"NO" to the Dominion 42" Pipeline in VA or WV
Report on Public Meeting on Proposed Pipelines at Ireland in West Virginia
Meeting Summary by S. Tom Bond, Retired Chemistry Professor & Resident Farmer, Lewis County, WV
A citizen’s meeting of persons interested in the location and effects of vast pipeline construction projects proposed for West Virginia was held at the community building of Ireland, WV, on the 28th of February. About 80 people were in attendance.
Elise Keaton, of the Greenbrier Watershed Association gave the first presentation. Much of her presentation dealt with handling the landman, and how to view the company offer. Read everything carefully and think about it, don’t sign anything when it is first put in front of you. If you can’t understand something in the contract then find advice. Much will be implied, you’d better find a lawyer who does oil and gas work, but isn’t biased to the company. Lawyers are specialized, like doctors today, all would like to have your money, but some are not familiar with the applicable law.
Be sure the right-of-way agreement includes the following: One line only of specified size, so they don’t come back and use it for a second or change the size later. Specify what will be done when the use is terminated: the land returns to the surface owner, the line is removed or left in place (which ever you want), etc. It should include that it is to be used for nothing else except the pipeline and maintenance. Otherwise, it may be used for a road for access to facilities, water pipelines, or other uses.
The question was asked, “Where can you find a lawyer you can trust?” Elise replied, “Surface Owners Rights Organization and Appalachian Mountain Advocates are set up to do that at minimum cost. Ziegler and Ziegler (Attorneys at Law) have a good reputation. They might even negotiate a price for you. In that case they would take a share of the difference in price for their fee, and it costs nothing if there is no increase.” A second question was, “What can we do when you are approached by a land man to go on your property?” The answers are: (1) Tell them to come on. (2) Tell them to stay off. (3) Walk with them and negotiate what you need against what they need.
“What kind of damage will they do with the pipeline?” They will prevent the growth of forest and reduce the production of pasture or crops. The land will be taken out of use for crops for several years. A good weather access road must be maintained with the right of way. Esthetic (view) damage will occur. In karst topography (like they have in Greenbrier County) most of the surface is limestone. It doesn’t backfill well around the pipe, so they may use flyash, the nasty stuff that is removed from smoke stacks of electrical plants. There is a remote chance over the lifetime of the pipe, of a blowout and fire which can catch anything on fire within one mile for a 42 inch pipeline at 1500 pounds per square inch. That is 100 times atmospheric pressure.
The next speaker was Pam Dodds. She is a hydrogeologist with the Intermountain Preservation Association. She told the group that West Virginia is the headwaters of several rivers. We have high rainfall on the West slope and top of the Appalachian Mountains because the air has to rise to go over them. While it remains forested, rain is held in the trees and soil. Floods are reduced and in dry times steams have more water. As land is converted to non-forest use, the holding capacity is reduced, particularly due to paved roads, rooftops and heavily paved areas such as parking lots and well pads. Floods get worse and dry spells do, too.
Gas industry disturbances increase the chances of fires in the forests. Soil washes away more and the sediment destroys wildlife in steams, such as filter feeders, the creatures that live on the bottom of streams and purify water. So the result of destroying forest is not only worse floods and dry spells, but also less pure water entering the rivers that flow away from West Virginia. Marcellus development affects this alteration of natural condition, as well as contributing a lot of contaminates into the waters to the Ohio, Potomac and various Virginia rivers.
Art Dodds spoke next. He is a retired NOAA official, then responsible for instrument approach landings of all airplanes in the United States. Mr. Dodds brings a systems management approach to his study of the effects of pipeline explosions. He told the attendants there are hundreds of pipeline accidents every year. In 2013 there were about 2,100,000 miles of pipelines in the United States. No one knows where the pipelines are located but the operators. No non-owner (third party or government agency) knows where all the pipelines are nor who owns them, in spite of the fact they are a hazard in several ways!
The local fire department has no ability to deal with fires such as the proposed 42 inch gas lines under 100 atmospheres of pressure, mentioned above. The priorities of local fire departments are given: (1) protect your own people (they have firefighting expertise and can affect the situation), (2) protect other people, (3) protect fire fighting property and (4) protect other property.
He showed a backhoe on the screen and called it a “giant line finder,” and explained the use of phone number 811. “The rule if you detect gas,” he said, “is don’t use your cell phone first. It has a switch which can ignite a gas-air mixture. Getting your call through is very important, do yourself and everyone else a favor by going away from the area before making the call.”
For a 42 inch line the explosion damage radius is 700 feet, because at that pressure any little hole is like a pin prick in a balloon – the pressure is enough to tear the pipe up. If it catches fire everything up to a 1200 foot radius catches fire immediately, and up to 2500 feet will burn eventually. This is an approximate figure, further in dry times, less in wet. Deep snow is the best protection.
The fourth speaker was Kevin Campbell, of Upshur County, who spoke from an EMT point of view. A separate article will soon appear with his points.
The community of Ireland is on US Route 19, about as far south of Weston as Weston is south of Clarksburg. It is famous for the “Irish Festival” which will appear through March. March 14th at 9 am begins the main events. For more information go to here and here.
Refer to the Mid-Atlantic Responsible Energy Project.
See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net
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NOTE: The residents in Virginia, being faced with the Dominion Resources’ Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project, have come up with music for their meetings entitled “No Dominion Over Me.” <This You Tube video works best on an iPAD or iPhone. You can download the music here: www.geneandgaylamills.com
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