Open Letter to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
TO: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC,
20426
RE: Interstate Pipelines for Natural Gas
& NGL from Fracked Horizontal Gas Wells
We assert to you a responsibility to
apply the following principles to your consideration of the PIPELINES now being
planned in the United States:
>>
Natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) are hydrocarbons and fossil fuels, as
such they are greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the EARTH; and, when they
are consumed will ultimately become carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas
already above 400 ppm in the atmosphere, an unsafe level which promotes Global
Warming and other problems.
>> The
President of the US has mandated that greenhouse gases are to be controlled and
limited to reduce Global Warming and Climate Change, which has already reached
extremes as demonstrated by global temperature measures and weather
conditions.
>> The
US EPA seeks to control and limit greenhouse gases from all sources,
particularly the fossil fuels that are the major contributors of methane and
carbon dioxide.
>> The
US Department of the Interior seeks to limit damages to our public lands, and
this example should carryover to State properties of Schools, Parks, Forests,
and others.
>> The
US Forest Service has expressed substantial concerns for certain damages to our
National Parks, National Forests and other forested lands due to pipeline
construction, compressor stations, and extensive land and forest damages
including fires and explosions that are not uncommon.
>> The
right of “eminent domain” which grants permission to private companies for the
taking of personal property has been grossly abused by FERC; therefore, only in
the most urgent and essential cases should such authority be granted, the
instances should be very few and the land taken should be a very small amount
and of marginal value.
>> The
“Halliburton loopholes” should be set aside as not appropriate in the regulation
of the environmental damages of fracking and pipelines to water supplies, air
quality and other protections.
These
considerations should apply to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline across WV, VA, and
NC; to the Mountain Valley Pipeline across WV and VA, to the Nexus Pipeline
across Ohio, Michigan and Canada; to the ET Rover Pipeline across WV, OH,
Michigan and Canada; to the Sunoco Mariner East 2 Pipeline across Ohio, WV and
PA, and to the many other large diameter and long distance pipelines that are
being developed.
This should
also apply to the thousands of miles of smaller and shorter pipelines within the
individual States, as we are particularly concerned about Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia where extensive pipeline develop is underway. Access road construction and
pipeline/compressor station installation and operation are destructive of the
land, result in subsidence, sedimentation, fragmentation and other damages.
Air pollution
results from gas well development and from vents, leaks, flares, fires and
explosions. The fracking silica
sand and diesel trucks and other equipment have been shown to create dangerous
health conditions due to ultra-fine particulates and other
pollutants.
Duane G.
Nichols, Board Member, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition
330 Dream
Catcher Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508
cc: President
Obama, Governors of PA, OH, VA and
WV