Wall St. Journal U.S. NEWS JUNE 8, 2010
Gas Blast Rocks Texas Town: Explosion Kills One, Injures Eight
Fuels Debate Over Natural Gas Production
…Nationwide there were 47 pipeline incidents last year that caused a death or serious injury, according to federal statistics, up from 40 in 2008 and 45 in 2007. The vast majority of those incidents involved gas distribution lines, the small lines that carry gas to homes and businesses….
MikeB 08/28/2010 08:21 AM
Spectra Energy declares: "The safety and reliability of our pipelines is 'mission critical' for Spectra Energy. Safety is our franchise. It’s what we 'do.'”
Spectra Energy's track record does not support that claim. We are property owners who have experience with Spectra Energy promises.
In 2008-2009, Spectra Energy constructed its Steckman Ridge facility in Bedford County, PA. It is a 12 billion-cubic-feet underground natural gas storage reservoir, with a nearly 5,000 horsepower compressor station sitting on top, plus 13 injection/withdrawal gas wells. This storage field will feed gas to the proposed pipelines in NJ and NY.
There have been serious safety issues at this facility since the beginning -- which Spectra Energy declines to discuss. This includes emergency shutdowns/blowoffs which result in uncontrolled release of gas (toxic volatile organic compounds) and sometimes oily contaminate into the air (and on nearby properties).
Spectra Energy asserts that such shutdowns/blowoffs are "not uncommon." But they refuse to furnish the stats on comparative compressor station performance in Spectra Energy's system. The company refuses to make available the project engineer who was in charge of the construction of this facility.
If "safety is our franchise," why does Spectra Energy decline to discuss the 2004 catastrophe at a different underground storage facility. Its Moss Bluff facility outside of Houston had two explosions, 6 1/2 days of fire with flames as high as 1,000 feet and two evacuations.
There is much more. Demand Spectra Energy's track record on fines, explosions and other disasters. If you want to learn from our experience, refer to Spectra Energy
Carl Weimer, executive director of Pipeline Safety Trust, a not-for-profit that promotes fuel transportation safety, says, "On average, if you look at all the pipelines in the country, there's a significant incident—somewhere--about every other day. And someone ends up in the hospital or dead about every nine or 10 days."
Jersey City Mayor and Emergency Management Director Outline Pipeline Risks
…At Wednesday’s meeting, Jersey City Office of Emergency Management director Sgt. W. Greg Kierce presented the city’s litany of concerns about the pipeline, which would move up to 900 million cubic feet of natural gas a day across the area’s essential transportation infrastructure routes, including the New Jersey Turnpike Extension, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and the PATH system. Kierce noted that the three systems are part of the county’s emergency evacuation plan, and would also be desperately needed during any evacuation of Lower Manhattan….
…Kierce and Mayor Healy both questioned Spectra’s repeated assertions that public safety is its first priority, noting that the company decided against an alternate [safer] plan to run the pipeline under New York Harbor because it would be too expensive. The publicly traded company paid shareholders more than $900 million in dividends in 2009, according to its financial statements….