-
8/11/2019 Pine Grove Township Letter
1/4
August4,2014
PineGroveTownship
Supervisors
175OakGroveRoad
PineGrove,
PA
17963
DearPineGroveTownshipSupervisors,
SchuylkillPipelineAwarenessisagroupofnewlyorganizedresidentsofSchuylkillCountywho
haveconcernsabouttheproposedAtlanticSunrisePipelineprojectthatisbeingproposedby
Williams/TranscoPipelineCompanytocutthroughpartoftheCounty.Weareorganizingatan
openFacebookgroupat:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/758856534157741/toget
educatedonthisproposedprojectandensureneighborsandresidentshaveinformationabout
theproject.
Asyouknow,theproposedCentralPennLineSouthsegmentofthepipelinewould
runalong
parts
of
Oak
Grove
Road
and
cut
across
alarge
portion
of
Pine
Grove
Township
into
TremontTownshipandbeyond.Wearelearningfromotherresidentsalongthelines
organizinginLancaster,LebanonandSusquehannaCountyandfromcommunityorganizations
thathavedealtwithsimilarprojectsinthepastfewyears,howlargeofanimpactthisproposed
pipelinewouldbetotheregionasitwouldcuta100footnewROWthroughtheregion.
Studieshaveshownlargeimpactstosimilarlinesthathavetransectedregionsofthe
CommonwealthwiththeonsetofMarcellusshaledrillinginotherareasofthestate.
Atthesametime,thefederalentitythatwouldneedtoissueacertificateofpublicnecessity,
FERC,hasnotbeenaddressingthecumulativeanddiverseimpactsoftheselargegas
infrastructureprojectscollectivelyasentireprojects(DelawareRiverkeeperNetworkvs.Federal
EnergyRegulatoryCommission(FERC)DCCir.No.131015,June6,2014).
OnJune6,2014,the
USCourtofAppealsfortheDCCircuitheldthattheFederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission
(FERCorCommission)violatedtheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct(NEPA)byfailingto
addressthecumulativeimpactswhenitissuedacertificateofpublicconvenienceandnecessity
forapipeline(theNortheastProjectbyTennesseeGasPipelineCompany).
Thecourtfound
thatFERCshouldhaveconsideredtheNortheastProjectinconjunctionwiththreeother
upgradeprojectsinotherlocationsalongthesamepipelinethatwereunderseparateFERC
review.ThecourtalsoheldthatFERCimpermissiblysegmenteditsNEPAreviewoftheprojects.
Wedonotwantsimilarissuesorlackofoversighttooccurnowwiththisnewproposed
pipeline,thatifconstructedwould(onestimatesbythecompany)be178mileslongwithat
leasttwonewcompressorstations,beingconsideredbyFERC,whichiswhywearereaching
outtothetownship.
-
8/11/2019 Pine Grove Township Letter
2/4
WeunderstandthatapubliccommentperiodforFERCscopingandtheEnvironmentalImpact
StatementisopenuntilAugust18th
andwearewritingtoasktheTownshiptoweighin
duringthispubliccommentprocesstogetconcernsonrecordatthisearlystageoftheFERC
process.WealsounderstandthattownshipsinotherregionshaverequestedopenQ&A
meetings
with
Williams
Pipeline
so
residents
can
get
their
questions
answered
in
a
public
forum
buthavegottennoresponseorsatisfactionfromthepipelinecompanythatwantstobuilda
largepipelinethroughthesecommunities.
Peoplehavemanyquestionsandconcernsthatwe
haverelatedtothepipelinethatwebelieveshouldbeaddressedandpartoftheEnvironmental
ImpactStatementconductedbyFERCandtherequiredAlternativesanalysistoexamineclosely
whatthecumulativeimpactsandrealbenefitsofthisprojectwouldcreatefortheTownship
andtheCommonwealthbeyond.
Asweseeitnow,thispipelinewouldnotbenefitour
communityorthelargerCommonwealthoverallfortheshortorlongtermandwewantto
ensurethatFERCexamineallimpactsfullyasitconsidersifitshouldorshouldnotissuea
certificateofpublicnecessity.
SchuylkillCountyhasbornethecostoffossilfuelproductionin
theformofcoalforgenerations;wedonotwanttobeanothersacrificezonenowformethane
gasproduction;nordowewanttohavethisharmputonothersintheCommonwealthifthe
pipelineweretomovepaths.
Someofourinitialconcernsthatwewouldurgethetownshipto
pressbeaddressedduringtheFERCreviewandanalysistoscientificallyevaluatethisprojectto
determineifitisinthebestinterestoftheCommonwealthinclude:
Lossofagriculturallandsandsoilcompactionfrompipelineconstruction
Lossofpropertyvaluesandpotentialchangesininsuranceduetoareashavinganew
highpressure42inchgaslinewherenoindustrialactivityhasexistedinthepast
Eminentdomain
concerns
for
apipeline
that
appears
to
have
no
short
term
or
long
term
benefittothecommunitiesitwillcutthroughatthisjuncturewedonotunderstand
howthispipelinewouldbeintheinterestofthegreaterpublicandthereforewedo
notbelieveFERCshouldissueacertificateofpublicnecessity.
WhatClasspipelinewillbeusedfortheproposedpipelinewhereisthispipe
manufactured?(SimilarpipelinespermittedinthePoconosandinruralareasoftenare
permittedwithlowergradesteelthaninlargecitieswhydoruralcommunitiesnotget
protectedlikecitypopulations?).
WilliamsindicatedinitsownAugust2014powerpointpresentation,AtlanticSunrise
wouldlead
to
various
markets
including
points
on
the
eastern
shore
to
aproposed
liquidnaturalgas(LNG)facilityinCovePoint,MDthatwouldexportgastothehighest
foreignbidder(FERCiscurrentlyreviewingplanstoconvertthisimportLNGfacilitytoan
exportplant).
Thecompanyhassincechangesitspresentationstodownplaytheexport
componentoftheproject.
FutureexpansionsthatcouldoccurifthisnewgreenspringROWisallowed
-
8/11/2019 Pine Grove Township Letter
3/4
-
8/11/2019 Pine Grove Township Letter
4/4
coalisgoneorreduced.WhatassurancesisWilliamspromisinglongtermtoavoidlong
termcontaminationissuesandabandonment?
Thesearejustsomeoftheconcernsthatwehavecollectivelybegunthinkingaboutthatwe
wanttosharewithFERCduringthispublicinputprocessandwehopethattheTownshipcan
alsoweigh
in
with
similar
and
other
concerns
by
residents
and
the
Township
to
help
elevate
theseconcernsfurtherduringthepublicprocess.
Finally,ResidentsfromPineGroveareaarecarpoolingtotheLebanonhearingonTuesday,
August5,2014thisisunfortunatelytheclosestofthe4hearingsfortheregion.Wehopethat
someonefromthetownshipmaybeabletojoinusatthemeetingandiftheywanttocarpool
alongwithus,pleasegiveLeahZerbeacallat2675663377.
Thankyouforyourtimeandall
youdofortheTownshipandtheregion.
Sincerely,
JohnZerbeII,Leah&FaithZerbe
OnBehalfofSchuylkillPipelineAwareness
