Gas line coming? Jersey City, Bayonne wooed for pipeline

[propscene]

During the planning and construction phase of the project more than 5,200 direct and indirect jobs will be provided in and around the local host communities.

Additionally, regional air quality improvements from increased natural gas use will eliminate an estimated 6 million tons per year of carbon dioxide – equivalent to eliminating the emissions of more than 1 million cars.

Since April 2010, Spectra Energy has been participating in the FERC Pre-Filing Process to provide stakeholders with critical opportunities to review materials, talk with company representatives and offer input on the project.

"In selecting our route, we held more than 300 meetings with property owners, interested parties, and local, state and federal officials to get their feedback. We listened to the communities' concerns, which led to numerous adjustments to the route. This is a critically important part of the process and helps ensure we develop the project the right way," said Ebel.

The estimated $850 million project is expected to be in-service in November 2013. Based in Houston, Spectra operates in the United States and Canada approximately 19,100 miles of transmission pipeline.

Wowthatissocool Mr. Jersey Journal Reporter!! We are so lucky to have you researching the benefits for Jersey City rather than reprinting some douchey PR guy's press release.

 This is gonna be awesome!!

[CeeDub]

It seems to me, reading their various releases, from the language they are using, that approval is a foregone conclusion and this will be built.  I was speaking with a Newport resident and we wondered if this is perhaps a red herring route, they have a backup plan less controversial that is sure to be approved if this one is denied, as a 'compromise   " and, if the original is approved, then triple win win win!

Upon reading this I guess not. The red herring, that is.  The foregone conclusion remains.

[shahaggy]

Spectra Energy files application to run natural gas pipeline through Jersey City and Bayonne

"Enhanced pipeline infrastructure and new natural gas supply options are critical to meeting the increasing demand for affordable, reliable energy in  New Jersey and New York, and our project addresses both these issues," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. "The region will have more energy security and is expected to see lower energy costs as a result of the expansion."  <---really, how does this help NEW JERSEY meet it's demand?  the pipeline directly benefits the energy needs of NYC!

  "In selecting our route, we held more than 300 meetings with property owners, interested parties, and local, state and federal officials to get their feedback. We listened to the communities' concerns, which led to numerous adjustments to the route. This is a critically important part of the process and helps ensure we develop the project the right way," said Ebel.  <--- Thats funny b/c if this were true Spectra would have already thrown in the towel.

[CeeDub]

It seems to me, reading their various releases, from the language they are using, that approval is a foregone conclusion and this will be built.  I was speaking with a Newport resident and we wondered if this is perhaps a red herring route, they have a backup plan less conrorversial that is sure to be approved if this one is denied, as a 'compromise  " and, if the original is approved, then triple win win win!

[MCA™]

Spectra Energy files application to run natural gas pipeline through Jersey City and Bayonne
Published: Monday, December 20, 2010, 3:40 PM
Updated: Monday, December 20, 2010, 4:27 PM
By Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal

The Houston-based energy company that intends to snake a natural gas pipeline through Bayonne, Jersey City, and the banks of Hoboken to serve customers in New York City filed an application for the project today with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Spectra Energy plans to construct roughly 15.5 miles of new pipeline, which will run through parts of Bayonne, Jersey City and offshore Hoboken in New Jersey, as well as parts of Staten Island and Manhattan in New York; the company said today in a release.

Both Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith, as well as U.S. Rep. Albio Sires have blasted the plan, citing safety concerns.

The exact route of the pipeline will soon be available at Spectra's website -- www.spectraenergy.com -- and at www.yesgaspipeline.org., company officials said.

"Enhanced pipeline infrastructure and new natural gas supply options are critical to meeting the increasing demand for affordable, reliable energy in New Jersey and New York, and our project addresses both these issues," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer, Spectra Energy Corp. "The region will have more energy security and is expected to see lower energy costs as a result of the expansion."

During the planning and construction phase of the project more than 5,200 direct and indirect jobs will be provided in and around the local host communities.

Additionally, regional air quality improvements from increased natural gas use will eliminate an estimated 6 million tons per year of carbon dioxide – equivalent to eliminating the emissions of more than 1 million cars.

Since April 2010, Spectra Energy has been participating in the FERC Pre-Filing Process to provide stakeholders with critical opportunities to review materials, talk with company representatives and offer input on the project.

"In selecting our route, we held more than 300 meetings with property owners, interested parties, and local, state and federal officials to get their feedback. We listened to the communities' concerns, which led to numerous adjustments to the route. This is a critically important part of the process and helps ensure we develop the project the right way," said Ebel.

The estimated $850 million project is expected to be in-service in November 2013. Based in Houston, Spectra operates in the United States and Canada approximately 19,100 miles of transmission pipeline.

[DarkMoment]

Dark Matter: Bright Future?
LITM Hosts a Benefit for NO Gas Pipeline

Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - 7:00pm

Please join us on January 4 from 7 PM to 10 PM for the opening of Dark Matter: Bright Future?, LITM's next art show which asks the questions:  Are you fearful of a dark future?  Or hopeful for a bright one?

$10 Suggested Donation (no cover) - All proceeds go toward NO Gas Pipeline\'s effort to fight the proposed pipeline.

$3 white and red wine
$5 'Dark Matter' shots

YOU can make the difference so that WE have a Bright Future and NOT exist in Dark Matter.

This show is inspired by the group NoGasPipeline,org who are working to prevent a dangerous gas pipeline from being run through Jersey City to transport natural gas to NYC.

This pipeline would not only be dangerous, but provides no benefits to Jersey City or its citizens at all.

Please visit their website for specifics on this issue.

CALL FOR ART

Call for Art
"Dark Matter: Bright Future?”
Entry deadline: Thursday Dec 30th
Exhibition for the month of January (Jan 3-Jan 30)
Work will be taken down on Monday Jan 31st
...Opening Reception: Tuesday Jan 4th 7-10pm

For the show we are looking for work that reflects upon how environmental issues such as this will affect our futures both near and far.

While works directly relating to Jersey City are encouraged, this is not required. The theme is wide open for artistic interpretation.

Are you fearful of a dark future? Or hopeful for a bright one?
Do you think everything will continue along the way it is, or will there be drastic differences?

Your interpretations could be literal, allegorical, expressive, abstract...

There are no limitations on medium, but all works must be able to be hung on the wall.

The artist will receive 60% of the sales price with the remaining 40% going to the gallery. PLEASE PRICE ACCORDINGLY!

ONCE ACCEPTED artists must drop off work by January 2nd between the hours of 3:30pm and 7pm. If this window does not work for you other arrangements can be made on an individual basis.

Be sure to include your name, title, medium, dimensions, and price, as well as any other pertinent information with your submission.


Please submit JPEG entries or website link to:
andrea@litm.com


Location

LITM
140 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ  07302
201-536-5557
www.LITM.com



View Larger Map

[propscene]

mmmmm hmmmmm.

We'll have to wait and see, but this smells funny. Not funny ha-ha but gas mask funny.

"We have made numerous safety enhancements to the design, construction and operations of the pipeline," she said. "In some areas where we heard the greatest concern, in both Jersey City and Bayonne, and additional engineering options were viable, we will be avoiding in-street construction and performing horizontal directional drills that would place the pipe at a depth greater than 60 feet below the ground," she added.

 Changing the angle of drilling isn't exactly changing the route, is it?

[MCA™]

Gas pipeline company makes changes to route, design
Monday, December 13, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Facing fierce political opposition to its plans to build a natural gas pipeline that would go through Bayonne and Jersey City, the Houston-based company in charge of the project has proposed changes to the pipeline's route and design.

Spectra Energy released a statement earlier this month after U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, D-West New York, sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Sires called the plan "ill conceived," adding, "Citizens simply do not want this intrusion in their neighborhood out of legitimate safety concerns."

Spectra spokeswoman Marylee Hanley said the company has made significant changes to its proposal in response to concerns raised by residents and elected officials.

"We have made numerous safety enhancements to the design, construction and operations of the pipeline," she said. "In some areas where we heard the greatest concern, in both Jersey City and Bayonne, and additional engineering options were viable, we will be avoiding in-street construction and performing horizontal directional drills that would place the pipe at a depth greater than 60 feet below the ground," she added.

Hanley said all of the modifications will be detailed when the plan is submitted to FERC next Monday.

Besides Sires, other elected officials have voiced opposition, including Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith.

[jcgov]

Read the history of Mayor Healy's and the Municipal Council's long standing opposition to the proposed Spectra Energy Natural Gas Pipeline here.

[jcgov]

Mayor Healy sent a letter on November 22, 2010 asking Governor Chris Christie to "take the same strong stance" against the Spectra
Energy gas pipeline proposed for Jersey City as the Governor did earlier in November, when he intervened in opposition to a similar
application to build a pipeline from Asbury Park to Middlesex County.

Read Mayor Healy's Letter to Governor Christie here.

[propscene]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/110927334_Gas_explosions_can_happen_here_too.html?page=all


Regulators target dangers underground
Sunday, November 28, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2010, 10:52 AM
BY ANDREW TANGEL
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER

DAVID BERGELAND/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy this photo
Rob Torres, part of a PSE&G gas-line leak-detection crew, digging into Sixth Street in Englewood Cliffs in October.
In September, a gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes, a reminder of the dangers posed by natural gas.

Could what occurred there happen in New Jersey?

The short answer: It already has. The most recent comparable incident to what happened in San Bruno occurred in Edison in 1994. A roaring fire fueled by a rupture in a transmission pipeline destroyed eight apartment buildings, injured nearly 100 people and caused $25 million in damage.

In North Jersey, gas from smaller distribution pipelines — gas mains and the pipelines running to customer hookups — has blown up an apartment building and two houses in recent years, killing residents and destroying homes.

The San Bruno explosion — still under investigation — also has thrown a spotlight on regulations of thousands of miles of gas pipelines throughout the country, and what critics say is inadequate enforcement by state and federal investigators.

"We have no evidence that [they're] unsafe. We have no evidence that they're not meeting the requirements of integrity management" plans required by federal law, said James Giuliano, director of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities division of reliability and security, about interstate pipelines running through New Jersey. "But we want to have that dialogue, because if there's a consequence, it's local."

Since the San Bruno blast, Congress has begun weighing measures — including one from Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who heads a subcommittee with pipeline oversight. The initiatives would add federal pipeline inspectors, increase maximum fines for pipeline operators and require automatic shutoff valves on new transmission pipelines to keep gas from feeding massive fires. Such valves were not in place in Edison nor in San Bruno.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities — which regulates gas distribution pipelines and intrastate transmission lines — has asked pipeline operators to speed up federally mandated inspections of their pipelines in the state, said Giuliano.

The BPU also is requesting information from the federal pipeline regulator — an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation — about the progress of inspections of interstate pipelines running through New Jersey. Giuliano said BPU may also ask that interstate pipeline operators be held to New Jersey's strict safety regulations.

Large transmission pipelines, which carry natural gas to New Jersey from the Gulf of Mexico or from storage tanks in Pennsylvania, can cause the most damage. However, incidents involving large transmission pipelines are rarer than those involving smaller gas distribution pipelines.

N.J. accidents

Since the 1994 accident in Edison, there have been no transmission-line disasters in New Jersey.

Some of the operators of large interstate pipelines that run through New Jersey, however, have been cited for incidents elsewhere in the country.

In September 2008, for example, The Williams Cos.' Transco gas transmission pipeline, which stretches from southern Texas to New York City, ruptured because of corrosion near Appomattox, Va. The natural gas ignited, destroying two homes and injuring five people. Twenty-three families were evacuated. No one died.

The incident was the Houston-based pipeline operator's worst in decades, spokesman Chris Stockton said. The pipeline wall had thinned because "highly corrosive" soil in the area ate away at a type of coating the company no longer uses, Stockton said. An inspection shortly before the explosion did not detect the corrosion.

"We really do believe our pipe is safer as a result from what we have learned from Appomattox," he said.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, an agency within the DOT that regulates interstate pipelines, fined Williams $952,500.

Distribution pipelines, which carry gas in smaller pipes down streets and into homes, have been involved with three explosions in North Jersey since 2005.

In May 2005, an exterminator drilling near the foundation of a home on Prospect Street in Waldwick struck a gas line. The explosion didn't kill anyone, but it destroyed one house and damaged three others, resulting in $915,969 in damages.

In December of that year, contractors removing an underground oil tank at an apartment building on Elm Street in Bergenfield ruptured a gas pipeline. The blast destroyed the Elm Street apartment building, killing three, seriously injuring four and causing $3.2 million in damage.

What happened in a July 2008 explosion in Teaneck is less clear, however. An explosion leveled the home of Richard Hass, killing him, and damaging nearby properties. Residents on Hastings Street told police they had smelled gas for two weeks, according to Teaneck police reports released by the BPU.

More than two years later, the BPU refuses to comment on the case or provide its initial notice of probable violation issued to Public Service Electric and Gas. BPU's Giuliano has said the agency is negotiating a settlement with PSE&G.

PSE&G maintains "a gas leak within the premises caused the explosion," a spokeswoman said.

The utility has meanwhile settled a lawsuit with Hass's family for $450,000. A spokeswoman would not discuss the settlement but said it was not an admission of liability.

Fines are rare

In the Bergenfield explosion, the BPU fined PSE&G $250,000 for failing to take steps to prevent the explosion, and the utility had to pay an additional $100,000 for a campaign to promote 811, the phone number anyone planning to dig should call before doing so, to prevent gas pipeline ruptures. The contractor was fined $40,000.

For the vast majority of enforcement actions by the BPU, however, the agency does not impose financial penalties on pipeline operators, according to BPU enforcement records provided through the federal government, which collects the data.

Of the 99 BPU compliance actions from 2000 to 2008, the state agency fined pipeline operators in seven of those cases, records show.

Pipeline-safety watchdogs have argued that enforcement without financial penalties amounts to weak enforcement.

"We've always believed that most of these companies are making enough money that you have to sometimes wake them up with a fine and then require them to invest in their pipelines to make them safe at the same time," said Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Wash.-based pipeline watchdog group.

"Sometimes it doesn't need to be a big fine, even a small fine — if the agency makes a point of publicizing it," he added. "The companies almost hate the publicity as much as they do paying the money."

Giuliano, the BPU's director of reliability and security, said fines are just another tool to win compliance.

"Our goal is to keep them compliant with the regulations, not necessarily to penalize them," Giuliano said. He added that the corrective actions the BPU has ordered — to redo upgrades or inspections, for example — can cost more than fines.

While third-party digging is the most common cause of gas pipeline ruptures, another origin of leaks is corrosion.

'Leak mobiles'

PSE&G, whose gas distribution pipelines supply Bergen and Passaic counties, checks for leaks of gas mains with vans dubbed "leak mobiles" that are outfitted with gas-sniffing sensors.

"Every piece of main is inspected once a year," said Mike Gaffney, a manager in the utility's northern gas division, which covers Bergen and Passaic counties.

The smaller gas "service" lines that connect the mains to homes are inspected once every three years by PSE&G employees with hand-held gas detectors.

"We want to make sure that the system is operating properly and that the public is safe," Gaffney said. "Every leak is investigated, and we have a procedure that we follow for every leak."

Some seepage — categorized as Class 1 leaks — requires fixing immediately. As a section of pipelines logs more Class 1 leaks, PSE&G will schedule replacement.

PSE&G operates 17,500 miles of gas mains — about 3,000 miles of which predate the 1940s, PSE&G said. The average age is 38 years for the pipelines, which are variously made of cast iron, steel and plastic.

The Newark-based utility says it has improved its benchmark for leaky pipes in recent years. PSE&G's distribution pipelines had 0.237 leaks per mile in 2005, but the company said it had 0.201 leaks per mile last year, according to numbers the company provided.

PSE&G plans to have spent $42.2 million replacing about 51 miles of gas mains in Bergen and Passaic counties by year-end.

"We've operated this system for over 100 years," Gaffney said, "and we pride ourselves in our safety record, and we have done things right for a very, very long time in this state."

E-mail: tangel@northjersey.com

Safety watchdogs

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ pipeline enforcement

Year   Compliance actions taken   Number of penalties assessed   Dollars assessed   Number of penalties collected   Dollars collected
2001   13   1   $50,000   1   $30,000
2002   9   0   --   1   $40,000
2003   7   0   --   0   -
2004   12   0   --   0   --
2005   22   2   $400,000   1   $200,000
2006   17   0   --   1   $200,000
2007   10   1   $350,000   2   $350,000
2008   9   3   $156,000   1   $40,000
Totals   99   7   $956,000   7   $860,000
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[DarkMoment]

My apologies to Propscene. I read that article quickly and obviously didn't take note of Spectra announcing the Dec 1st meeting. It looks that Spectra released the info to the Jersey Journal to "postpone" the meeting thus once more controlling the spin that they will decide and not the  DCNA as to whether the meeting is held.

I'm curious how you know the above propscene since this info was supposed to be confidential to the DCNA until they made their decision about Dec 1st which as of today has not been made.

propscene was merely doing what you people need to do more of -- reading the threads.

Spectra Energy, which wants to run natural gas pipeline through Bayonne and Jersey City to serve New York, is countering naysayers with a website touting potential benefits of jobs and tax revenues
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Spectra Energy wants area residents to say "yes" to its proposed natural gas pipeline expansion, so the company has launched a website named just that - YesGasPipeline.org.
[...]

Representatives from Spectra were set to meet with the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Dec. 1, but are postponing the meeting until January so that updated information from the final plan can be presented.
[...]

[MCA™]

I'm curious how you know the above propscene since this info was supposed to be confidential to the DCNA until they made their decision about Dec 1st which as of today has not been made.

propscene was merely doing what you people need to do more of -- reading the threads.

Spectra Energy, which wants to run natural gas pipeline through Bayonne and Jersey City to serve New York, is countering naysayers with a website touting potential benefits of jobs and tax revenues
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Spectra Energy wants area residents to say "yes" to its proposed natural gas pipeline expansion, so the company has launched a website named just that - YesGasPipeline.org.

The Houston-based company, which has plans to run a natural gas pipeline through Bayonne and Jersey City as part of its New York/New Jersey Expansion Project, has been met with fierce opposition to the project since holding open house meetings last year.
 
"This website was built to inform the public about the benefits of natural gas, explain the facts about the proposed natural gas pipeline and give the community an opportunity to ask questions about the project," according to the welcome blog on the site.

The name of the site is similar to an anti-pipeline site, NoGasPipeline.org, launched by Jersey City residents Dale Hardman and Stephen Musgrave.

But where Hardman and Musgrave point out the dangers and environmental issues associated with natural gas pipelines, Spectra's site highlights the benefits: jobs and tax revenue.

Tim White, a vice president at MWW group, said the site is one of many ways the company is reaching out to the community, adding that changes to the proposed plan are being made based on community feedback.

Representatives from Spectra were set to meet with the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Dec. 1, but are postponing the meeting until January so that updated information from the final plan can be presented.

The company plans to file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in mid-December.

According to the company's website, the project will create 1,437 construction jobs, 1,266 services jobs, 780 retail trade jobs, 520 transportation and public utilities jobs, 477 manufacturing jobs, and 435 finance, insurance and real estate jobs.

The Web page also cites a Rutgers University study that estimates the project would generate $78 million in federal, local and state tax revenue over a six-year period.

[DarkMoment]

Representatives from Spectra were set to meet with the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Dec. 1, but are postponing the meeting until January so that updated information from the final plan can be presented.

The company plans to file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in mid-December.

  hmmm.

Think that has anything to do with them wanting to file the papers before the community gets a chance to see what they're really dealing with?

Color me confused, but wouldn't they need to have that updated information ready when they file the application? Something is rotten in Denmark.

Propscene, Spectra has "postponed" their participation in a Dec 1st Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Association meeting that is still scheduled, but will take place without Spectra's participation.
If the DCNA decides to have a meeting with Spectra after Dec 1st they will vote and decide. It will be the DCNA who decides, not Spectra, if there will be an additional meeting.

I share your sentiment regarding  Spectra's reason. But also know that Spectra canceled the same day we countered their spin on our site with their own (thanks for bringing us more notice, Spectra) and we also released notice of the show we produced for Mia Scanga's Talking TV Politics. Their spinmeister, Tim White of MWW, they being the 5th largest PR firm in the US, wrote the letter.

I'm curious how you know the above propscene since this info was supposed to be confidential to the DCNA until they made their decision about Dec 1st which as of today has not been made.

[propscene]

What I Learned From the Pipeline Safety Conference

Interesting article that addresses the new pipeline safety features Spectra is touting from a San Bruno journalist

http://sanbruno.patch.com/articles/what-i-learned-from-the-pipeline-safety-conference

[propscene]

Representatives from Spectra were set to meet with the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Dec. 1, but are postponing the meeting until January so that updated information from the final plan can be presented.

The company plans to file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in mid-December.

  hmmm.

Think that has anything to do with them wanting to file the papers before the community gets a chance to see what they're really dealing with?

Color me confused, but wouldn't they need to have that updated information ready when they file the application? Something is rotten in Denmark.

[MCA™]

Jersey City approves zoning changes to block natural gas pipeline
Published: Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 7:04 PM
Updated: Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 7:12 PM
Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal

Despite a federal agency saying Jersey City can’t use local zoning law to block a natural gas pipeline, the City Council adopted 10 ordinances tonight trying to do just that.

“This is part of the city’s strategy to oppose the installation of the Spectra pipeline in the City of Jersey City, to prohibit natural gas pipelines in redevelopment plans,” City Clerk Robert Byrne said before opening the first ordinance up for a public hearing.

Resident Yvonne Balcer was the only resident to speak and noted that the city can’t tell the state or federal government what to do, but she did ask if the city could require maintenance of the pipelines to prevent an explosion like the one in San Bruno earlier this year. “The issue is not whether or not to have it, the issue is to require maintenance so we don’t have that same problem they had in California,” she said. Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano said he believes both the state Board of Public Utilities and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission require maintenance.

The ordinances are only one of several ways the city is trying to block a Houston company from running a pipeline through Jersey City. The project would also include running pipeline through parts of Bayonne.

Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokeswoman, said municipal law cannot be used to block interstate commerce. Regardless, the City Council voted 8-0 to approve the ordinances and also introduced a first reading ordinance to block the pipelines in other zones in the city. Councilwoman Willie Flood was absent.

Spectra officials have not commented on the ordinances but released a statement saying the company hopes to continue working with Jersey City to build the pipeline and finalize the route. Spectra officials have said the pipeline would generate about $2 million annually in tax revenue for Jersey City. The proposed route would follow Route 440 to the New Jersey Turnpike extension and cut through Newport to the Hudson River, where it would cross to Manhattan.

The ordinances approved tonight prohibit natural gas pipelines in the following redevelopment zones: Bates Street, Caven Point, Grand Jersey, Greenville Industrial, Jersey Avenue Light Rail, Jersey Avenue Park, Jersey Avenue Tenth Street, Liberty Harbor, Montgomery Street and Morris Canal.

[MCA™]

Spectra Energy, which wants to run natural gas pipeline through Bayonne and Jersey City to serve New York, is countering naysayers with a website touting potential benefits of jobs and tax revenues
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Spectra Energy wants area residents to say "yes" to its proposed natural gas pipeline expansion, so the company has launched a website named just that - YesGasPipeline.org.

The Houston-based company, which has plans to run a natural gas pipeline through Bayonne and Jersey City as part of its New York/New Jersey Expansion Project, has been met with fierce opposition to the project since holding open house meetings last year.
 
"This website was built to inform the public about the benefits of natural gas, explain the facts about the proposed natural gas pipeline and give the community an opportunity to ask questions about the project," according to the welcome blog on the site.

The name of the site is similar to an anti-pipeline site, NoGasPipeline.org, launched by Jersey City residents Dale Hardman and Stephen Musgrave.

But where Hardman and Musgrave point out the dangers and environmental issues associated with natural gas pipelines, Spectra's site highlights the benefits: jobs and tax revenue.

Tim White, a vice president at MWW group, said the site is one of many ways the company is reaching out to the community, adding that changes to the proposed plan are being made based on community feedback.

Representatives from Spectra were set to meet with the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations Dec. 1, but are postponing the meeting until January so that updated information from the final plan can be presented.

The company plans to file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in mid-December.

According to the company's website, the project will create 1,437 construction jobs, 1,266 services jobs, 780 retail trade jobs, 520 transportation and public utilities jobs, 477 manufacturing jobs, and 435 finance, insurance and real estate jobs.

The Web page also cites a Rutgers University study that estimates the project would generate $78 million in federal, local and state tax revenue over a six-year period.

[MCA™]

Federal official says Jersey City can't change local zoning laws to stop proposed natural gas pipeline
Published: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 7:06 PM
Updated: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 7:16 PM
Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City can't block a natural gas pipeline by changing its zoning laws, according to the federal agency that oversees energy applications.

"Congress' intent is that you cannot impede interstate commerce, so we work closely with all stakeholders and try to work out something," Tamara Young-Allen, a gas and oil spokeswoman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said yesterday to The Jersey Journal.

But despite this information, Jersey City officials said they plan to forge ahead with the amendments to block the proposed pipeline.

"While we recognize that municipal law may be superseded by state or federal laws, these changes to the redevelopment plans to prohibit a natural gas pipeline are one additional way for the mayor and the City Council to speak with a unified voice in opposition to this project, and to let those at the federal level who are making this decision hear that opposition," city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

Houston-based Spectra Energy has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to install a natural gas pipeline in parts of Bayonne and Jersey City.

The City Council voted 8-0 last week to introduce 10 ordinances that would bar the installation of natural gas transmission lines in redevelopment zones. Ward B Councilman David Donnelly was not at the meeting.

The city plans to introduce ordinances to block the utility in regular zones as well, officials said.

Spectra officials have not commented on the ordinances but released a statement saying the company hopes to continue working with Jersey City to build the pipeline and finalize the route.

Spectra officials have said the pipeline would generate about $2 million annually in tax revenue for Jersey City. The proposed route would follow Route 440 to the New Jersey Turnpike extension and cut through Newport to the Hudson River, where it would cross to Manhattan.

If adopted, the ordinances would prohibit natural gas pipelines in the following redevelopment zones: Bates Street, Caven Point, Grand Jersey, Greenville Industrial, Jersey Avenue Light Rail, Jersey Avenue Park, Jersey Avenue Tenth Street, Liberty Harbor, Montgomery Street and Morris Canal.

The items are expected to be up for a public hearing and adoption at the Nov. 23 council meeting.

[super_furry]

Today on MSNBC - Fracking!

'Fracking' for energy in Northeast: boon or doom?
GOP election wins give momentum to backers; critics worry about water and EPA is studying impacts

HARRISBURG, Pa. — To supporters, it's a 21st century economic boom that will benefit millions across the Northeast. To critics, it could be this century's biggest national eco-disaster, tainting water supplies for tens of millions.

The it is "fracking" for natural gas buried between the rocks of the Marcellus Shale, a formation that extends from West Virginia and eastern Ohio through Pennsylvania and into southern New York.

Some geologists estimate it could yield enough natural gas to supply the entire East Coast for 50 years.

Fracking, shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, injects millions of gallons of water, sand and toxic chemicals into each well to break apart the shale and release trapped gas.

A drilling boom has been under way since 2008 in the formation, the biggest known deposit of natural gas in the nation.

Controversy over the technique has been building, with momentum shifting towards supporters after the midterm elections earlier this month.

The GOP takeover of the U.S. House will almost surely doom efforts in Congress to impose federal regulation over gas drilling. Congress exempted fracking from federal clean water regulations in 2005.
In Pennsylvania, Republican Gov.-elect Tom Corbett is seen as a lot friendlier toward the gas industry than outgoing Democrat Ed Rendell, who has clashed with companies over both taxes and tougher new clean-water regulations.

Corbett opposes any attempt to slap a gas-extraction tax on the industry. Pennsylvania is the largest gas-drilling state without such a tax, and Rendell tried and failed to persuade the Legislature to approve one.

Corbett has also said he will lift Rendell's executive order preventing the issuing of any more drilling leases in state forests.

The huge commercial potential was underscored earlier this week when oil giant Chevron struck a $4.3 billion deal to buy Atlas Energy, a major Marcellus Shale driller.

Combining a new process of horizontal drilling with fracking, drillers are unlocking vast deposits there and in other formations around the U.S. such as the Barnett Shale in Texas — a boom that could ensure cheap and plentiful natural gas for many years to come for homeowners, factories and power plants.

The drilling frenzy in the Marcellus Shale is also credited with enriching landowners and pumping new life into trucking companies, short-line railroads, quarries and steel-pipe makers, as well as the restaurants and hotels hosting out-of-state drilling crews.

An industry-financed study by Penn State projected that the boom would generate tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes in the coming years.

A 2009 report prepared for the Energy Department said sand and chemicals typically account for less than 2 percent of fracturing fluids, with water making up 98 to 99.5 percent.

However, the use of fracking is raising pollution concerns across the Northeast.

While the industry maintains that fracking has been proved safe over the decades, homeowners are coming forward with tales of wells producing brown, foul-smelling water or water polluted with methane and chemicals.

In the northeastern Pennsylvania town of Dimock, a hotspot of Marcellus Shale exploration, some residents no longer use their polluted well water and can light their taps on fire because of methane they say seeped into their wells because of drilling.

The Rendell administration intends to bill Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. the $12 million cost of installing a water line to serve 14 families in Dimock. Cabot denies the methane is connected to its drilling.

The gas drilling business got what it wanted in the election of Corbett, who received nearly $1 million in donations from the industry. Among his first actions this week was to name Christine Toretti, a national GOP committeewoman and owner of a Pennsylvania drilling company, as co-chair of his transition team.

Without giving specifics, Corbett on Wednesday promised a "reasonable" regulatory stand that protects the environment. He will be able to appoint a new head of the Department of Environmental Protection, which under Rendell has tried to aggressively deal with the problems brought by the gas rush.

"I look at this as an industry that's going to be here long after all of us in the room are gone," Corbett said. "It is going to be a great industry and we need to develop it properly. We need to develop it protecting the environment and growing jobs in Pennsylvania."

In the U.S. Congress, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., sponsor of a measure that would subject fracking to regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency, predicts a bleaker landscape now for his bill.

"If anything, there are more votes against it," he said Tuesday.

Whether events ultimately unfold to the industry's liking remains to be seen.

The election doesn't affect a web of federal, state and even municipal regulatory bodies that could stand in the way of drilling, industry analysts said.

The Pittsburgh City Council, for example, this week voted 8-0 to ban natural gas drilling within the city limits.

And the EPA could try to regulate fracking without congressional approval.

The federal agency is already studying whether the chemicals from fracking can get into drinking water supplies and asked drillers to provide lists of the chemicals they used. Eight of nine complied, the EPA said this week, the exception being oil services giant Halliburton.

The company also has faced renewed criticism over the provision in the 2005 energy law that prevents the EPA from regulating fracking. The exemption is commonly called the "Halliburton loophole," in reference to the company's pioneering role in fracking.

An energy task force convened by then Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Halliburton CEO, had urged the EPA exemption.

Initial results from the EPA study are expected in 2012.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40135664/ns/us_news-environment/

[MCA™]

Jersey City moving to head off gas pipeline Houston company wants to build by changing zoning laws in 10 zones designated for development
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City officials are trying to prevent a Houston-based company from building a natural gas transmission pipeline within its borders by changing its zoning laws.

There are 10 ordinances up for introduction tonight that would bar companies from building natural gas transmission lines in redevelopment zones, and city officials said ordinances prohibiting the pipelines in regular zones would be introduced at a future meeting.

"Any of the redevelopment plans that the pipeline is potentially going to pass through, we have added the language that is going to prohibit natural gas transmission pipelines," planner Kristen Russell said at Monday's caucus meeting.

Spectra Energy plans to submit an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission next month to run a natural gas pipeline through parts of Bayonne and Jersey City.

Spectra spokeswoman Marylee Hanley released a statement on the ordinances.

"We are committed to continuing conversations with city officials to listen to their concerns and to talk about various items such as the numerous safety measures we've built into the pipeline design, the benefits to Jersey City such as jobs and property tax relief, and the general need for the pipeline," she said.

Spectra officials have said the pipeline would generate about $2 million annually in tax revenue. The proposed route would follow Route 440 to the New Jersey Turnpike extension and cut through Newport to the Hudson River, where it would cross to Manhattan.

If adopted, the ordinances would prohibit natural gas pipelines in the following redevelopment zones: Bates Street, Caven Point, Grand Jersey, Greenville Industrial, Jersey Avenue Light Rail, Jersey Avenue Park, Jersey Avenue Tenth Street, Liberty Harbor, Montgomery Street and Morris Canal.

Council members, many of whom have publicly opposed the pipeline, didn't comment on the proposed changes.

In a statement, Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said the ordinances are in line with the city's stance on the proposed pipeline. "We have expressed our opposition to the proposed natural gas pipeline and are committed to doing whatever possible to keep the route out of Jersey City," he said in a statement.

[DarkMoment]

 NO Gas Pipeline is pleased to announce the screening of Gasland here in Jersey City!

Join us for a screening of Gasland, the documentary which exposes the dangerous drilling practice known as "Fracking" which is used to extract natural gas from shale.  Fracking is polluting our water supply with toxins – Fracking is happening in the Marcellus Shale (adjacent to New Jersey) and it endangers our water supply.

The increase of the supply of natural gas in the region is the major reason why Spectra Energy wants to build a pipeline through the middle of Jersey City.

We also will have a panel discussion featuring Mayor Healy, Councilman Sottolano, Fulop, Richardson and others following the screening.

Date:  November 6
Time:  4:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Doors Open 3 PM
Location


Loew's Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square
Jersey City, NJ 07306 (map)
201.798.6055
http://www.loewsjersey.org
Price: $10 Donation, Children under 15
accompanied by an adult are free

About the film

"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown."

 

Awards

    * Special Jury Prize – Sundance
    * Best Documentary –  Environmental Media Awards
    * Special Jury Prize – Sarasota International Film Festival
    * Grand Jury Prize – Yale Environmental Film Festival
    * Artistic Vision Award – Big Sky Film Festival
    * Audience Award – Thin Line Film Festival

Praise

"...one of the most effective and expressive environmental films of recent years." - Variety

"On the want-to-see- scale, GASLAND tops the list" - Washington Post

"Riveting" - LA Weekly

"GASLAND just might be the best film of the year." - The Huffington Post

"Over the past 8 days I was lucky enough to view 40 films...The most important film I saw was the documentary GASLAND...This examination of air quality and more specifically drinking water under attack from NYC to Ft. Worth was very eye opening." - USA TODAY

GASLAND is "well done. It holds people's attention. And it could block our industry." - Oil and Gas Journal President of the Natural Gas Supply Association

"VOLCANIC…With humor and inquisitiveness, Fox has delivered 2010's most alarming wake-up call." - Hammer To Nail

"When something emerges like Josh Fox's GASLAND, a work of art which also happens to educate quite effectively...this is why festivals, even the big ones, are capable of surprises, because wonderful things do seep through the cracks. Precisely because it was purely personal...and that it was as concerned with aesthetic matters as issues, GASLAND may also be some ideal of that cherished sub-genre in many festival circles, the environmental film, which tends to leave art behind for the topic it's addressing." - Cinemascope
==========================================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2010
 
NO Gas Pipeline Benefit: GASLAND film at Loew’s Theater November 6
 
The recent tragedy of San Bruno has led NO Gas Pipeline to announce a benefit screening of GASLAND the Sundance award-winning documentary, and dais discussion with Mayor Healy, council persons Sottalano, Fulop, Richardson and others to discuss why they are against a natural gas pipeline proposed by Spectra Energy on November 6th.
 
The increase of the supply of natural gas in the region is the major reason why Spectra Energy wants to build a pipeline through the middle of Jersey City.
 
Mayor Healy recently declared his intent to seek intervenor standing as soon as legally possible which should come in December when Spectra Energy files their formal application. NO Gas Pipeline, represented by The Eastern Environmental Law Center, the only public interest law firm in New Jersey, will also intervene. Only by intervention may someone have legal standing and sue to over-turn Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rulings in federal court who have jurisdiction.
 
NO Gas Pipeline now seeks to have Governor Christie have the New Jersey Attorney General intervene as did Connecticut Attorney General, Blumenthal, who won against FERC in 2007.
 
The film benefit is being produced by NO Gas Pipeline and sponsored by Jersey City Independent, JCList, WiredJC and the City of Jersey City, Division of Cultural Affairs.

CONTACT
Dale Hardman & Stephen Musgrave
347-789-7508
nogaspipeline@gmail.com
http://www.nogaspipeline.org


Admin note: See topic: GASLAND Screening & Pipeline Talk

[MCA™]

Hoboken adds voices to the chorus against proposed Jersey City pipeline
Published: Friday, October 15, 2010, 1:41 PM
Updated: Friday, October 15, 2010, 1:44 PM
Katie Colaneri/The Jersey Journal

Hoboken has joined the fight against a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through Jersey City to Manhattan. Mayor Dawn Zimmer formally opposed the plan in a letter dated Oct. 1 to Kimberly Bose, Secretary of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The pipeline, she argued, "contains great risks for Hoboken and the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area."

Houston-based company Spectra Energy has met much resistance in its attempt to woo Hudson County municipalities since January into allowing the construction of a pipeline that would run from Staten Island to Bayonne, along Route 440 and the New Jersey Turnpike Extension into Jersey City. The line would cut through 18th Street on the Hoboken/Newport border before moving under the Hudson River to New York City.

In the event of a pipeline disaster, like the one that occured in California on Sept. 9, Zimmer argued that Hoboken would not be able to sustain the inevitable shutdown of the PATH system under which the line would run.

Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah Healy has led hundreds of residents in protesting the pipeline in recent months. "I am completely against the pipeline coming through Jersey City," said Zimmer this afternoon. "I fully support Mayor Healy's position."

Last night, 4th Ward Councilman candidate Tim Occhipinti hosted a community meeting at 56 Monroe Street for Hoboken residents along with members of the Jersey City group "No Gas Pipeline."

"They have been raising awareness about the dangers of the pipeline, and we must join their effort," he said in a statement. "This is an important issue that deserves our immediate attention."

[CeeDub]

They are pretty relentless.  3 calls in 2 hours to the dubfone.  Figgered it was of a local concern when the call was followed by a ringing on the DubGarten landline.  When I answered in my best "i'm sitting on the crapper doing bong hits" voice, they hung up on me!.  After plowing thru my order from Fresh Tortillas I took the next call and gave them my first and only answer - don't call this number again.

[propscene]

Sounds like the exact same poll. The woman I spoke with on the phone had a pronounced Jersey accent, fwiw. I wonder if they are employing two or more two companies to conduct the poll (or if one company is subcontracting the other) or if someone is misrepresenting themselves.