Thursday, June 11, 2015

NJ lawmaker's Pipeline bill puts many human lives in jeopardy.

What a JOKE! (a dangerous joke)

http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/local/nj-lawmaker-introduces-natural-gas-pipeline-bills/article_c6b5ac5f-ea62-519b-8f53-9fb5e49a4388.html

NJ lawmaker introduces natural gas pipeline bills

Posted: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 2:30 pm | Updated: 6:59 am, Thu Jun 11, 2015.

By David Levinsky Staff writer

TRENTON — A New Jersey assemblyman has introduced legislation in response
to New Jersey Natural Gas' proposal to build a pipeline through northern Burlington,
Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Assemblyman Ronald Dancer's [bill] would also mandate a minimum 100-foot buffer
between high-pressure natural gas pipelines and any occupied homes or buildings.... 

Dancer, R-12th of Plumsted, said the bills were written to enhance public safety and
provide more public input when locating natural gas pipelines.

"We can't be too cautious when pipelines are being run through the most densely
populated state in the country," Dancer said in a statement. "I have proposed some
common-sense safeguards that will alleviate risk and calm some of the fears associated
with potentially explosive pipelines." ... "

The safety of our residents should not be up for negotiation in an application,"
he said. "By making BPU's own safety (regulations) the law, my bill makes public
safety a priority."

Dancer's comments here are ABSURD, a dangerous joke.

I have been recently investigating something called the PIR formula (Potential
Impact Radius) which is codified by PHMSA as part of federal pipeline safety
law.  The formula the feds uses is bad, even PHMSA admits this, and has had
hearings to discuss how to improve it.

During my investigation, I have examined a few of the largest recent
pipeline failures, where I could find certain parameters needed by the
formula, including MAOP (Max Allowable Operating Pressure)
and pipeline diameter.

Have a look at what I found:
 
Sissonville WV 514'ft
Carlsbad NM 676'ft
Appomattix 958'ft
San Bruno, CA 1,024'ft.
Cleburne TX 1,400'ft


Does it look like a 100'ft buffer
is going to "alleviate risk",
or CREATE RISK?

* NB: My numbers may differ from actual reports, for these reasons.

  1. Remarkably, the blast radius measurement is not in every failure investigation report
  2. Commonly NTSB measures "blast radius" from the center of the burn zone, and NOTusing the rupture as the center of the circle. This is bad because the PIR formula does not work like that. Commonly the burn zone is asymmertrical. So, this under-estimates the Impact Radius as measured from the point of failure

So I have come up with these numbers by painstakingly examining photographs of the incident, and then going to Google Earth, and measuring the distances. This method is admittedly error-prone and is not the same as going to the site with a hand-held GPS unit. But my numbers are most likely within 10% of geo-true readings I would imagine.

 

BH


--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Transco pipeline explosion/fire, Lycoming County PA


We are hearing from both news reports and also first-hand witnesses of a catastrophic failure of the Williams Transco Pipeline, near the border of Lycoming and Columbia Counties, in Pennsylvania.


Initial reports were this was an explosion of the Exxon-Mobil Levan Compressor Station, which is part of the Mountain Gathering system in Columbia County, PA, which borders Lycoming County. However, the connection to that compressor is now in question. 

Last night, my friend wrote: "I live about 4 miles away and last night chaos erupted in the valley when we could feel the rumble, hear the fire and smell the gas.  Just drove by the site about an hour ago and could smell a metallic odor in the air and nose and throat burned."

Today, news reports confirm this was a failure of Williams Transco Pipeline. The Transco Pipeline is a 10,000+ mile system which runs for Texas to the metropolitan NYC area, suffered another catastrophic failure in 2008 in Appomattox VA.

One local I spoke with who wanted to remain anonymous, was told by PA DEP that "blowdown events would happen for an unknown period of time. They said I would need to call Williams to find out how long the blowdown would last. " My source continues, "We called Williams, and they said that there would be no blowdowns".

This pipeline rupture happened in the wake of a new group of anti-pipeline residents in Benton,
who had their first organizational meeting literally the day before this happened.

The next Columbia County meeting against the proposed Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline is Tuesday June 16th at the Pro Shop Cafe at the Links Golf Course in Buckhorn.

 According to news reports, the site is near the intersection of Wilson Road, and Keller Hollow Road, in Jordan Twp. near Unityville, Lycoming County

Approximate GPS: 41.260568, -76.508555
https://goo.gl/maps/WBAHB

UPDATE: This is the exact spot: 41.263746, -76.494596 
https://goo.gl/maps/CEJxwq7Bbom

My friend took these photos, and identified the location as Boudman Rd, Unityville, PA 17774, Looking east. Notice the burned trees. Still trying to confirmation of the exact location. 


​

Media contacts looking for a local source can contact, Deirdre Lally at dlally@cleanair.org

News Reports:

http://wnep.com/2015/06/09/homes-evacuated-after-reported-gas-line-explosion/
Update: Evacuation Lifted After Reported Gas Line Rupture
Posted 10:14 pm, June 9, 2015, by

JORDAN TOWNSHIP — Emergency crews evacuated homes for a time near the Lycoming/Columbia County line because of a reported natural gas line rupture.

According to Columbia County EMA officials, there was a gas rupture and leak around 9:30 p.m. on Wilson Road in Jordan Township near Unityville. There was initially a fire, but it was put out.
An initial evacuation radius of three miles was reduced to one and a half miles. About 130 people went to shelters set up at two nearby fire stations.

Just before midnight, the evacuation order was lifted and those residents were allowed to return to their homes.

There are no reports of any injuries.

"It almost sounded like an airplane crash," said Craig Seely of Unityville. "It just started roaring. It sounded kind of like about 500 freight trains running down the track at the same time. Windows started rattling in the house. It shook the house."

"It was very loud, kind of a roar, almost a little bit like an explosion followed by a loud roar," said Benton Borough EMA Coordinator Dan Jankowski. "Actually my thought at the time was that it might have been a gas line that is in that area. There was some conjecture that it was a plane crash. It was that loud."

EMA officials said the gas was quickly shut off by Williams Gas workers who were called to the scene.
http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/pipeline-leak-under-investigation/42354/TtxhVRJCjkin_usGfvA-gQ






Pipeline Leak Under Investigation
06/10/2015 12:15 PM

 
Jordan Township, Lycoming County- An uneasy night for residents in two counties after a natural gas pipeline ruptured and leaked creating a sound some compared to hundreds of freight trains.

People are back in their homes this morning after the scare near the Lycoming and Columbia County border resulting in widespread evacuations.
According to E-M-A officials the problem with the gas line owned by Williams Pipeline started around 9:30 Tuesday night near the intersection of Wilson Road and Keller Hollow Road in Jordan Township, near Unityville.

    A fire had to be extinguished -- and a three mile evacuation was being called for.

    About 130 residents were evacuated to fire halls in Benton and Unityville
officials are still investigating what caused the leak.     
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/gas-line-explosion-in-lycoming-county-involves-pipeline-owned-by/article_1e1f7fcc-0f76-11e5-a35e-db7d39c8e3fa.html



Williams pipeline explosion in Lycoming Gas line explosion in Lycoming County involves pipeline owned by same company that wants to build in Lancaster County

By AD CRABLE | Staff Writer
 
A natural gas pipeline rupture and explosion forced the evacuation of about 130 people Tuesday night in Lycoming County.
 The rupture occurred on a 24-inch natural gas pipeline owned by Williams, the pipeline company that wants to build a 42-inch gas pipeline through 36.5 miles in Lancaster County as part of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project.
Lance Latham, a spokesman for the Oklahoma-based Williams, said that “emergency shutdown equipment worked properly to quickly stop the flow of gas and isolate the section of line where the failure occurred. As a safety precaution, local emergency response personnel evacuated some nearby residents.”

 There were no reports of injuries.

According to WNEP, a television station in Scranton, about 130 people were taken to two nearby fire stations. The evacuation order was lifted just before midnight.

The cause of the pipe failure has not been determined, Williams said.

“A full investigation will be conducted in coordination with appropriate regulatory agencies to determine the cause of the incident,” Latham said.

 “We will work closely with federal and state authorities to determine the cause of the incident and take necessary steps to ensure the operational integrity of our pipeline system.”

The rupture occurred at 9:40 p.m. in Jordan Township, near Unityville and  Lycoming’s border with Columbia County. There was initially a fire, but it was put out, WNEP reported.

One person described the sound of the explosion “like an airplane crash” that shook his house and rattled windows.

“It was very loud, kind of a roar, almost a little bit like an explosion followed by a loud roar,” Dan Jankowski, Benton Borough emergency management coordinator, told WNEP.

The proposed Atlantic Sunrise project includes 183 miles of new greenfield pipe, including 36.5 miles in Lancaster County.

Its goal is to transport Marcellus Shale gas from the fractured drilling fields in northern Pennsylvania to Eastern Seaboard states and for shipment overseas.

The project is currently being reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is expected to make a decision in about a year.

These sites are behind a paywall:


--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist
the Constitution Pipeline:
Posted by at 3 comments:

Sunday, June 7, 2015

[NYRAD] Early comments on the EPA's Hydraulic Fracturing Study draft

Some of you may have seen this article on Ecowatch, or in an email if you are on the Gasland list:

http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/05/josh-fox-fracking-contaminates-drinking-water/

I actually created the map from the dataset of 969 determination letters from PA DEP published by the Scranton Times Tribune.

I restricted it to the 6 most heavily fracked counties nearest the Southern Tier. The black dots are gas wells. Each township is color coded by the number of complaints in the dataset. The map uses a log scale, so each color change represents a doubling in number of complaints.

I think this map clearly shows that the contamination IS widespread and systemic! It's gotten over 2 thousand shares, so apparently others agree.

I encourage you to read Ron Bishop's analysis which I've republished here:

http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2015/06/dr-ron-bishop-early-comments-on-epas.html

And also the NYS DEC's response here:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/102038.html

And Chip Northrup's blog...

http://www.nofrackingway.us/2015/06/06/epa-didnt-fracking-find-what-it-didnt-fracking-look-for/

All of which point out the extremely narrow scope of EPA's study, and/or how the Executive Summary seems be be contradicted by the actual data.

Sandra made the same case here, when she was allowed to talk:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/varney-co/index.html#/v/4277807777001

Here are some commentaries on the bizarre media spin. I'm sure more will follow:

http://blog.skytruth.org/2015/06/epa-fracking-study.html

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/04/newsweek-wash-times-publish-false-headlines-abo/203890



On Sunday, June 7, 2015, Mary Sweeney <mbsweeney@echoes.net> wrote:
> What the general public may not understand is just how many gas wells are involved in shale gas extraction. As we've already seen in PA (and other places), a single county can easily end up with hundreds or thousands of shale gas wells. So even if the risk per individual well seems acceptably low, when you multiply that risk by the large number of wells you end up with an unacceptably high risk county-wide and a game of Russian Roulette for individual residents.
> Moreover, this problem also applies at the level of an individual living near a well pad, because the well pad is unlikely to contain just one shale gas well--it's probably going to have multiple wells. So you have to take the per-well risk and multiply it by the number of wells on the pad. On top of that, having multiple wells clustered together might increase the rate of cement failure for each individual well on the pad because they are all taking a pounding every time a new well is drilled and fracked or re-fracked. 
> Those responsible for the EPA's executive summary are hoping we will not do the multiplication. 
> Note, by the way, that even before you think about doing the multiplication, the general attitude of the executive summary is really quite callous:it seems to be saying that as long as the damage to water is not "widespread" or "systemic" it's no big deal. But what about the people who do end up drinking bad water? Do they just not count? 
> On Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 6:24:59 PM UTC-4, Gerri wrote:
>>
>> Friends....Ron Bishop [Sustainable Otsego] gave me permission to share with you his preliminary take on the EPA Hydraulic Fracturing study draft below...I apology if you've already seen it...Gerri
>> ----------------
>> Friends
>>  
>> I participated this morning in a webinar hosted by the USEPA regarding their draft hydraulic fracturing study draft, and I've taken a preliminary look at the study itself -- not to be confused with the executive summary.  The report itself can be downloaded from http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy. 
>>  
>> The primary reported conclusion of the draft study is that the EPA finds "no evidence for widespread water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing operations".  
>>  
>> However, the evidence presented in the study clearly indicates thousands of incidents of localized misery related to water contamination: 
>>      About one of every dozen petroleum industry spills (8%) reached a drinking water source. 
>>      Two-thirds of these spills (66%) contaminated soil adjacent to the drill pads involved. 
>>      Two-thirds of oil and gas wells (66%) had cement gaps -- when they were new. 
>>      Three percent (3%) of oil and gas wells had cement gaps where they penetrated drinking water aquifers. 
>>      All the wells examined deteriorated with age, but the agency could not determine an average rate of breakdown. 
>>      About one of every 250 hydraulic fracturing operations (0.4%) sent cracks directly into underground sources of drinking water.  Until today's release of the draft report, this is the number which petroleum industry spokespeople have insisted was zero.  Not only is it not zero, it amounts to thousands of incidents across multiple states. 
>>  
>> I noted (for now) one glaring deficiency in the report:  the chapter on waste-fluids disposal made no mention of earthquakes triggered by underground injection of wastes in different regions of the country -- although there was an oblique comment about an uncertain future for waste disposal if underground injection began to be limited.  Do our EPA scientists believe that earthquakes don't affect drinking water aquifers? 
>>  
>> How do we reconcile the documented evidence of widespread harm with the executive summary conclusion of harm that is not widespread?  The evidence was collected by scientists, and the "spin" was written by politicians.  Nothing about that is new to my experience. 
>>  
>> There will be more comments to come as I struggle through the details. 
>> Ron
>>
>>  
>> Gerri Wiley
>> 607-342-3159
>> gerri...@yahoo.com
>
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--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist
the Constitution Pipeline:

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Saturday, June 6, 2015

WSJ: The EPA Fracking Miracle


The EPA Fracking Miracle

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
PHOTO:  GETTY IMAGES

June 4, 2015 7:25 p.m. ET

So even the Environmental Protection Agency now concedes that fracking is safe, which won’t surprise anyone familiar with the reality of unconventional oil and natural gas drilling in the U.S. But if no less than the EPA is saying this, then the political opposition doesn’t have much of a case left.

“We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,” the EPA observes in a 1,399-page report and multiple appendices. By mechanisms, the researchers mean the practice of injecting water and chemicals into shale at high pressure to extract oil or natural gas.

Opinion Journal Video

Editorial Board Member Joe Rago on the significance of a government study that concludes hydraulic fracturing doesn’t pose a widespread, systemic threat to drinking water.

http://www.wsj.com/video/opinion-journal-surprise-fracking-is-safe/5CF7A547-C536-4C4D-A845-5580B262CF4D.html


The environmental movement has stoked speculative fears about chemical mixes leaching into aquifers, poisoned potable water and toxic spills. States including New York, Maryland, California and Vermont have used this pretext for fracking moratoriums or bans. Yet the EPA study is the most exhaustive review ever conducted of the scientific literature and fracking in practice. Dozens of researchers spent five years and likely tens of millions of dollars.

EPA’s conclusion really is remarkable. The agency has yearned for an excuse to take over fracking regulation from the states, which do the job well. So if there was so much as a sliver of evidence that fracking was dangerous, the EPA would have found it. Think of this as the Obama Administration’s equivalent of the Bush Administration failing to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The truth is that state oversight, industry best practices and especially innovation in technology and engineering are more than adequate to protect water and the wider ecology, as well as the prosperity that fracking underwrites. The EPA paper even accepts that the domestic energy boom has “increased domestic energy supplies and brought economic benefits to many areas of the United States.”

Some areas—but not all. One exception is New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo banned fracking by executive order after winning re-election last year. The Democrat hinted during his campaign that he was open to drilling, especially upstate atop the oil-and-gas-rich Marcellus Shale that straddles Pennsylvania and the Empire State.

But suddenly his health department rolled out a report full of dubious science concluding that it could not say with “absolute scientific certainty”—as if such a thing exists—that fracking does not endanger the public. The department cited “potential water contamination” and “the potential to affect drinking water quality.”

In other words, Mr. Cuomo’s sleuths couldn’t find conclusive evidence that fracking harms drinking water, so he banned it until they can. Even as formerly depressed and deindustrialized Pennsylvania regions benefit from drilling, over the border the unlucky saps must bow to the green superstitions of New York City elites.

The Rochester and Buffalo metro areas are the third and fourth poorest cities in America after Detroit and Cleveland, according to the Census, but they could become the northeastern capitals of the U.S. energy renaissance. When even the EPA blesses fracking, the self-serving political hackery behind Mr. Cuomo’s ban is exposed for all the world to see.


[YOUR EDITOR ADDS-- Yeah, Here's a map showing some of those regions enjoying "benefit from drilling", like contaminated drinking water]






Posted by at No comments:

Friday, June 5, 2015

Dr. Ron Bishop: Early comments on the EPA's Hydraulic Fracturing Study draft

From: Ron Bishop
Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Subject: Early comments on the EPA's Hydraulic Fracturing Study draft
To: Sustainable Otsego

Friends,
 
I participated this morning in a webinar hosted by the USEPA regarding their draft hydraulic fracturing study draft, and I've taken a preliminary look at the study itself -- not to be confused with the executive summary.  The report itself can be downloaded from http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy.
 
The primary reported conclusion of the draft study is that the EPA finds "no evidence for widespread water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing operations". 
 
However, the evidence presented in the study clearly indicates thousands of incidents of localized misery related to water contamination:
     About one of every dozen petroleum industry spills (8%) reached a drinking water source.
     Two-thirds of these spills (66%) contaminated soil adjacent to the drill pads involved.
     Two-thirds of oil and gas wells (66%) had cement gaps -- when they were new.
     Three percent (3%) of oil and gas wells had cement gaps where they penetrated drinking water aquifers.
     All the wells examined deteriorated with age, but the agency could not determine an average rate of breakdown.
     About one of every 250 hydraulic fracturing operations (0.4%) sent cracks directly into underground sources of drinking water.  Until today's release of the draft report, this is the number which petroleum industry spokespeople have insisted was zero.  Not only is it not zero, it amounts to thousands of incidents across multiple states.
 
I noted (for now) one glaring deficiency in the report:  the chapter on waste-fluids disposal made no mention of earthquakes triggered by underground injection of wastes in different regions of the country -- although there was an oblique comment about an uncertain future for waste disposal if underground injection began to be limited.  Do our EPA scientists believe that earthquakes don't affect drinking water aquifers?
 
How do we reconcile the documented evidence of widespread harm with the executive summary conclusion of harm that is not widespread?  The evidence was collected by scientists, and the "spin" was written by politicians.  Nothing about that is new to my experience.
 
There will be more comments to come as I struggle through the details.
 
Ron



--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist
the Constitution Pipeline:

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Thursday, June 4, 2015

Good News & Bad: Draft of EPA fracking study finally released:



The EPA has just released a draft of their long awaited study
of hydraulic fracturing on groundwater:

http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/hfstudy/recordisplay.cfm?deid=244651

GOOD NEWS:

Finally, EPA is explicitly stating what those of us living near the gasfields have known for a long time, that gas drilling and fracking does contaminate ground water. Recall this is something EPA have denied for years. From page 8 of the Executive Summary:
Major Findings 
``From our assessment, we conclude there are above and below ground mechanisms by which hydraulic fracturing activities have the potential to impact drinking water resources. These mechanisms include water withdrawals in times of, or in areas with, low water availability; spills of hydraulic fracturing fluids and produced water; fracturing directly into underground drinking water resources; below ground migration of liquids and gases; and inadequate treatment and discharge of wastewater.``

"There's not much Spam in it!"

The report also concludes that while there have been some cases of water contamination, the number was "small".

This reminds me of the Monty Python sketch were the woman in the restaurant is complaining that she doesn't like Spam, but everything on the menu seems to have Spam in it. When she complains, the waiter offers her "Spam, eggs, sausage, and Spam" because it's "not got much Spam in it".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE

Continuing page 8 of the Executive Summary:
``We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States. Of the potential mechanisms identified in this report, we found specific instances where one or more mechanisms led to impacts on drinking water resources, including contamination of drinking water wells. The number of identified cases, however, was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.``
What the EPA fails to mention is that in fact there is data which suggests that this contamination HAS been widespread. As documented in Josh Fox's GASLAND movies, there have been complaints of water contamination in every place where fracking has been tried.

As the following map shows, according to the PA DEP's own data, obtained through a Right to Know request, and reported by Laura Legere in the Scranton Times Tribune, there have been nearly 969 complaints of water contamination from gas drilling activity state-wide.

Source: Sunday Times review of DEP drilling records reveals water damage, murky testing methods By Laura Legere, May 19, 2013:

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/sunday-times-review-of-dep-drilling-records-reveals-water-damage-murky-testing-methods-1.1491547



Please note that this dataset is several years old, and only includes reports between 2008 and the fall of 2012. So the number of problems could be double by now.

Since I live in Broome County NY,  near NE PA, where many of my friends and family live, I decided to graph the complaints that the Times-Tribune uncovered.

The granularity of the dataset is only to the township level. Specific addresses are mostly redacted.I used a "log scale" for the color gradient, so each color change represents a doubling in the number of complaints.


Posted by at 1 comment:

Re: HIGH ALERT - HR 2295 to force pipelines through federal lands


For easier distribution (without email attachments, and without having
to deal with stripping info about secure listservs)
I've put the text of this note here, and added a link to the bill text:

http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2015/06/high-alert-hr-2295-to-force-pipelines.html

I also combined the two original attachments, and added the bill text and uploaded them here,
which people can either view on Scribd, or download (after registering):

https://www.scribd.com/doc/267731478/HR2295-Bill-Text-Testimony

Feel free to share these links for easier distribution.

Hope this helps!


On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 11:45 PM, William Huston <williamahuston@gmail.com> wrote:
This is going to certain secure lists.

BE SURE to trim subject line and the body
before forwarding.  Thanks!

From some friends in Virginia. This appears to be specifically targeted
to "grease the skids" of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, but might also
have other implications, to national forests, national parks, and
Indian Tribal Lands.  See attached.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 10:33 PM
Subject: ACTION ALERT----Fwd: HIGH ALERT - HORRIBLE bill HR 2295 to force through pipelines

You can find your representative here. http://www.house.gov/

There is a HORRIBLE bill, designed to force through the ACP pipeline, by directing the Secretary of the Interior to establish natural gas pipeline corridors on Federal land, with a mandate that they establish 10 such corridors in Eastern states within two years. Establishment of the corridors would be exempt from NEPA, and there would be limited public input into their development, and then pipeline permitting within the corridors would be expedited – the bill appears to require approval within one year of application. The bill would also make it much easier to put pipelines through National Parks.

H.R. 2295 will be voted on in the House Natural Resources Committee Thursday, June 11.  WV Representative Alex Mooney (who replaced Capito), DC (202) 225-2711, Charleston (304) 925-5964 needs to hear the opposition. 

We need to generate calls, so please spread this alert as wide and as fast as possible.  We also need some media attention. 

Testimony from SELC and the BLM, who opposes the bill, are attached.


TEXT OF THE BILL IS HERE:\
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2295 

--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)
 



--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist
the Constitution Pipeline:
Posted by at No comments:

HIGH ALERT - HR 2295 to force pipelines through federal lands

From some friends in Virginia. This appears to be specifically targeted
to "grease the skids" of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, but might also
have other implications, to national forests, national parks, and
Indian Tribal Lands. 

Grab the Info Packet PDF here:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/267731478/HR2295-Bill-Text-Testimony

If you have trouble accessing the PDF, please email me:
WilliamAHuston@gmail.com and put "HR2295" in the subject line.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 10:33 PM
Subject: ACTION ALERT----Fwd: HIGH ALERT - HORRIBLE bill HR 2295 to force through pipelines

You can find your representative here. http://www.house.gov/
There is a HORRIBLE bill, designed to force through the ACP pipeline, by directing the Secretary of the Interior to establish natural gas pipeline corridors on Federal land, with a mandate that they establish 10 such corridors in Eastern states within two years. Establishment of the corridors would be exempt from NEPA, and there would be limited public input into their development, and then pipeline permitting within the corridors would be expedited – the bill appears to require approval within one year of application. The bill would also make it much easier to put pipelines through National Parks.
H.R. 2295 will be voted on in the House Natural Resources Committee Thursday, June 11.  WV Representative Alex Mooney (who replaced Capito), DC (202) 225-2711, Charleston (304) 925-5964 needs to hear the opposition. 
We need to generate calls, so please spread this alert as wide and as fast as possible.  We also need some media attention. 
Testimony from SELC and the BLM, who opposes the bill, are attached.

TEXT OF THE BILL IS HERE:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2295 

--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)
Posted by at No comments:

Help Jimmy Betts get his fiddle replaced

https://www.crowdrise.com/jimmybettsjustice

For those the don't know, Jimmy Betts' fiddle was stolen in DC during Stop the ‪#‎FERCus‬.

I think Jimmy is an amazing human being, a brilliant activist, Climate Marcher, organizer, and peacemaker.

You may not know Jimmy is a Seneca Lake Defender and was jailed in December for his act to protect this place.

Can you chip in a few bucks to help replace his stolen fiddle and accessories, worth ~$1500?

Even if donations go over that amt, I know he will put it to good use, defending the Earth. Thanks!

WaPo Story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-ballad-of-the-fiddle-that-traveled-3000-miles--and-then-was-stolen/2015/06/03/4bb8d93e-09fd-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html

Donate:
https://www.crowdrise.com/jimmybettsjustice


--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist
the Constitution Pipeline:

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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Gerry Wiley and Wes Ernsberger, arrested and jailed at FERC yesterday.



At a little before 9am yesterday, Gerri Wiley and Wes Ernsberger of RAFT (Tioga county) who were engaged in blockading the SW entrance of FERC building in Washington DC, did not move after being given 3 warnings, and were arrested along with at least 3 others.

FERC is accused of being a captured "rogue agency", which rubber stamps permit applications for pipelines, LNG, gas storage, and compressor stations.

Two other entrances are still being blockaded. Other NYers present include Caapt. Ray Lewis, Pete Bevalaqua, and Suzy Winkler, of Stop the Pipeline.

 
I just heard that Gerri, Wes, #BXE organizer Steve Norris, who along with two others were arrested yesterday blocking entrance to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington DC, spent the night in jail.

This is a CHANGE in the established protocol from last year, where people were given an appearance ticket, and released without even being fingerprinted.

They are scheduled to be arraigned today. I will update you when I hear more.

For now, keep these brave Climate Heroes in your thoughts and prayers.

BH






 







-- --
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

Don't forget to sign the
Pledge to Resist the Constitution Pipeline:
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