Spectra Energy Watch

Spectra Energy Can Chemo-Frac Anytime It Wants in Bedford, PA;

Has Approval for ‘Every Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid It Could Possibly Use’

Includes Chemicals Identified as Cancer Causing or Probably Carcinogenic

Why is Straight Talk so Difficult for Gas Industry?

Can we trust gas industry drilling, pipeline and storage companies?

Every property owner I have talked with who has actually dealt with the gas industry - from Pennsylvania to Texas - has said that you cannot trust the energy industry.

This belief is based on their personal experience.  The more experience someone has with the gas industry, the more they conclude, in the words of one property owner, that “Virtually everything the gas industry tells you is a lie, or half truth, or deceptive in some way.”

Look at the video on the welcome page for this website.  Listen to property owners in the video use phrases like:  “constant lies,”  “it’s story after story, you just can’t believe them.”

These are regular folks - hunters, NRA members, farmers, self-made businessmen.  They are not people “with an agenda,” as the gas industry likes to label its critics.  (As if the gas industry and its well-paid execs did not have an agenda.)

To say an industry lies is harsh; but deception is a slippery slope.

Deception is Slippery Slope

For example, Director of Media Relations for Houston-based Spectra Energy, Wendy Olson, published a statement in The Altoona Mirror with two objectives:

1) Tout the company’s alleged commitment “to operating our pipeline and storage facilities safely, reliably and in compliance with environmental regulations.”

2) Distance Spectra Energy from public concern over hydraulic fracturing with its health and environmental “challenges,” as even Pennsylvania Governor Rendell has admitted.¹ (Remember, Rendell declared himself a “protector” of the gas industry.)

In her public statement, Ms. Olson wrote:  “There is a distinction between the Steckman Ridge Storage operations [located in Clearville, Pennsylvania] and the production process known as ‘hydraulic fracturing’ used to break up shale deposits to extract natural gas.  There was no hydraulic fracturing involved when the Steckman Ridge facility was constructed in 2008-09.“²

Note the careful use of past tense (”was constructed”).  What Spectra Energy’s Director of Media Relations does not tell readers (or editors at The Altoona Mirror) is that Spectra Energy can frac those wells any time it wants, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

But hydraulic fracturing requires drilling, you say?  Yes, and nowhere in her essay for The Altoona Mirror does Olson use the word “drilling.”

In fact, Olson neglects to acknowledge that - while this is a so-called “storage operation” - Spectra Energy has drilled and is operating (so far) 13 injection/withdrawal wells as part of its 12 billion-cubic-feet underground gas facility.

Moreover, it has permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to drill 10 additional wells for a total of 23.

Spectra Energy Can ‘Frac’ in Clearville, PA

And Spectra Energy can use hydraulic fracturing on those wells if it chooses. As FERC explained to this blog:   “If their tests show that they are not getting optimal flows, they would perform hydraulic fracturing to improve the flow of gas.  A propping agent such as sand would then be used to keep the fractures open.”

The Pennsylvania DEP Oil & Gas Inspector for Bedford County also confirmed for this blog that Spectra Energy requires no special permit for hydraulic fracturing:

“There are no special permits needed specifically for hydraulic fracturing.  The fracturing process is covered under a normal drilling permit should Spectra Energy choose to frac in the future.”

Further, according to FERC, Spectra Energy filed for the record nearly 300 pages of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) “for every drilling mud and hydraulic fracturing component it could possibly use.”

Chemo-Fracking

Anyone who downloads this file from the FERC website (under project docket CP08-15) will see that most of the data sheets are from Halliburton; and several of the listed chemical compounds are identified as cancer causing or probably carcinogenic.

This is what some folks call chemo-fracking - sand, water, and a toxic chemical cocktail.

Olson asserts that Spectra Energy remains “committed to the high performance levels that communities have come to expect from our operations.”  In fact, far from “high performance,” Spectra Energy has had ongoing problems at its “storage operation” in Bedford County since the beginning.

This includes emergency shutdowns and/or blowdowns which can result in uncontrolled release of gas (toxic volatile organic compounds) and sometimes oily contaminate into the air (and on nearby properties).

Despite Spectra Energy’s claim to being “committed to the high performance levels that communities have come to expect,” it repeatedly dodged the logical question of how many of these continuing shutdowns/blowdowns of the compressor station occur in Clearville compared to Spectra Energy’s other compressor stations?

In other words, let’s manage by facts - not by platitudes and promises.  Let’s look at your compressor station performance record to see if we can understand why this is happening in Clearville.

Spectra Energy Won’t Tell

Finally, after months of prodding, Spectra Energy finally admitted (emphasis added), “Yes, we do track all of our compressor units’ performance as part of our system reliability monitoring efforts, but this is not data that we report externally.”

Meanwhile, the shutdowns/blowdowns at Spectra Energy’s 5,000 horsepower compressor station in Clearville, PA, continue, often in the early morning hours.  And when it occurs, it sounds like a jet engine crashing - not to mention the release of toxic volatile organic compounds.

This huge compressor station is near homes and three miles from an elementary school.  After months of this, it is clear that Spectra Energy hasn’t got a clue as to what its engineering problem is; and the PA Department of Environmental Protection is missing-in-action.

Track Records Matter

Speaking of track records by which one should be able to judge a person or a company, Spectra Energy’s performance record looks like a police rap sheet - with fires, explosions, toxic contamination of its 9,000-mile pipeline - all on the public record, if you look; but federal and state regulators apparently never look.³

Meanwhile, Spectra Energy never, ever acknowledges this side of its record.  Instead it talks in platitudes about its commitment to safety and reliability - a “butter job” as one property owner described it.  Words trump deeds, and are cheaper than doing it right.

Finally, this is a company that used the dictionary definition of lying to defend its actions in a public document submitted to FERC.⁴

Since Spectra Energy likes to use dictionary definitions to defend itself, here’s one that fits its behavior:

“Dis-in-gen-u-ous” means “not straightforward or candid; insincere or  calculating.”

Why behave that way - if a company is really committed to safety, reliability and high performance levels?  Unless it isn’t.

(Note:  See “Links & Resources” below for verifiable public sources to all of the above statements with footnotes.)

Links & Resources

¹ Governor Rendell made his comments at a policy roundtable called “Natural Gas Nation” on March 25, 2010. They deserve wide circulation because the governor was more candid than, I believe, he realized.  The conference was conducted by the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas.  Here is a link to the audio file of that roundtable discussion: http://georgewbushinstitute.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/ngn_05_roundtable.mp3

In his comments, Rendell declared himself a “protector” of the gas industry and said (emphasis added), “I’ve been a good spokesman minimizing the potential for groundwater pollution.”

BUT he acknowledged “five challenges” involved in shale gas drilling - every one of them environmental. They include: how to divert millions of gallons of water necessary for shale gas drilling; how to prevent gas migration; and what do we do with the frac water?  If the “protector” of the gas industry in Pennsylvania acknowledges multiple risks to the environment, why can’t the gas industry?

For easy reference, I made a transcript of the governor’s comments that can be accessed here.  In a few places where a word or phrase was unclear I’ve indicated that.  See p. 3 for the Five Challenges:  gov-rendell-ng-nation

Finally, here is a link to the website for the “Natural Gas Nation” conference: http://georgewbushinstitute.com/natural-gas-nation/

² “Spectra Energy defends gas storage project” - Spectra Energy’s Wendy Olson’s disingenuous essay ran in The Altoona Mirror.  Here is the pdf file:  spectra-energy-defends-gas-storage-project

³ Spectra Energy’s Track Record is publicly available for those who look.  Check out the following links and sources and decide for yourself:

“Unlawful Conduct” - Details are treated in two posts on my website which include testimonials from landowners and documents such as the DEP “Notice of Violation” and Spectra Energy’s formal response.  Unfortunately, on the day before “April Fool’s,” the DEP announced it had fined Spectra Energy a pathetic $22,000 for air and water quality violations at its Steckman Ridge compressor station in Clearville, PA.

Emergency Shutdown: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=372

Spectra Promises: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=466

Fiery Inferno - This post on explosions and fire at Spectra Energy’s underground gas storage reservoir outside of Houston is detailed and offers external sources for verification.

Moss Bluff Incident:  http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=390

PCB Contamination - Details and source documents (including Spectra Energy’s 10-K Form and the EPA Top 21 List) are covered in two posts.

Spectra PCBs 2: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=498

Spectra PCBs?: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=480

⁴ Definition of lying as a defense — Spectra Energy filed a 32-page report with FERC exonorating itself regarding complaints about abusive and unethical behavior toward landowners as part of its 12 billion-cubic-feet underground gas storage reservoir in Clearville, PA.

The original report is accessible on my website and it is titled, “Inquiry Report — Response to Benard Allegations.”  In its official report, Spectra Energy uses the dictionary definition of lying as a proof point to claim:  “There is no evidence of willful ‘lying’ by any Project Representative to landowners.” This technique illustrates the slippery slope gas companies like Spectra Energy navigate between their words and their deeds.  Spectra Energy’s report and the first of four commentaries I wrote are available at this link, “Pious Mouse Wash 1″: http://www.spectraenergywatch.com/blog/?p=213

Shale Gas Summit Draws 100-plus Activists

To Launch Collective Grass Roots Effort in New York State;

Goal:  Protect New York State & Neighbors

from Risks of “Chemo-fracking”

A summit aimed at launching a collective grass roots effort to challenge the shale gas industry and indifferent government regulators drew more than 120 activists to Binghamton, New York, for a day-long work session on Saturday, June 19.

Sponsored by the Coalition to Protect New York, the event offered participants a powerhouse agenda that covered a wide range of issues including legal, economic, information gathering, lobbying, the latest science and more.

A tightly packed agenda offered an impressive list of speakers and panelists who included:

• Weston Wilson - a well-known environmental engineer from the EPA (retired) who spoke about the risks of contamination from hydraulic fracturing.
• Walter Hang - president of Toxics Targeting in Ithaca, NY, which is an environmental database firm that has generated clean-up initiatives for polluted sites often ignored by government and corporate officials.
• Tony Ingraffea - Cornell University professor of engineering and director of Cornell Fracture Group who asked the participants whether they wanted to play “offense or defensive” on the issue.
• Several attorneys addressed environmental-legal issues including Rachel Triechler, who spoke about what local governments can do with regard to zoning restrictions and deep disposal injection wells; and Joseph Heath, general counsel for the Onondaga Nation, who spoke about the combined political and legal work involved in demanding accountability from government.

Attendees representing more than 40 groups and blogs came from New York State, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Withdraw dSGEIS

Among the immediate goals is to petition New York Governor David Paterson to withdraw the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Marcellus Shale draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) for Oil and Gas Mining.

The petition now contains nearly 10,000 signatures.  To read or sign it, log onto Toxics Targeting website at this link: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/coalition_letter

The draft impact statement (dSGEIS) was made public by the DEC in September 2009.  It is a supplement to the 19-year old State Environmental Quality Review Act.  Critics, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), believe the draft impact statement needs to be expanded in order to take into account the reality of the adverse effects of hydraulic fracturing on human health and the environment.

In a letter to the DEC in December, John Filippelli, Chief of the Strategic Planning and Multi-Media Program Branch of EPA’s Region 2, said:

“… we have concerns regarding potential impacts to human health and the environment that we believe warrant further scientific and regulatory analysis. … EPA recommends that these concerns be addressed and essential environmental protection measures established prior to the completion of the … process.”¹ (For pdf file of EPA letter to DEC, see “Links & Resources” below.)

Walter Hang, president of Ithaca, New York-based Toxics Targeting, told this blog that the DEC draft is “fatally flawed” yet “DEC is pushing as hard and as fast as they can to adopt the draft SGEIS.  They have said it might happen by the end of the year.”

DEC Does Not Count All Spills?

Hang has challenged the DEC that it is either not counting - or it is undercounting - scores of sites and examples of contaminated drinking water from natural gas wells in the state.

In an April 2 letter to DEC Commissioner Alexander “Pete” Grannis, he wrote [emphasis added]:

“I subsequently learned the [DEC] spills database does not include natural gas problems reported to health authorities in the three counties with the highest number of oil and gas wells in New York State.  I also learned DEC’s Division of Mineral Resources does not report all oil and gas releases to the Division of Spills.” Link: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/dec-letter

Based on New York State’s poor track record for regulating gas drilling, Hang says three steps are necessary:

1) DEC should immediately withdraw its draft SGEIS;

2) Reopen discussions regarding the scope of the regulatory proceeding; and

3) Revise the SGEIS draft to respond to the reality of documented natural gas hazards.

Following are photos from the conference.  See also the list of additional “Links & Resources” below.

More than 100 participants from three states attended the event in Binghamton, NY, to hears speakers such as Wes Gillingham of Catskill Mountainkeeper.

Several attorneys addressed legal-environmental issues at the summit; and Volunteer Jack Ossont (yellow T-shirt) captured key ideas (which have been digitally erased).

Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, uses an environmental database to drive clean-up initiatives of polluted sites often ignored by government.

Mike Bernhard, Laurie Spaeth respond to questions about tracking & gathering information while Walter Hang listens.

Weston Wilson, well-known environmental engineer from EPA (retired), spoke about the risks of contamination from hydraulic fracturing.

Links & Resources

¹ U.S. EPA (Region 2) Letter to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding agency’s comments on DEC draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement.  3ppepa-dec09-letter-hl2

Coalition to Protect New York (CPNY) - Describing itself as a group of “regular people who give a damn,” CPNY says, “Our mission is to build a strong, unified, and unbeatable force to stop the dangerous practice of fracking for methane gas unless and until it is proven risk-free and harmless to our environment, health, and property.”  Website:  www.coalition2protectny.org

Toxics Targeting - Based in Ithaca, New York, Toxics Targeting tracks environmental data from government and other sources and maps the impact of pollution.  The company’s work has been featured in The New York Times, MSNBC, and other news outlets.  Walter Hang, president of the company, has challenged regulators like New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation that it is not counting or it is undercounting examples of drinking water contamination from natural gas wells.  Website: www.toxicstargeting.com

Chenango Delaware Otsego Group (CDOG) - This group offers two excellent resources:  www.GasMain.org is an “index” website that helps a wide variety of groups “improve their outreach to the general public by reducing advertising costs and increasing message options.”  Another CDOG site is http://www.un-naturalgas.org/ which takes the position that “there is nothing natural about what the methane extraction process … does to water, air, & living things.”  The website provides information and resources on a range of issues from hydraulic fracing to eminent domain, well spacing, and health issues.

EARTHWORKS - describes itself as a “non-profit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the destructive impacts of mineral development, in the U.S. and worldwide.”  It works with “communities and grassroots groups to reform government policies, improve corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials sourcing and consumption.”  One resource worth evaluating is a 6-page booklet for citizens and elected officials looking for examples of how to improve the oil & gas industry’s current approach to drilling.  It includes recommendations for environmentally friendly drilling technology to transparency on industry practices.  As the report states:  “We support drilling right in Texas: responsible energy development that protects private property owners, water, the environment, and public lands while enabling energy production.”  Here is a pdf file of the document:  drill_right_texas_final Website: http://www.earthworksaction.org/publications.cfm?pubID=444

Property Owner Fights Solo Battle for 2 Years

Against Eminent Domain by Chesapeake Energy;

Company Defends Use of Eminent Domain, But

Is a ‘Happy Ending’ in the Works?

Fighting eminent domain - especially against energy companies - is an act of heroism.

Property owners like Steve Doeung are heroic and inspirational.

Doeung and his fellow residents on Carter Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas, have been staring down the barrel of a 16-inch-diameter gas pipeline that Chesapeake Energy planned on ramming under their front yards with the power of eminent domain.

The company defends its eminent domain action and says it “fully investigated 12 different routes in its effort to connect” two urban gas wells with a pipeline.  “At the time, the Carter Avenue route was the least impactful,” the company told this blog.

Never mind the fact that there is an established easement near I-30 that could be used with less “taking” of private property that comes with eminent domain.  That alternative route is now being actively pursued, according to the company.

Residents learned about the pipeline project in the spring of 2008.  By August of 2008, the company moved to condemn Steve Doeung’s property.  He has been fighting almost single handedly ever since.

Family Fled ‘Killing Fields’

Doeung’s story is classic American.  His family fled Cambodia to escape the genocidal terror campaign launched by the Khmer Rouge.  The Khmer Rouge was the totalitarian ruling party in that country from 1975 to 1979.

According to various reports, they were responsible for the deaths of between 850,000 to 2.5 million Cambodians in just four years.  “The Killing Fields” is a phrase that refers to this reign of terror; and a British film of that name was released in 1984.

Against this horrific background, Steve’s family came to this country when Steve was 10-years old, and settled in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fort Worth:  Where Property Rustling is In

In the spring of 2009, I was contacted by Steve via this website.  His greeting was what I came to understand as classic Steve:  “Howdy from Fort Worth, Texas (formerly ‘where the West begins’ but now ‘where property rustling is in’) ….”

His advice back then stands today:  Take action; do not depend on the kindness of strangers from the gas companies or the government.  Or La-Gas-anostra, he quips.

As Steve says, “Unfortunately, most people are just like me when this project started - not taking the time to be knowledgeable and take action, until it comes right up to your front door.  Instead of being proactive early, I ended up on defense.  The alternative is to surrender, like many of my neighbors.”

Ironically, part of Steve’s motivation is seven words from the Declaration of Independence:  “… Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It may sound hokey, but Steve is eloquent about his motivation:  “As a grateful, first-generation immigrant and naturalized American citizen, I value and take seriously these words and the principles they represent.”

He acknowledges that, “I am not inclined to be an activist per se, but not doing my best to protect my family and neighbors - near and far - is not an option.”

Solo Fight

With all the corporate and political forces arrayed against him, Steve’s fight was the subject of a fascinating profile in Fort Worth Weekly, by Jeff Prince.  Here is a pdf file of the article: he-wont-pipe-down-fort-worth-weekly

In his detailed article, Prince explains how the practice of eminent domain has been corrupted by power:

“Energy companies years ago determined that their pipeline subsidiaries could claim the right of eminent domain, as utilities or ‘common carriers.’ They can force owners to sell easements on private property, even if other easements owned by other companies are available nearby.  The practice has drawn vehement criticism from property owners, rural and urban, across the state, and critics say the companies abuse their eminent domain powers to take more land than is often necessary.”

Single handedly, Steve Doeung has accomplished the incredible.  He has held off Chesapeake Energy for two years, generated news coverage that made the public aware of what was happening on Carter Avenue at the hands of Chesapeake Energy, and even gathered some political support — in a gas company town, yet!

Texas State Senator Wendy Davis

Texas State Senator Wendy Davis told this blog:  ”… even though the state Department of Transportation and the pipeline company (Mid-Stream) and drilling company (Chesapeake) have reached agreement on an alternative route for the pipeline, Chesapeake continues to press forward in its eminent domain proceedings against Mr. Doeung.  I think this is unconscionable and I have indicated my feelings about this to Chesapeake.  It is beyond comprehension to me why, at the very least, Chesapeake would not at least be willing to ‘stand down’ and delay hearings on eminent domain while the agreement with TXDoT [Texas Department of Transportation] is fine tuned and moves forward.”

Chesapeake Now Pursues Alternative Route

That may, in fact, be what is happening now.  According to Brian Murnahan, Communications Manager for Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the Texas Department of Transportation approved the company’s recent proposal to install a portion of the pipeline along the alternative I-30 route.

As Murnahan told this blog, “It looks very positive that the whole street [Carter Avenue] will be avoided.”

But Chesapeake’s Communications Manager notes [emphasis added], “While we are delighted that the I-30 route is now possible, it still does not eliminate all private property crossings.  The advantage of this route is that it can use public right-of-way for much of the route and fewer private properties.”

The company “is optimistic that pipeline construction along the new alignment could begin as early as this fall and the proposed route along Carter Avenue would be rendered moot,” Murnahan stated.

As baseball legend Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”  But reducing the impact of eminent domain on private property is a step in the right direction; and certainly qualifies as being in the public good.

Steve Doeung at court house in Forth Worth.