{"id":5740,"date":"2013-09-22T19:47:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-22T23:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=5740"},"modified":"2013-10-17T07:40:57","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T11:40:57","slug":"spectra-backtracks-about-pipeline-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/spectra-backtracks-about-pipeline-incident.html","title":{"rendered":"Spectra backtracks about pipeline incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nSpectra flip-flops on major safety events as well as on\r\nwhose houses are beautiful<\/a>\r\nand\r\n\r\nwhether Georgia cities can use gas<\/a>\r\nfrom its pipeline from\r\n\r\nPCB-polluted Anniston, Alabama<\/a> to Orlando, Florida.\r\nAnd Spectra was fined recently for violating both federal safety requirements\r\nand its own operating procedures, including for pipeline monitoring.\r\nOh, and its natural gas comes from fracking.\r\n

\r\nRemember Spectra rep Andrea Grover,\r\n\r\nquoted by the VDT<\/a>?\r\nWell, she’s been quoted elsewhere, too.\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nMike Benard wrote for\r\nCSRHUB 5 April 2013,\r\n\r\nSpectra Energy \u2018Backtracks\u2019 on Methane Incident:\r\nFirst: \u201cNothing Released \u2026. No Smoke \u2026. No Incident\u201d;\r\nThen Admits: Methane & Hydrocarbons Released<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nSpectra Energy Corporation (SE, NYSE) was forced to backtrack on\r\ndismissive assertions it made about a nighttime incident at its huge\r\nnatural gas compressor station in Bedford County, PA, after\r\npersistent neighbors and a reporter kept pressing the company and\r\nstate regulators for facts.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nA natural gas compressor station, like the ones\r\n\r\nSpectra says will be along its proposed AL-GA-FL pipeline<\/a>,\r\nmaybe in Dougherty County, maybe in Lowndes County; we don’t know.\r\n

\r\nNow Spectra could say this was a different kind of compressor\r\nbecause it’s a different kind of operation in Pennsylvania.\r\nWhat kind?\r\nFracking:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe Spectra Energy facility — known as Steckman Ridge —\r\nis a 12-billion cubic feet underground natural gas storage reservoir\r\nwith a 5,000 horsepower compressor station, 13 injection\/withdrawal\r\nwells and related pipeline infrastructure in Monroe Township\r\n(Bedford County) Pennsylvania. It is located near the Maryland\r\nborder, about two hours from Washington, DC.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nIt’s still a compressor owned and run by Spectra Energy.\r\nAnd it’s a reminder that the natural gas for that pipeline\r\nthrough Georgia comes from fracking, destroying somebody\r\nelse’s groundwater.\r\nAnd judging by this Spectra flip-flopping safety event,\r\nmaybe ours, too.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nSpectra Energy’s initial response was autocratic and dismissive:\r\n“Nothing was released. There was no smoke. No incident.”\r\nThis was from Marylee Hanley, a “Director of Stakeholder\r\nOutreach” located nearly 500 miles away in the greater Boston\r\narea.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nRemember that when you hear\r\n\r\npromises to Dougherty County<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nBrian Fahrenthold, the state and local government affairs director\r\nfor Houston-based Spectra Energy, assured commissioners and\r\nlandowners impacted by the pipeline that his company will\r\n“meet or exceed all safety standards” required by\r\nfederal officials during construction of the $3 billion project that\r\nwill, when completed, send 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per\r\nday into Florida from central Alabama.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nRead even that closely: “during construction”.\r\nHe didn’t even say Spectra would meet safety standards during operation.\r\n

\r\nRemember it when you see\r\n\r\nthe VDT report from talking to Andrea Grover, Public Affairs Representative from Spectra Energy<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nSafety is a huge factor when it comes to a project of this\r\nmagnitude. Since the Southeast is prone to hurricanes and tornadoes,\r\nSabal Trail considered that, and said their pipeline will be made to\r\nwithstand those events. Also, the pipe will be monitored 24\/7. The\r\nmonitoring system will be fitted with sensors which would detect\r\nleaks. The pipeline will have shut-off valves that will be shut off\r\nremotely in the event of a leak. Sabal Trail will walk the pipeline\r\nregularly checking for anomalies, such as the changing of the color\r\nof the grass, which is an indicator that the pipe requires\r\nmaintenance at that location.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nBack to Pennsylvania:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThen the story began to change, thanks to the persistence of nearby\r\nProperty Owner Angel Smith and Associate Editor Elizabeth Coyle, of\r\nthe Bedford Gazette.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThey kept the pressure on Spectra Energy and the Pennsylvania\r\nDepartment of Environmental Protection (DEP). With its initial\r\n“no incident” response crumbling, the company apparently\r\nsubstituted a different Director of Stakeholder Outreach from its\r\nHouston headquarters.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThis one, Andrea Grover, admitted what the Pennsylvania DEP had\r\nalready acknowledged: There was a release of methane and other\r\nhydrocarbons; but so far the company refuses to say how much.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThat’s right, Andrea Grover is sent from Houston to Pennsylvania\r\nor Georgia to calm the unruly locals.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nBut as reported in the Bedford Gazette, Spectra Energy is legally\r\npermitted to emit literally tons of pollutants per year from this\r\nsingle facility. For example: 50 tons annually of volatile organic\r\ncompounds; 25 tons of hazardous air pollutants, according to the\r\nDEP.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nMakes you wonder about those safety standards required by\r\nfederal officials for the pipeline, doesn’t it?\r\n

\r\nWhatever those standards are, Spectra often has not met them:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nTiming is everything in life. As it turns out, a large socially\r\nresponsible investor group, Trillium Asset Management, with over $1\r\nBILLION in assets under management, has filed a shareholder\r\nresolution requesting a report from Spectra Energy’s Board of\r\nDirectors on its fugitive methane emissions. Reference link:\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.ceres.org\/incr\/engagement\/corporate-dialogues\/shareholder-resolutions\/spectra-energy-fugitive-methane-emissions-2013<\/a>\r\n

\r\nTrillium Asset Management said: “We believe Spectra Energy’s\r\nsocial license to operate is at risk and the company has a\r\nresponsibility to implement a program of measurement, mitigation,\r\nand disclosure.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nIf that weren’t enough evidence of ongoing problems with Spectra\r\nEnergy operations — as recently as December, the\r\n\r\nPipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration<\/a> (PHMSA), issued Spectra\r\nEnergy CEO Greg Ebel a\r\n\r\n“Final Order”<\/a> and civil penalty\r\nof $134,500 related to various violations across several states.\r\nIncluded in this Order, the company was cited for failure regarding\r\nvalve inspections.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n<\/a>\r\nAnd from that\r\n\r\nFinal Order<\/a> to Spectra Energy CEO Greg Ebel:\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. \u00a719 2.605(a) by\r\nfailing to follow its own written procedures….\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nWell, Spectra hasn’t promised Dougherty or Lowndes County to follow\r\nits own procedures!\r\n

\r\nHm, but Andrea Grover did promise, according to the VDT<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n…the pipe will be monitored 24\/7. The monitoring system will be\r\nfitted with sensors which would detect leaks. The pipeline will have\r\nshut-off valves that will be shut off remotely in the event of a\r\nleak.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nBack to that Final Order:\r\n

\r\nItem 5:<\/strong>\r\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. \u00a7192.605(a),\r\nas quoted above, by failing to follow its own written procedures\r\nimplementing the substantive requirements of 49 C.F.R. \u00a7 192.745(a).4<\/sup><\/small>\r\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Texas Eastern failed to follow its\r\nown\r\nSOP 5-5010, Valve Inspection and Maintenance<\/em>, which required\r\nannual valve inspections, but at least at intervals not exceeding 15 months,\r\nfor valves that might be required during an emergency. Under\r\nthe company’s procedure, such inspections had to include the full or partial operation of each valve.5<\/sup><\/small>\r\nThe Notice alleged that between 2008 and 2011, multiple valves at Texas Eastern’s\r\nfacilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas had not been partially operated as part of the annual inspections.\r\n

\r\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation, but stated in its Response that the violation resulted from the use of a single database used to document the maintenance of all valves, both emergency and non-emergency.\r\nWhile SOP 5-5010<\/em> required partial operation only for\r\nvalves that might be required during an emergency, the Texas Eastern database failed to separately identify non-emergency valves that did not require partial\r\noperation during inspections.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nWhy should we believe recently-fined Spectra Energy will monitor its pipeline?\r\n

\r\nHow about we call off the pipeline and install solar panels instead,\r\nfor local jobs and energy for Georgians and no risk to our\r\ndrinking water, wildlife, or people.\r\n

\r\nWhen will the Lowndes County Commission help us fend off this pipeline boondoggle?\r\n

\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spectra flip-flops on major safety events as well as on whose houses are beautiful and whether Georgia cities can use gas from its pipeline from PCB-polluted Anniston, Alabama to Orlando, Florida. And Spectra was fined recently for violating both federal safety requirements and its own operating procedures, including for pipeline monitoring. Oh, and its natural […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[324,16,2,6124,6687,73,3,133,55],"tags":[6967,8763,6965,1587,6959,8706,785,6971,209,8701,8699,6968,6972,8702,12,7,8734,6226,562,6961,1798,6970,6076,6969,8731,6966,8700,6,8742,3545,8727,4150],"class_list":["post-5740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals","category-environment","category-government","category-natural-gas-2","category-pipeline-2","category-safety","category-transparency","category-vdt","category-water","tag-andrea-grover","tag-animals","tag-brian-fahrenthold","tag-brooks-county","tag-dougherty-county-commission","tag-environment","tag-ferc","tag-final-order","tag-floridan-aquifer","tag-georgia","tag-government","tag-greg-ebel","tag-inspection","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-lowndes-county-commission","tag-monitoring","tag-natural-gas","tag-nimby","tag-pennsylvania","tag-phmsa","tag-pipeline","tag-pipeline-hazardous-materials-safety-administration","tag-safety","tag-spectra-energy","tag-transparency","tag-valdosta","tag-vdt","tag-violation","tag-water","tag-wildlife"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-1uA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5740"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6105,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5740\/revisions\/6105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}