH PIPE LINE OWNED BY BUCKEYE PIPELINE CO BUT LOCATED ON RAIL ROAD"

54−08 VERNON BLVD/QUEENS Spill Number: 8903862 54008 VERNON BLVD NEW YORK CITY, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

07/17/1989. Material Spilled: #6 FUEL OIL Quantify Spilled: 1,000 GALLONS
Material Spilled: Jet Fuel Quantify Spilled: 1,000 GALLONS

"Apparently, NEPCO petroleum pipeline from Brooklyn to Ravenswood ruptured (possibly due to corrosion), spilling into manhole located beneath offices of John Doris Inc. plumbers at 54−08 Vernon. According to Mr. Kramer, approximately 1000 gallons of #2 fuel oil spilled into manhole."

N 12TH ST & KENT AVE Spill Number: 9202230 N 12TH ST / KENT AVE BROOKLYN, NY. Meets Clean up Standards: No.

05/23/1992. Material Spilled: #6 FUEL OIL Quantify Spilled: 9,000 GALLONS

"AT RAVENSWOOD GS OIL 20" PIPELINE LEAK;"

Conclusion

In conclusion, the toxic contamination problems documented herein with New York's own regulatory data leave no doubt that the state has fundamentally failed to develop and impose the "necessary precautions that shall be taken to preclude" environmental hazards of waterways associated with the construction and operation of natural gas, crude oil and petroleum products infrastructure projects.

As a result, we believe it is your duty to deny all pending Section 401 Water Quality Certification Applications because it is beyond dispute that DEC cannot fulfill its onerous Clean Water Act requirements.

See: Section 401 Certification

See: Existing and Proposed Pipelines Map

Unless and until your administration rectifies the regulatory non-compliance problems documented herein and proves it is capable of fulfilling its obligations pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, no additional water quality certifications should be granted. The requirements of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act make that perfectly clear.

We believe this critical policy is required due to the irreparable pollution harm that large natural gas, crude oil and petroleum product infrastructure projects have caused in New York. It is essential that you make sure that our state will not suffer further contamination hazards before granting any new Water Quality Certifications pursuant to Section 401.

We trust that you will find our respectful request self-explanatory, but please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have questions that might be clarified.

Thank you for your consideration and for your public service.

Happy Holidays and very best regards,