Furor Over Fuel: Finger Lakes Region (NY) Faces a Crisis

 

New York State has banned horizontal slickwater hydrofracking.  However, there is much work to be done to insure the health of the environment, human health, and the economic health of the state. The infrastructure necessary for the gas industry, namely, pipelines, wastewater treatment, liquid natural gas storage, compressor stations, and transportation of oil and gas via rail, is still very much in question.  In the Finger Lakes region, famous for its pristine water, tourism, and wine industry,  there are those who want the money from the gas industry and those who are more concerned about the inevitable and irreversible health and environmental effects.

 

"The furor is over construction plans by Crestwood Midstream Partners to expand natural gas storage and add LPG storage in existing caverns on Seneca Lake's western shore.  Gas would be withdrawn during heating season, with the facility connected to an intricate pipeline and options to ship by truck and rail."

Read the article from The Ithaca Journal here.

Just about every day, groups of protestors block the two entrances to Crestwood.  This is causing a strain on local law enforcement, so they say.  The costs of the protests, including extra staff and court costs, were not budgeted this year.  The many protestors are people from many walks of life, and they are passionate about this crisis.  Well over a hundred people have been arrested so far, with some serving jail sentences.

Let the protests continue until Crestwood leaves!

The FERC Rubber Stamp Song

Published on Jul 6, 2014

We all know FERC's a Rubber Stamp Machine!
(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
Recorded the 1 May 2014 (day of Minisink trial at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals).

LYRICS by Dave Publow:

We're here at FERC to have our say
So listen closely, don't walk away
This is your country It's yours to save
You're letting fossil fuels dig our grave

Across the land from sea to sea
The gas-men drill the earth so carelessly
They poison water, they cut down trees
To put in pipelines that we don't need

And we all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
it's not for you and me, it's paid by permit fees
We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me

You guys at FERC, so you say
Will regulate the pipes, and keep us safe
Tell me then how industry
Puts dangerous pipelines in NYC

Our upstate friends are feeling down
The Constitution Pipeline, will wreck their towns
With leaky pipes and clear cut trees
Fracked wells and poisoned springs

We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine
We all know your hearings are a total joke,
FERC is just a fraud, it's all a bunch of smoke

Voices:
Full speed ahead, Mr. FERC Inspector! Full speed ahead!
Full speed it is Mr. Gasman!
Cut the trees down! Carve up the landscape!
Spread that toxic waste on the roads!
Aye aye, Sir! Aye aye!


And we fight cause we believe
No one should be forced to ever breathe
Skies of ozone (Skies of ozone) and benzene (and toluene)
In our ferky (our ferky jerky) democracy (bureaucracy, ha-ha!)

We all know that gas is anything but green
It poisons all our wells, or blows to smithereens
And we all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me

We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine
We all know that FERC's a rubber stamp machine,
It won't protect you, it won't protect me.

FERC

Minisink Matters

Minisink, NY:  Our Story

Minisink Compressor Station Vented July 7, 2014
 

Old Gas Pipelines Are Failing: New Dangers Loom

The private company planning to buy Philadelphia Gas Works has promised to upgrade the city’s aging and leaking pipelines. A new report by SNL Energy shows just how big that task could be, ranking the city’s utility second worst in the nation for pipeline leaks.

The firm looked at data from the federal Office of Pipeline Safety showing that in 2012, PGW reported 5,464 leaks over its 5,762 miles of gas mains and service lines. That’s a rate of roughly one leak (0.95) per mile. PGW came in second to New York’s Con Edison, which reported 7,328 leaks over 7,301 miles of pipelines. Pittsburgh-based People’s Natural Gas ranked fifth.

Read more here.


Your Guide to Pipelines in Pennsylvania

Thousands of miles of new pipelines in Pennsylvania will have to be built to transport Marcellus Shale gas. The new pipeline construction will benefit those in need of jobs, and the companies that do the building. But some residents and local politicians worry about the environmental impacts, and say the current regulatory structure needs updating.

Nobody knows how many miles of pipeline already exists in the state. That’s because Pennsylvania does not have one regulatory authority that oversees intrastate gas pipelines. In fact, out of 31 states that produce natural gas, Alaska is the only other state, besides Pennsylvania, that doesn’t.