WHAT ABOUT PROPERTY, FORESTS, CROPLAND AND THE ENVIRONMENT?
GAS PIPELINES LEFT A BARREN SWATH THROUGH PARKS AND FORESTS OF NEW JERSEY
The construction left a barren swath through 7.6 miles in Bergen and Passaic counties and nearly 11 miles in Sussex County, prompting worries about possible erosion and road collapses from snowmelt and spring rains.
“I’m concerned about the amount of erosion into streams and wetlands that could occur — we’re going to have a lot of runoff with all this snow,” said Carl Richko, a member of the New Jersey Highlands Council and former mayor of West Milford.
Diane Wexler, a Vernon resident and co-founder of the advocacy group North Jersey Pipeline Walkers, agreed. “There’s always that concern about erosion because the clear-cuts are often on such steep slopes,” she said. “And the replantings by the company have been nominal. Some of the new trees are 6-inch saplings. It’s nothing but deer candy.”
Read the full news article here
GAS PIPELINE RUPTURES UNDERNEATH RARITAN RIVER
A gas pipeline owned by PSE&G ruptured today under the Raritan River, causing two geysers of natural gas to erupt near the Northeast Corridor rail bridge.
The ruptured line has sent strong odors of natural gas wafting through the area, with complaints of the smell coming from as far away as Highland Park High School.
Read the full news article here
LOCAL FARMERS AGAINST PROPOSED PIPELINE
The Hepler family has made a living for seven generations plowing fields and tending livestock on their farm in Eldred Township. They have overcome many setbacks over that time, but a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cut through that section of Schuylkill County has Jim Hepler and other farmers concerned about their livelihoods.
In Nebraska, a similar situation resulted in a county district judge ruling that the state governor did not have the authority to allow TransCanada TRP seize private land for a 300-mile segment of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Martic Township supervisors in Lancaster County recently approved a resolution banning the construction of the same pipeline through their community. It was the first municipality to pass such an ordinance in Pennsylvania, but it may not be the last.
Read the full news article here
FARMERS ON THE FRONT LINES OF CLIMATE CHANGE STAND AGAINST FRACKED GAS PIPELINE
People from all over the state came together at the Vermont Working Landscape Summit, farmers at the center of Vermont’s future took a strong stand against the proposed fracked gas pipeline in Addison County.
“If Governor Shumlin wants to know how to strengthen our state and our land-based economy, he should listen to the people who are devoted to our land. We farmers are on the frontlines, and this pipeline is the wrong choice for our land and our economy,” said
Jim Ellefson of Stoney Lonesome Farm in Leicester.
Ellefson and almost 50 farmers from across the state signed an open letter calling on Governor Shumlin to protect Vermont and on the Public Service Board to deny a Certificate of Public Good for the 70-mile pipeline extension from Colchester to Middlebury and under Lake Champlain to International Paper in Ticonderoga, NY.
Read the full news article here
LATEST ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS ARTICLES
Physicians Speak Out on the Health Effects of Fracked Gas Compressor Stations
Physicians Speak Out on the Health Effects of Fracked Gas Compressor Stations
Source: Physicians Speak out on Gas Compressor Stations
Click here for the full postPipeline Safety Chief Says His Regulatory Process Is 'Kind of Dying' | InsideClimate News
Two stark numbers illustrate the challenge the administration faces in ensuring pipeline safety while pressing ahead with new pipeline projects: 135 federal inspectors oversee 2.6 million miles of pipeline, which means each inspector is responsible for almost enough pipe to circle the Earth.
Source: Exclusive: Pipeline Safety Chief Says His Regulatory Process Is 'Kind of Dying' | InsideClimate News
Click here for the full postSpectra Exposed
“Spectra neither cares for the public nor the workers. This is a fact. They do not care what happens as long as they flow gas.”
Source: Spectra Exposed
Click here for the full postFormer inspectors allege safety issues with Spectra pipeline project
“Like every other company, Spectra gives a tremendous presentation about their commitment to safety, but their actions lack any kind of resolve. No one ever says, ‘Safety’s #2 here…’ At every turn when I made a safety suggestion, I was met with monumental resistance from the company on every level.”
Source: Former inspectors allege safety issues with Spectra pipeline project
Click here for the full postPorter Ranch gas leak is a wake-up call
More than 280 families have fled their homes in Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, sickened by the smell of a voluminous natural gas leak from underground storage wells. The gas has been seeping from the ground for more than a month, yet Southern California Gas Co. says it might to take another three to four months to shut down the well, which goes 8,500 feet deep.
Source: Porter Ranch gas leak is a wake-up call - LA Times
Click here for the full postHomeowners being 'bullied' by big gas? #StopSpectra
Some homeowners in Medina County say it may be the clearest proof yet of how they are being bullied by big gas.
Source: EXCLUSIVE | Homeowners being 'bullied' by big gas?
Click here for the full postCanadian regulator OKs Repsol LNG export plan in New Brunswick
Spanish energy giantRepsol has received approval from Canadian regulatorsto begin exporting liquefied natural gas from its under-utilizedCanaport import facility in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Source: Canadian regulator OKs Repsol LNG export plan in New Brunswick | Reuters
Click here for the full postSeveral oil, gas pipelines planned for midstate
While the last decade of oil and gas development has been largely contained to the shale regions of Pennsylvania, the next phase will tunnel through the midstate.
Source: Several oil, gas pipelines planned for midstate - Washington Times
Click here for the full postPHMSA leaves out leak detection
The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration may be getting tougher with pipeline safety regulations, but its most recent rule does not address what many see as low-hanging fruit: New standards for leak detection technology.
Source: PHMSA leaves out leak detection - POLITICO
Alarming Uptick of Earthquakes in Kansas Linked to Fracking With 52 in Just Last Two Weeks
Just like in Oklahoma, Kansas is seeing a shocking uptick in earthquakes connected to the underground disposal of wastewater from the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process.
Source: Alarming Uptick of Earthquakes in Kansas Linked to Fracking With 52 in Just Last Two Weeks
Click here for the full postEPA to mandate disclosures on chemical releases from gas processing plants
The Environmental Protection Agency will force companies to disclose details on the toxic chemicals released from gas processing plants nationwide in response to legal challenges.
Source: EPA to mandate disclosures on chemical releases from gas processing plants - Fuel Fix
Click here for the full postShell, Exxon Ordered to Pay Groningen Earthquake Compensation
A Dutch court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil must compensate homeowners for a drop in house prices caused by earthquakes linked to production at the Groningen gas field.
Source: Shell, Exxon Ordered to Pay Groningen Earthquake Compensation - WSJ
Click here for the full postImpacted Landowners Demand EPA Revise Flawed Fracking Study
The EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board met this week to review the agency’s draft assessment of the impact of fracking on drinking water resources, but the largely academic exercise got a dose of reality from residents of Dimock, Pennsylvania; Pavillion, Wyoming; and Parker County, Texas who have fought for years to get U.S. EPA to act.
Source: Impacted Landowners Demand EPA Revise Flawed Fracking Study
Click here for the full postFracking air pollution threatens health & climate
Our addiction to fossil fuels has made climate change a real and present danger. At the same time, communities living with fracking in their backyard face a relentless attack on their health everyday, thanks to air pollution from oil and gas production.
Source: EARTHWORKS
Click here for the full postNWF sues Department of Transportation for pipeline failures - Drilling - Ohio
The National Wildlife Federation today filed a lawsuit against the U.S Department of Transportation for the agency’s failure for more than 20 years to protect people, fish, wildlife, and communities from oil pipeline spills in the nation’s inland waters, from the Great Lakes to the Yellowstone River.
Source: NWF sues Department of Transportation for pipeline failures - Drilling - Ohio
Click here for the full post
