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Proposed gas pipeline expansion in Tompkins raises climate change fears
Photo by Michael Smith/The Ithaca Voice
ITHACA, NY - On Tuesday, the Tompkins Legislature passed a resolution requesting the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hold a public hearing for a proposed natural gas pipeline expansion in Ithaca.
Plans are in the works to expand the Dominion New Market Pipeline, which runs through a compressor station on Ellis Hollow Creek Road in Dryden. Ithaca environmental group Toxics Targeting recently revealed that there were uncleaned spills along this pipeline, including in Ithaca.
The project would expand on that station and others along the pipeline, to allow for greater pressure and volume of natural gas to be moved through the pipeline. This would most likely involve hydro-fracked gas being moved other states, like Pennsylvania, through New York and into markets further east, like Massachusetts.
The resolution proposed by the legislature called on the DEC to provide for a public hearing in Tompkins County before issuing any approvals. Hearings in three other affected areas have already occurred.
More than a dozen residents spoke during the public comment period, all stating their opposition to the project. While concerns were expressed about the potential safety issues associated with the pipeline expansion, for many who spoke the primary concern was much broader -- the impact of continued use of natural gas on climate change.
"By building infrastructure that enables other states -- Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio -- to move its fracked gas through New York State, we are still enabling, in fact encouraging that to happen elsewhere," said Susan Molter of Ithaca.
Pamela Mackesey, a former Tompkins County legislator, was one of several who urged the legislature to take an even stronger stance on the issue, and amend the resolution to state that the legislature was officially opposed to the project. Mackesey spoke about how during her time in the legislature, the county took a strong stance against fracking and she felt that the same approach was needed here.
"We visibly moved New York State toward a more environmentally responsible that didn't include destruction and deterioration of our amazing environment. It feels as if there isn't that focus and intensity now," Mackesey said. "This is a part of the same battle.... This is an unrelenting effort by a large a powerful industry to get its way in New York State. Vigilance is what we need, and a clear stance about where we stand."
Why not officially oppose the pipeline?
Two additional amendments were added to the resolution. The first asked that the DEC perform a study on the capacity of the pipeline to withstand the additional pressure and volume that would be generated by the expansion. The second requested a similar study on the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from the expansion.
While sympathetic to the requests for a harder stance, legislators Dooley Kiefer and Anna Kelles both stated that they felt that adding that language to the resolution would undermine the whole thing. They reasoned that if the county was already on record as opposed to the pipeline, the DEC would have little reason to follow through and hold a hearing here.
"What we want is for them to come so we can have the greatest influence, because no phone call or letter will be as powerful as saying something in person," said Kelles.
Kelles attempted to find a middle ground by proposing an amendment that would state the legislature was opposed to the project if the requested public hearing and studies weren't completed, but that amendment failed with four in favor and ten opposed.
The final resolution, with the two amendments requesting studies, passed unanimously.
"A bunch of keystone cops"
However, legislator Mike Sigler expressed a number of issues with the way the arguments against the pipeline were framed. In particular, Sigler said he felt that people were perhaps being too dismissive of the regulatory agencies and companies behind these projects.
Sigler said that it wasn't as if the people who would build the pipeline would out of their way to make a leaky or malfunctioning pipeline, and it wasn't as if the agencies charged with environmental protection didn't care about the environment.
"This idea that the DEC is just a bunch of keystone cops running around and they don't know what they're doing, and we know better than they do... and FERC, they're just a bunch of appointed people who paid their way into those jobs, they don't know what they're doing either," Sigler said.
"I gotta tell ya, I'm at a loss. Who do I believe? ... These guys, this is what they do. I can't believe the people in the EPA have any less concern about the environment than our planning department here in Tompkins County. That's a big stretch. And I haven't lost that much faith in our government that I can make that leap."
Senators urge consideration of gas concerns
New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
READING (9/7/2016)--U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) submitted another letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with concerns about Crestwood's underground natural gas storage in the town of Reading. The letter, dated Aug. 19, urges FERC to give full consideration to the safety and environmental concerns brought up by several groups and citizens in the area surrounding Seneca Lake. This comes following a decision by FERC in May to grant the project a two-year extension on construction that was initially approved in 2014.
"We would like to restate the concerns raised by our constituents since the Commission's issuance of the construction certificate in 2014," according to the letter. "These include the adverse impacts this project could have on public health, safety, the environment and quality of life currently enjoyed by many in this area. In addition, the federal government is considering new regulations to address the safety of natural gas storage that, if applied to this facility, could have substantial impact on a variety of constituent concerns and the way this facility would operate."
The letter also lists several groups that filed an appeal to FERC's decision in June, stating the commission did not consider critical safety concerns related to the project. The appeal also provided new information on safety that was not available when the certificate issued, arguing the extension of time was not justified and the commission should not permit Arlington to proceed until these issues are addressed.
"We are also aware that many of our constituent groups including Gas Free Seneca, Finger Lakes Wine Business Coalition, Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, and many surrounding towns and counties have come together to file an appeal to FERC halting this project until the serious environmental and safety issues they have raised are properly addressed," according to the letter. "We ask that you give this appeal appropriate and thorough consideration."
FERC had originally granted the construction permit authorizing construction in 2014, but the project has been delayed while waiting on the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to come to a decision on the the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) portion of the project. This also comes after Crestwood announced they would be scaling back the LPG project while eliminating train and truck distribution at the site.
"We are extremely grateful to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for listening to their constituents and lending their support," said Joseph Campbell, president of Gas Free Seneca. "We know that FERC has come under great scrutiny for rubber-stamping all gas related projects, so we hope that hearing from our senators will encourage FERC to carefully consider our appeal."
The senators' letter also comes shortly after Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting, Inc., an environmental database firm in Ithaca, released U.S. Salt spill information obtained from the DEC. Hang claims many spills were never cleaned up to state standards even though they caused petroleum contamination and brine discharges that affected Seneca Lake. The information Hang provided included 17 different spill events spanning from 1974 to 2016 of varying amounts of brine or oil, the largest of which being the spilling of 470,000 gallons of brine in 1980. Hang also submitted a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office urging him to deny all gas storage petitions at the site.
"This information documents that New York authorities are unable to prevent or clean up toxic spills," Hang said.
Gas Free Seneca Co-Founder Yvonne Taylor said there have been seven spills listed in Hang's information in the eight years Crestwood owned the property. While two of these spills appear to be a duplicate report (dated March 16, 2016) for the same incident, the spills during this timeframe amount to 5.25 gallons of oil and 7,654 gallons of brine since Crestwood took over, according to Hang's information.
"That's not really good odds," Taylor said. "[...] It doesn't bode well for increasing gas storage over there. The human error and equipment failure they are already experiencing, it gave us great pause."
Meanwhile, Crestwood representatives highlighted the investments that have been made in the facility to help improve the plant's operation.
"We cannot speak to incidents that occurred before we bought U.S. Salt in 2008," Crestwood Vice President Brad Bacon stated. "We knew that significant catch-up investment would be required, and we have spent tens of millions to upgrade and modernize the plant operations. Although our goal is an incident-free workplace, the incidents that have occurred since we finished replacing the brine pipeline system in 2013 have been minor. Despite what this group would like you to believe, there is nothing nefarious or catastrophic here -- the state's experts had this data before strongly endorsing our propane storage project."
19 spills in 32 years: Ithaca firm details U.S. Salt discharges into Seneca Lake; Crestwood downplays findings
This is an aerial photo of the Crestwood/Con-Edison natural-gas-storage site in the Schuyler County town of Reading. It was taken in 2012.
It was taken in 2012.
READING — An Ithaca firm specializing in environmental database services says Seneca Lake has been polluted by south-end brine spills and petroleum releases repeatedly over the past 40 years.
In releasing the information obtained from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting Inc. is asking the state to deny issuing the permits Crestwood Equity Partners LP needs to store natural gas and propane on 576 acres north of Watkins Glen.
Officials from the Houston-based company, which bought the site in 2008, downplayed Hang’s findings.
“We cannot speak to incidents that occurred before we bought U.S. Salt in 2008,” Crestwood vice president Brad Bacon wrote in an email to the Times.
“We knew that significant catch-up investment would be required, and we have spent tens of millions to upgrade and modernize plant operations. Although our goal is an incident-free workplace, the incidents that have occurred since we finished replacing the brine pipeline system in 2013 have been minor.
“Despite what this group would like you to believe, there is nothing nefarious or catastrophic here. The state’s experts had this data before strongly endorsing our propane storage project.”
Hang wrote Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a letter dated Sunday asking him to reject Crestwood’s application and impose a moratorium on new fossil-fuel projects.
“Many spills were never cleaned up to state standards, even though they caused extensive petroleum contamination, resulted in huge brine discharges of up to 470,000 gallons, polluted groundwater or directly impacted Seneca Lake,” Hang said. “Citizens who want to preserve Seneca Lake will be shocked to learn about massive pollution spills reported over the course of four decades at the giant salt mine and gas storage facility in Reading. This information documents that New York authorities are unable to prevent or clean up toxic spills that have polluted one of the most famous lakes in the world.”
Hang listed information on each of 19 spills or discharges from U.S. Salt, International Salt and Akzo Salt from 1974 to 2016. He wrote that the DEC has a responsibility and obligation through the federal Clean Water Act to establish and implement a policy which protects existing water quality from being degraded.
“Given that mandate and other legal requirements to safeguard New York’s water quality, I respectfully request that you deny hydrocarbon storage permit applications pursuant to the New York State Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law and related state approvals required for methane and LPG facilities to be built and operated in Reading by Arlington Storage Co. LLC, Crestwood Equity Partners LP, Stagecoach Gas Services LLC, Finger Lakes LPG Gas Storage LLC or other inter-related corporate entities,” he said.
Hang maintained that of the dozens of pollution releases over the past 32 years, most of the spills were never cleaned up in compliance with state standards — and some caused widespread groundwater contamination.
“Others simply dissipated in Seneca Lake without any remedial effort whatsoever, even though heavy soil sheen reportedly spread up to 1.5 miles,” he wrote. “With all due respect, I believe it would be irresponsible to grant approvals for massive new fossil fuel infrastructure projects that can potentially cause irreparable harm to New York’s environmental and public health while perpetuating New York’s addiction to natural gas, LPG and other fossil fuels.”
Seneca Lake, the largest and deepest of the 11 Finger Lakes, provides drinking water for more than 100,000 people, including residents of Geneva and Waterloo.
Where things stand
Houston-based Crestwood Equity Partners LP has two projects in the works for its 576-acre site in the Schuyler County town of Reading.
The first is a joint venture that involves Consolidated Edison. The plan, called Stagecoach Gas Services, would expand natural gas storage in abandoned salt caverns on the site. Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted an extension for construction on the expansion to begin.
Meanwhile, Crestwood has scaled back its proposal to store liquefied petroleum gas in other salt caverns. Their revised plan includes propane but not butane, eliminates one of two brine ponds, and takes a rail and truck transportation hub out of the equation. The DEC has yet to rule on Crestwood’s application for a permit.
Environmentalist Says 18 Spills Documented At Crestwood
WENY (Watkins Glen, NY) -- A local environmental firm is looking into the history of spills at Crestwood Midstream.
Toxics Targeting says they obtained Department of Environmental Conservation documents about spills that have occurred at the proposed Liquid Petroleum Gas storage site.
An environmental database firm in Ithaca, Toxics Targeting, released information they say they obtained from the Department of Environmental Conservation about previous spills at the site of Crestwood Midstream's proposed Liquid Petroleum Gas storage facility.
Their documents show 18 spills have occurred dating back to 1974.
However, Crestwood has owned the property since 2008.
"So over the course of more than 40 years we've seen the release of petroleum. We've seen releases of brine, which is toxic. It can kill vegetation. It can kill fish. Many of these problems were never cleaned up to applicable state standards. Much of the contamination impacted Seneca Lake," said Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting.
Of the 18 spills, Toxics Targeting says some were minor and affected the surface of Seneca Lake.
They say other spills released upwards of 470-thousand gallons of brine.
"So given those problems and given the state's inability to prevent problems and to clean them up to applicable state standards, we're today calling on Governor Cuomo not to authorize any gas storage permits at this site," said Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting.
Now just last week, WENY News exclusively obtained a letter from the DEC that said quote "department staff continues to assert that the project meets all applicable environmental statutory and regulatory standards."
WENY News reached out to Crestwood who said:
"We cannot speak to incidents that occurred before we bought US Salt in 2008. We knew that significant catch-up investment would be required, and we have spent tens of millions to upgrade and modernize the plant operations. Although our goal is an incident-free workplace, the incidents that have occurred since we finished replacing the brine pipeline system in 2013 have been minor. Despite what this group would like you to believe, there is nothing nefarious or catastrophic here - the state's experts had this data before strongly endorsing our propane storage project."
Opposition to Gas Storage & Related Activities Continues
READING, N.Y. (18 NEWS) -
An Ithaca-based environmental data collection agency known as 'Toxics Targeting' released data it says is compiled from New York State DEC data outlining chemical spills in Seneca Lake. The data released by company president Walter Hang on Monday goes back to nearly 40 years ago.
The data compiled is from the area of the gas storage facility in Reading and the salt mines just south of the facility on Rt. 14.
Hang claims the state DEC was unable to clean the spills to New York's standards.
"The data I'm releasing today totally refute that assertion. New York state DEC has no ability to continue to prevent these massive contamination problems or to clean them up so they have no impact on public health. This is proven by their own data," said Hang.
Based on the findings, Hang and others are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to put a moratorium on all gas related activities in New York.