FEDS APPROVE THE LEIDY SOUTHEAST PIPELINE EXPANSION TO ACCOMMODATE MARCELLUS SHALE

Feds approve the Leidy Southeast pipeline expansion to accommodate Marcellus Shale

December 19, 2014 | 5:32 PM

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved an addition to the interstate Transco pipeline that will help more Marcellus Shale gas get to New Jersey. The Leidy Southeast line is essentially a series of “loops” totaling about 30 miles planned for both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. FERC overruled objections from environmentalists who say the line would damage wetlands and farms. The $738 million project is part of a push to expand pipeline capacity in Pennsylvania in order to transport Marcellus Shale gas to places of high demand. More from NJ Spotlight: 

The proliferation of new gas and other pipelines has become a big issue in New Jersey, largely because many of the projects that have been approved go through lands set aside with taxpayer funds for preservation, including the New Jersey Highlands and the Pinelands Preservation Area.

Yesterday, the state Assembly approved a resolution with bipartisan support (AR-191) opposing a proposed oil pipeline that also would run through parts of central Jersey. The Legislature is working on a bill (S-570) that would increase compensation from energy projects on public lands.

The projects all are aimed at delivering cheap natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formations in Pennsylvania to heat homes and power the plants that produce electricity — both at significant savings.

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Leidy Southeast

Historically low natural gas prices and the public’s desire for cleaner energy have fueled the growing popularity of natural gas. Clean-burning natural gas currently produces one-third of all electric generation and heats about half of all U.S. homes – and those numbers continue to climb.

 Williams, a leading energy infrastructure company, is developing an expansion of its existing Transco natural gas transmission pipeline to serve the growing needs of local gas distribution companies along the Atlantic Seaboard by late 2015. The Transco pipeline is a major transporter of natural gas in the southeast and northeastern United States.

The Leidy Southeast Expansion Project is designed to increase the Transco pipeline’s capacity by 525,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day (enough natural gas to serve about 2 million homes). The proposal would involve the construction of approximately 30 miles of additional pipe segments, called loops, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in addition to modifying some existing pipeline facilities.

Scope

As part of the Leidy Southeast Expansion, Williams is proposing the construction of four new pipe sections (loops), as well as making modifications to various existing compressor stations and valve sites. The pipeline loops vary in length and are expected to parallel the existing Transco pipeline, either completely within or adjacent to the existing utility corridor. By maximizing the use of our existing transmission corridor, our goal is to minimize the impact on property owners and the environment.

Proposed Major Facility Modifications
State	County	Scope
PA	Luzerne	5.31 miles of 42-inch pipe (Dorrance Loop)
PA	Luzerne / Monroe	11.47 miles of 42-inch pipe (Franklin Loop)
PA	Luzerne	Existing compressor facility modifications
PA	Lycoming	Existing compressor facility modifications
PA	Columbia	Existing compressor facility modifications
NJ	Somerset / Hunterdon	6.92 miles of 42-inch pipe (Pleasant Run Loop)
NJ	Somerset / Mercer	6.18 miles of 42-inch pipe (Skillman Loop)
NJ	Mercer	Existing compressor facility modifications

Selecting Facility Locations

In developing the pipeline project, engineers attempt to balance environmental and landowner considerations with the engineering requirements for safely constructing a transmission pipeline. These factors include geography, environmental concerns, collocation with other linear development and constructability.

Sophisticated computer modeling is used to identify what new pipeline facilities will be required to create the necessary pipeline capacity requested by the project customers. Increasing natural gas deliveries can be accomplished through one or a combination of the following:

Increasing horsepower at pipeline compressor stations or building new compressor stations;

Replacing existing pipeline with larger pipeline;

Building new pipeline, either next to existing pipes or in an area where pipelines don’t currently exist (sometimes referred to as “greenfield” pipelines).

The pipeline company must evaluate a number of environmental factors, including potential impacts on residents, threatened and endangered species, wetlands, water bodies, groundwater, fish, vegetation, wildlife, cultural resources, geology, soils, land use, air and noise quality.

Pipeline companies are strongly encouraged by federal regulators to consider routes along existing corridors, such as pipeline rights of way, roadways, utility corridors, railroad corridors and other easements.

After analyzing maps, aerial photos, environmental reports and other available data, pipeline engineers establish a preliminary route or location for the new facilities, as well as location alternatives.

Ground Surveys

Ground surveys are a pre­liminary first step in gathering critical information that can be used in devel­oping the pipeline proposal.  Initial ground surveys (environmental, cultural and civil surveys) for the Leidy Southeast project began in November 2012.  After receiving permission from the landowner, each property is visited by various specialists in land, engineering and environmental sciences. These may or may not be con­current visits but should not last longer than one or two days each. Some prop­erties may need to be revisited to obtain additional data. All information col­lected will be used to help determine the best location of the proposed pipeline facilities.

Permitting Process

Before any new pipeline facilities can be constructed, Williams must first obtain a federal Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in addition to various state and local permits.

Pre-Filing
In January 2013 Williams requested that the FERC initiate a pre-filing environmental review of the proposed pipeline project. The project was assigned pre-filing docket number PF13-5. All pre-filing documentation can be accessed at the FERC website by referencing the pre-filing docket number.

The FERC pre-filing process is intended to solicit early input from citizens, governmental entities and other interested parties to identify and address issues with potential facility locations. The company hosted a series of public open houses during the spring of 2013 in the affected areas to formally introduce the proposal to the public and solicit feedback. Public input is important to the project and can shape the final project footprint.

Filing of 7(c) Applicaiton

Williams filed an application with FERC on Sept. 30, 2013, seeking approval to construct the Leidy Southeast project.

The Certificate Application is a comprehensive document that describes the proposed project, its need and potential environmental impacts. The project was assigned Docket Number CP13-551. All documents and correspondence submitted to or issued by FERC regarding the project can be accessed by referencing the Docket Number on the FERC website located at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/fercgensearch.asp.

Schedule

January 2013 – Detailed civil surveys began and are ongoing

January 2013 – Pre-filing process began

April 2013 – Open houses and informational meetings

Summer 2013 – FERC scoping hearings

Summer 2013 – Submit draft environmental reports to FERC

September 2013 – Submit 7(c) application to FERC

Fall 2014 – Proposed compressor station construction start

Spring 2015 – Proposed pipeline construction start

December 2015 – Target in-service

Our Commitment

Williams is committed to working with landowners, as well as local, state and federal agencies, to design and construct the project in a manner that minimizes environmental and landowner impacts. The company is committed to extensive public outreach in advance of submitting our application to the FERC. Our goals are to:

Generate a broad awareness of the project, its purposes and value to the region’s economy and to meeting the future energy needs of the state and region.

Ensure that community residents and a broad range of stakeholders have ample opportunity to understand the process and their rights, ask questions, voice concerns and present ideas about the project.

Create an atmosphere of openness, disclosure and public dialogue in which we can respond to questions, concerns and suggestions presented by the community and other stakeholders.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us anytime.

Toll-free hotline: 866-455-9103
Email: PipelineExpansion@williams.com

You may also call or write our land office:

95 Highland Ave, Suite 150
Bethlehem, Pa. 18017
610-419-9145

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Environmental Assessment for the Leidy Southeast Expansion Project (CP13-551) Issued August 11, 2014 

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Leidy Southeast Expansion Project (Project). The Project is proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco). The Project would expand the natural gas delivery capacity to the northeast region of the United States by up to 525,000 dekatherms per day. The proposed facilities associated with the Project include the following: 

·         about 29.8 miles of new 42-inch-diameter pipeline loop in four separate segments in Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon Counties, New Jersey, and Monroe and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania;

·         additional compression and modification of existing Compressor Stations 205, 515, 517, and 520 in Mercer County, New Jersey, and Luzerne, Columbia, and Lycoming Counties, Pennsylvania, respectively;

·         modification of existing compressor stations in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland; and

·         modification of existing meter and regulating stations, mainline valves, and pig launchers and receivers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.

The EA has been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500–1508), and FERC regulations implementing NEPA (18 CFR 380).
The conclusions and recommendations presented in the EA are those of the FERC environmental staff. Input from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), as cooperating agencies, was considered during the development of the staff’s conclusions and recommendations. Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the EA, the COE will present its own conclusions and recommendations in its Records of Decision or determinations for the Project.
The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Potential impacts would be reduced with the implementation of Transco’s proposed minimization and mitigation measures and the 25 additional measures recommended in the EA. These conclusions are supported by the following:

·         Transco would obtain all necessary federal authorizations prior to commencement of construction;

·         consultation required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is completed; and

·         Transco would reduce and mitigate impacts on natural resources and public safety during construction by implementing Project-specific plans, which include the following: Comprehensive Rock Handling Plan for the Princeton Ridge Segment of the Skillman Loop; Construction and Restoration Plan Developed Specifically for New Jersey State Planning Areas: Environmentally Sensitive Area 5 and Fringe 3, Along the Skillman Loop; Erosion and Sediment Control Plans; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Plan; and Horizontal Directional Drill and Contingency Plan.

Comments on the EA must be received in Washington, DC on or before September 10, 2014. The FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations and comments received when they make a decision on the Project.

2 DEAD AND 3 INJURED IN AN EXPLOSION, FIRE AT OKLAHOMA OIL RIG ; UPDATE: SOURCE OF IGNITION STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION

2 dead and 3 injured in an explosion, fire at Oklahoma oil rig IN COALGATE; SURVIVED WORKERS RECALL EVENTS; SOURCE OF IGNITION STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION

Two Roughnecks were killed and 2 seriously burned overnight in a drilling rig explosion in Coal County Oklahoma on a location 2 miles west of Coalgate on Hwy 31 between Ada and Atoka.

The state Medical Examiner's office identified the dead as 26-year-old Gary Keenen of Ada and 27-year-old Kelsey Bellah of Tulsa.

Dan D Rig#18 Fire

According to the Coalgate Police Chief, there was some kind of an explosion and fire that happened around 11:54 PM Friday.

Sources close to the investigation are reporting the drilling rig was Dan D Rig 18 drilling for Texas based Pablo Energy

Facebook posts state that one worker, a Yukon resident and father of 4, has sustained second degree burns over 75% of his body. The condition of the other worker is unknown at this time.

OSHA, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the State Fire Marshal’s office are on the scene conducting the investigation.

An unconfirmed report indicates that the fire might have been caused by a space heater on the rig floor.

Please keep these families in your prayers. We will post updated information as we receive it.

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Associated Press – published Friday, December 19, 2014

COALGATE, Okla. (AP) — An explosion and fire early Friday morning killed two people and injured three, two critically, at an oil rig in southeastern Oklahoma.
The explosion occurred around 1 a.m. at the rig about 2 miles west of Coalgate in a remote area of rural Coal County about 100 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, said Sam Schafnitt, chief of operations for the state Fire Marshal's Office.
"It was a drilling rig in a rural area," Schafnitt said. He said the fire is out and the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Schafnitt said the explosion and fire occurred on the deck of the oil rig and that investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration have arrived at the scene to help pinpoint the cause.

"We're just trying to put the puzzle pieces on the table and (are) looking at them," he said.
Matt Skinner, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission that regulates the oil and gas industry, said no evacuations were required in the area and there were no reports that the explosion and fire caused environmental damage that would require subsequent cleanup.

The state Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead as Gary Keenen, 26, of Ada, and Kelsey Bellah, 27, of Tulsa. Schafnitt said the two critically injured people sustained burns and were airlifted to a burn unit in Oklahoma City. The third injured worker sustained burns on his hands, he said. Schafnitt did not identify the injured workers.

The rig is owned by Pablo Energy of Amarillo, Texas, which did not immediately respond to telephone calls seeking comment. Coal County Sheriff Bryan Jump also did not immediately respond to telephone calls seeking comment.


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Oklahoma - Rig Fire Victim Recalls Explosion, Loss Of Brother

 
Safe at home Injured oil rig worker Dewayne Keenan holds his daughter Aaliyah close after returning from the hospital where doctors tended his severely burned hands he suffered while saving coworkers in an oil rig fire near Coalgate Thursday, Dec. 18


December 28th, 2014
One day. One more day of work and Gary Keenan would have been off for a week. A week in which he was looking forward to time off from his hard-work job. A week that would have been filled with holiday cheer, spending time with loved ones and celebrating life. Instead, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014, would be Gary’s last day on earth.
The 26-year-old Arkansas native was killed in a fiery accident at his job on an oil/gas rig near Coalgate. A coworker was killed and two others critically injured. His early death has left his family and friends devastated, maybe none more so than Gary’s big brother by two years, Dewayne.
Dewayne Keenan was there that night and was injured as well. His hands were burned as he dragged coworkers engulfed in flames to safety. But his injured hands aren’t what’s hurting him right now. It’s the loss of his brother.
Dewayne doesn’t have nightmares when he sleeps. He awakens to a nightmare each day.
“The hardest times are in the morning when I wake up,” he said while holding back tears.

Dewayne and his wife Alexandrea are in the early stage of grief where they feel the loss again and again. They look through photos of good times they all had together. Alexandrea has taken dozens of pictures of fun times the family had in the last five or so months.
That’s when Gary moved to Ada to live with Dewayne and Alexandrea so he could work on the rig. Gary and Dewayne worked grueling 12-hour shifts, one week on, one week off in a job which is considered one of the hardest and most dangerous there is. When they had time off, they only wanted to have fun as a family.
There was the October trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks. Gary, Dewayne, and Alexandrea, along with Dewayne and Alexandrea’s one-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, had a grand family outing. Dewayne and Alexandrea smile when they look at the pictures. Their eyes light up as they talk about fun-loving brother Gary and his antics. They laugh and giggle, but the happiness is fleeting as reality comes crashing down again. The smiles disappear and their eyes fill with tears as the disbelief returns. Their hearts are filled with sorrow.
• The nightmare
Dewayne is a derrick hand and he was down in the pits doing his job when the rig went up in flames. He said four other coworkers were above the platform and their job was to make connections to keep feeding pipe into the ground.
The sound of metal slamming against metal is loud and startling. Dewayne said it sometimes catches him off guard, causing him look up to make sure something hasn’t gone wrong. He said every time he heard the sound, he worried about Gary, who worked above.
“I was always real worried about him,” Dewayne said. “Anytime I’d hear that noise up there I just say a little prayer, ‘Lord, just watch them men up there.’ I’d pray throughout the night.”
But this time, it wasn’t just a loud noise.
“This time when I heard it, I turned around and looked and there was fire just rolling,” he said. “And it wasn’t a little fire, it was big. It already had the whole derrick smothered. It looked like a bon fire, a huge bon fire.”
Dewayne said what ignited was oil base. Oil base is a mud infused with diesel fuel used for lubrication during the drilling process. Dewayne believes it was a space heater that ignited the mud.
“That oil base is flammable,” Dewayne said. “For the last 72 hours they had me pumping three gallons of diesel per minute into that mud. When they broke that kelly to make a connection, that oil-based mud was flying right in their face by the hundreds of gallons with 3,000 pounds of pressure behind it.”
“It hit that oil-based mud and like a spring, the mud is coming out and the fire was coming with it,” Dewayne said. “In no time, it was a hell hole.”
When Dewayne came around and up to the platform, he saw coworker Matthew Thurman engulfed in flames.
“I grabbed him and rushed him downstairs and put him out,” Dewayne said.
Recent rains had left pools of water around the platform and that is where Dewayne pushed Thurman to douse the flames. He ran back up the stairs to find his brother and found another coworker, Mark Pittman, also engulfed in fire and screaming.
“It was like something out of a bad movie,” he said. “I had never seen anything like it in my life. It was horrible. I rushed him downstairs, rolled him around and put him out.”
Dewayne ran back upstairs and grabbed a pressure-washer hose and was fighting the fire when a coworker came along with a fire extinguisher.
“I asked him, ‘Have you seen my brother?! Have you seen my brother?!” Dewayne said. “He said, ‘Yeah, I just put him out.’ I said, ‘You just put him out? Well is he going to be all right? Is he OK? Is he going to live?’”
Dewayne said the coworker wouldn’t answer him.
Dewayne ran downstairs to where Gary’s charred body lay on the ground. He gave his brother CPR until paramedics arrived. He said he had them check his brother several times.
“I stayed there with him giving him CPR, pumping his chest until the medics got there,” Dewayne said. “They checked him, but I had them check him again and again and again. They kept telling me he was gone; it was too late.”
In shock, Dewayne got a blanket and covered his brother up. Once Gary’s body was placed in a hearse, Dewayne agreed to take an ambulance ride to a Coalgate hospital.

 

Brothers Dewayne, right, and his brother Gary stop for a photo at a local restaurant recently. Gary Keenan was killed on the rig during the fire.

• The family
Dewayne and Gary, along with sisters Melissa and Michelle, grew up in Paris, Arkansas. They were close.
“We did everything together,” he said.
When Dewayne was old enough, he set out on his own. He spent years working and eventually moved to Ada. Gary moved to Ada to live with Dewayne and Alexandrea so he could work.
“He wanted a job on the oil rigs,” Dewayne said. “He’s a hard worker. He’d go home to Arkansas on his days off and visit his friends and family. He was a real good family man: he had a lot of friends back home that he’d go check on.”
Dewayne said Gary would never slow down on the rig.
“No matter how tired he got, he would never drag his feet,” Dewayne said. “He didn’t want to disappoint me. He’d work hard for me and he’d work hard for those guys (at the rig).”
Dewayne said at the end of the day, there were no awards given and no pats on the back.
“You gotta fight for your job out there cause there is always another man willing to take it and wanting to take it. It’s never good enough out there roughnecking and so I just really appreciated his hard work,” he said.
He helped Gary get the job on the rig. Gary knew that although the work was hard, the pay was good and he wanted to make something of himself.


Gary and Alexandrea were friends before she and Dewayne met. Dewayne and Alexandrea fell in love and married, eventually having Aaliyah. Alexandrea said she and Gary were just like brother and sister and she misses him terribly.

“He was my brother too,” she said with tears in her eyes. “He was my best friend before I met my husband. We just became family. We had a good thing here.”
Dewayne said he was always tired in the mornings, but Gary was always upbeat.
“He’d yell out, ‘Good morning, bro!,’ trying to be funny morning guy,” Dewayne said. “You know, ain’t nobody trying to hear that (that early in the morning). I never thought I’d miss hearing that as much as I do.”

While growing up, the family attended Paris Christian Center Church in Arkansas. That is where Gary’s funeral services were held Friday. Dewayne lowered his brother into the ground and threw a handful of soil in as he said good-bye, for now.

• A better place
Dewayne said he and Gary had been praying for their grandfather the night of the fire.
“My grandfather, who is 92 years old, was in the hospital that night,” Dewayne said. “My brother came to me and said, ‘I think we need to say a prayer for our grandfather.’ I said, ‘Why, what’s going on?’ He said, ‘Granny just called me and told me he’s real sick and I think we need to pray for him.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s sit down and pray.’ So we said a prayer.”

Gary was still worried later on so Dewayne had another talk with him at about 10 p.m.
“We were talking about it again and I said, ‘Look, don’t stress on that,’ Dewayne said. “You know he’s 92 years old. His heart is right with God. We’re all going to be there. One day or another, we’re all going to be there. Just be glad to know he’s going to be there (Heaven). I thought I was preaching to him that night, but I honestly think God was preaching to me, knowing that I would be telling myself that in two hours.”

• What’s next
Dewayne continues to heal. He must visit a burn center every few days so doctors can monitor the burns on his hands. He has already had skin grafts. His hands are bandaged, as well as his leg where doctors took skin for the grafts.
He received breathing treatments after the fire due to heat and smoke he inhaled. Gary had a pickup he and Dewayne were going to fix up as a project vehicle. Dewayne is planning to restore the pickup as a memorial to his brother, once he recovers from his injuries.

Due to those injuries, Dewayne has been unable to work and the bills keep coming, the family said. A fund has been set up at gofundme.com to assist the family with donations (www.gofundme.com/j8h8yg).

Funds have also been setup to assist Dewayne’s injured coworkers, Matthew Thurman (www.gofundme.com/j3gn8k) and Mark Pittman (www.gofundme.com/Markpittman).
Both are recovering at Integris Baptist Burn Center in Oklahoma City. According to their fundraising pages, Mark Pittman was burned over 75 percent of his body and will spend about six months in the hospital. Matt Thurman was burned over 47 percent of his body and will spend two to three months in the hospital.

• The investigation
The investigation continues as to what ignited the fire that killed Gary Keenan as well as his coworker, 27-year-old Kelsey Bellah of Tulsa, according to Sam Schafnitt, chief of operations with the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office.
“What we’re looking at is, what was the ignition source?” Schafnitt said. “We’re still investigating. We have a couple of sources (we are looking at).”
He said they are working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the investigation.
Source: The Ada News