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Pipelines

Dozens Of Land Owners Sue Over Eminent Domain For FERC Pipelines

September 8, 2017 Duncan Adams, www.roanoke.com , , ,
By Duncan Adams for The Roanoke Times - Dozens of landowners potentially affected by the Mountain Valley Pipeline or the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other foes of the controversial projects have filed a federal lawsuit that challenges eminent domain provisions of the Natural Gas Act. The suit contends that these provisions, as implemented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, violate Fifth Amendment constitutional protections by allowing private, for-profit pipeline companies to wield eminent domain to acquire easements across private properties without evidence that the projects are needed or will serve the public good. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, contends that FERC’s approval of the pipelines “is virtually certain and imminent” and it asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to intervene. The plaintiffs and their attorney, Carolyn Elefant, a former FERC lawyer, implore the court to stop FERC from issuing the certificates of public convenience and necessity — which the pipeline companies need to begin construction or to exercise eminent domain — until the lawsuit can be litigated. Defendants include the two pipeline companies, each a limited liability company incorporated in Delaware, as well as FERC and its three commissioners.

Sacred Space On Jones Street

September 8, 2017 Staff, www.2017acpfast.wordpress.com ,
By Staff of Fast To Support Deq - Pictured above are Maple Osterbrink of Durham, Steve Norris of Asheville, and Kay Reibold of Raleigh. Steve and Kay have already begun laying groundwork for the construction of a solarized sacred space of some sort in the direct path of the pipeline should that become necessary later this fall. Last week on a conference call, however, Steve made the insightful observation that the first sacred space we’ll build will be the community of fasters and pipeline resisters we develop these two weeks in Raleigh and around the state. Shortly after the picture was taken, we began making Steve’s words a reality. We lit a few pinches of dried sage on fire which Maple had thought to bring and we placed it down on the sidewalk between us. Then as the smoke rose, we joined hands together as Kay and Maple spoke from the heart about their hopes for the coming days. The moment reminded me of last March during APPPL’s walk along the proposed route of the ACP when the Lumbee invited us into the sacred circle at their spring equinox ceremonies. Sage and Spirit, we learned today, are as powerful on the streets of Raleigh as in the beauty of rural Robeson County.

L’eau Est La Vie: The Ways & Means To Fight A Black Snake In The Bayou

September 4, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, www.occupy.com , ,
By Eleanor Goldfield for Occupy - Resisting the Black Snake in the Bayous: L'eau est la vie – water is life. From the deep bayous and what's left of the Louisiana wetlands, we take a look at the indigenous led camp standing in the way of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline – the benignly named crude oil project threatening huge swaths of waterways and some of the state's last line of defense against climate change. We trace the money that makes the pipelines flow, not only in Louisiana but in Pennsylvania and Florida as well. We sit down and talk with Bold Louisiana state director Cherri Foytlin about her continued fight to protect her land, her family and her community against the destructive practices of both big oil and their paid off politicians. Unfortunately for them, she has no plans to step aside - and we can and should all be inspired by her fight.

Judge Approves Search Bellingham #NoDAPL Facebook Page

September 3, 2017 Kie Relyea, www.bellinghamherald.com , , , ,
By Kie Relyea for the Bellingham Herald. Authorities investigating the February demonstration that blocked Interstate 5 and allegedly caused an injury crash can move forward with the search of the Bellingham #NoDAPL Coalition Facebook page. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Charles Snyder on Wednesday denied a request to revoke the latest version of the search warrant, which the judge approved May 11. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully challenged the first warrant for being too broad and unconstitutional, while Facebook told investigators the second warrant was too specific for it to be able to filter for the requested information, according to court documents. The warrant orders Facebook to provide all stored content from the Bellingham #NoDAPL Coalition page from Feb. 5 to Feb. 15. That content includes photos or videos, event information, discussion posts, and all profile information including for administrators or moderators. Information that doesn’t pertain to the investigation into disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment will be returned to the court and sealed, according to the warrant.

Who’s Behind Fossil Fuel Extraction– Not Just Republicans

September 3, 2017 Alison Rose Levy, www.truth-out.org , ,
By Alison Rose Levy for Truthout. Obama clearly signaled his pro-gas and oil industry policy intentions during his 2012 re-election campaign. At a stop in Cushing, Oklahoma, the president famously stood before massive pipes, and signed an executive order to expedite permitting for pipelines and other related infrastructure. "Obama's Worst Speech Ever," was how Joe Romm, founding editor of Climate Progress, characterized the speech. He quotes the former president: "Over the last three years, I've directed my administration to open up millions of acres for gas and oil exploration across 23 different states. We're opening up more than 75 percent of our potential oil resources offshore". We've quadrupled the number of operating rigs to a record high. We've added enough new oil and gas pipeline to encircle the Earth and then some. . . It is becoming ever clearer that protecting the climate will require holding elected officials on both sides of the aisle accountable.

Court Rejects Pipeline Rubber-Stamp, Orders Climate Impact Review

August 24, 2017 Phil McKenna, www.insideclimatenews.org , ,
By Phil McKenna for Inside Climate News - An appeals court rejected federal regulators' approval of a $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline project on Tuesday over the issue of climate change. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) failed to fully consider the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel that would flow through the Southeast Market Pipelines Project when the commission approved the project in 2016. "FERC's environmental impact statement did not contain enough information on the greenhouse gas emissions that will result from burning the gas that the pipelines will carry," the judges wrote in a divided decision. "FERC must either quantify and consider the project's downstream carbon emissions or explain in more detail why it cannot do so." The 2-1 ruling ordered the commission to redo its environmental review for the project, which includes the approximately 500-mile Sabal Trail pipeline and two shorter, adjoining pipelines. With its first phase complete, the project is already pumping fracked gas from the Marcellus-Utica shale basins of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia through Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Court Of Appeals Upholds NY’s Denial Of Water Quality Certification For Constitution Pipeline

August 21, 2017 Eric Schneiderman, www.ecowatch.com , ,
By Eric Schneiderman for EcoWatch - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld New York State's denial of a water quality certification for the Constitution Pipeline Friday, a critical win for the Attorney General's office and the state's authority to take necessary action to protect its waters and natural resources. The appeals court noted that the state is entitled to "conduct its own review of the Constitution Project's likely effects on New York waterbodies and whether those effects would comply with the state's water quality standards." New York must be able to do what's necessary to protect our environment—and we're glad that the court agreed. It would be unacceptable for a pipeline—or any project—to pollute our waters and undermine New Yorkers' health and water resources. Today's decision marks a major win for New Yorkers, and for the state's right to take the actions necessary to protect the public and our environment. My office stands ready to continue to vigorously defend New Yorkers' right to a safe and healthy environment from all who may harm it.

From Charlottesville With Resolve + Indigenous Youth Paddle To Protect

August 18, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, www.occupy.com , , ,
By Eleanor Goldfield for Occupy - This week on Act Out!, a special episode to discuss what happened last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Note: we will not show the video. Next, we take a look at an old decaying pipeline, a brand new one and the company that craves more land and water for the sake of black gold. We talk with two indigenous youth activists standing up to the company and taking to the water to raise awareness and build resistance: Stop Line 3 and Paddle to Protect. From tweets to marching in the streets, this is Act Out!

Court Lets Exxon Off Hook For Pipeline Spill In Arkansas Neighborhood

August 18, 2017 Georgina Gustin, www.insideclimatenews.org , , ,
By Georgina Gustin for Inside Climate News - A federal appeals court has let ExxonMobil largely off the hook for a 2013 pipeline spill that deluged a neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, with more than 200,000 gallons of heavy tar sands crude oil, sickening residents and forcing them from their homes. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overturned federal findings of violations and the better part of a $2.6 million fine imposed on Exxon's pipeline unit in 2015 by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The regulator had accused the company of failing to maintain the decades-old Pegasus Pipeline and to prioritize testing of a segment of older, high-risk pipe where a 22-foot gash eventually opened along a metal seam. Exxon challenged the violation and fine, arguing there was no proof its actions contributed to the spill and saying it had conducted adequate testing of the pipeline as required by law. The appeals court agreed, saying the company met its legal obligation when it "conducted a lengthy, repeated and in-depth analysis" of the pipeline and its risks.

Anti-Pipeline Paddlers Insist On Protection Of Potomac Waters

August 14, 2017 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us , , ,
By Anne Meador for DC Media Group - Greedy pipeline companies in league with complicit government officials are the driving force behind two gas pipelines intended to deliver Pennsylvania gas to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, opponents contend. On August 11, environmental advocacy group Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) hosted a press conference on the Potomac River’s banks in Sharpsburg, Md., to highlight the adverse consequences of constructing two interconnected gas projects affecting western Maryland the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. TransCanada’s Potomac Pipeline (formally the Eastern Panhandle Expansion) and Mountaineer Gas’s distribution line would transport fracked gas from Fulton Co., Pa., to Morgan Co., W.Va. For most of the summer, opponents of the pipelines and communities affected by them have been holding weekend camp-outs and events along the Potomac to raise awareness about them. They believe TransCanada’s plan to drill under the Potomac River poses grave risks in case of accidents. They displayed their message to protect the water on the river itself: a flotilla of about a dozen kayaks paddled downstream toward the gathering at Taylor’s Landing, holding aloft banners reading, “Keep Our Water Clean,” and “Hogan: Stop the Potomac Pipeline.”

Standing Rock Spawned A Generation Of Water Protectors

August 14, 2017 Joseph Bullington, www.inthesetimes.com , , , ,
By Joseph Bullington for In These Times - BISMARCK, N.D.—Forty miles north of where the Standing Rock resistance camps once stood, Matt Lone Bear and Carter Gunderson crouch on the curb, changing the brakes on a Chevy Blazer. As they wrestle a worn rotor off the axle, they discuss their plans. They’ll stick around until their court dates later in June, then hit the road for a tour of the Standing Rock diaspora—camps that have sprung up across the country to oppose fossil fuel projects, living on after the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). To the east, in Huntingdon County, Penn., the Gerhart family and their supporters have formed Camp White Pine on family property, which lies in the path of the Mariner East 2 natural gas pipeline. The pipeline’s owner, Energy Transfer Partners—the same company behind DAPL—hasinvoked eminent domain to cross the property, but construction faces resistance in the form of tree sits and other direct actions. Farther east, in Mahwah, N.J., the Native-led Split Rock Sweetwater Prayer Camp stands in the way of the Pilgrim pipeline. The camp’s Facebook page declares “solidarity with Standing Rock & all who resist the black snake worldwide.”

Low Prices, Tar Sands Pull Out Could Kill KXL Pipeline

August 12, 2017 Phil McKenna, www.insideclimatenews.org ,
By Phil McKenna for Inside Climate News - It will be close to three years, at least, before oil could possibly be moving through the controversial Keystone XL pipeline—if the pipeline is completed at all. Company officials now concede that after battling protests and regulatory hurdles for nearly a decade, market forces could scuttle the project. Canadian pipeline giant TransCanada first proposed the 1,700-mile project in 2008 to ship tar sands oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. The half-built project was halted by President Obama in 2015 only to be revived through an executive order signed by President Trump soon after he took office. The company has spent $3 billion on the project, mostly for pipe but also for land rights and other costs of lobbying for its proposal. During the prolonged dispute, the price of oil fell from more than $130 a barrel to roughly $45 a barrel today, undercutting the prospects for production growth in the Canadian tar sands, which were used to justify the Keystone XL project at its outset. Along with changing market conditions, the emergence of competing pipelines scattered TransCanada's customer base. Now it's uncertain whether the company can sign enough new commitments from Alberta's beleaguered oil patch to move forward.

TransCanada Pipelines Protested With Drumming And Dance At Washington, DC Headquarters

August 11, 2017 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us , ,
By Anne Meador for DC Media Group - Washington, DC — More than a hundred protesters and “water protectors” held a rally at TransCanada’s corporate office on Tuesday followed by a Native American round dance in the middle of 13th St., stopping some late rush-hour traffic. Familiar Keystone XL pipeline signs and banners were deployed once again, some even going back to the Forward on Climate March in 2014. Protests against the proposed northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline continue to flare as Nebraska regulators hold hearings to determine whether they will permit the route through the state. After pipeline company TransCanada finally gained in April the federal approval it sought for nine years, focus has shifted from the nation’s capital back to the plains states. Yet environmental groups in Washington, DC are still waging battle against Keystone XL, even as they gear up for a fight against a TransCanada pipeline closer to home. At Tuesday evening’s protest, it was apparent that those affected by pipelines and their allies view battles against oil and gas drilling and associated infrastructure projects as a collective struggle against energy companies and their stranglehold over the political process.

Tribes Want Dakota Pipeline Shut, But Offer Fallback Plan

August 10, 2017 Blake Nicholson, www.www.AP.org ,
By Blake Nicholson for AP News - BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — American Indian tribes fighting the Dakota Access oil pipeline are asking a judge to shut down the line while more environmental review is conducted, but they’ve also presented a fallback plan should the judge disagree. The “alternative relief” that Standing Rock Sioux attorney Jan Hasselmen “reluctantly” proposed in court documents filed Monday includes increased public reporting of pipeline issues such as repairs, and implementation of a spill response plan — including equipment staging — at the Lake Oahe reservoir on the Missouri River, from which the tribe draws its water. “Neither the Corps (of Engineers) nor DAPL has ever communicated with the tribes about spill response planning,” Hasselman wrote. The $3.8 billion pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners began moving oil from western North Dakota to a distribution point in Illinois on June 1, after President Donald Trump earlier this year pushed through its completion. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg later in June ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers largely complied with environmental law when permitting the pipeline but didn’t adequately consider how an oil spill under Lake Oahe might affect the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

Sugar Shack Protesters Block Construction For Public Safety

August 10, 2017 Sugar Shack Alliance, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By the Sugar Shack Alliance. Massachusetts - In an early morning action carried out yesterday at the site of the Kinder Morgan/TGP Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Project, 21 members of the Sugar Shack Alliance successfully blocked construction traffic for almost 3 hours in 2 directions on Cold Spring Road in Sandisfield MA, hindering access to work zones for employees, and, for a short time, disrupting ongoing pipeline construction. The day’s action—undertaken by Sugar Shack Alliance members in the interest of public safety—resulted in the arrest of 10 activists. One major safety concern for the Sugar Shack Alliance and their allies is the apparent lack of an evacuation plan in the event of a potentially catastrophic accident. In 1981, as many Sandisfield residents may recall, during construction of a second of two pipelines, workers accidentally ruptured an existing “live” pipeline, resulting in a serious threat of a gas leak and requiring the evacuation of many townspeople.
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