SEDAN FLIPS ON ITS ROOF, SUV LANDS IN CREEK AFTER MULTI-VEHICLE CRASH IN CHELTENHAM TWP., PENNSYLVANIA

MARCH 3, 2015

CHELTENHAM TWP., PA. (WPVI)

A multi-vehicle crash in Chelthenham, Montgomery County left a vehicle on its roof and an SUV sitting upright in Tookany Creek.
It happened at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 6300 block of Tookany Creek Parkway.
Action News is told 4 vehicles collided.
Images from Chopper 6 HD showed a dark-colored sedan lying on its roof across part of the road.
An SUV was seen several yards away sitting upright in shallow water in Tookany Creek.
Rescue units were on the scene, and a road crew was seen spreading rock salt on the roadway.
There was no immediate word on injuries or what led to the crash, although black ice appears to be the main factor.

AMERICAN AIRLINES MECHANIC DIES AFTER 14-FOOT FALL FROM DFW AIRPORT JET BRIDGE

MARCH 3, 2015

DFW AIRPORT (CBSDFW.COM)

An employee with American Airlines died after falling from a jet bridge.

The bridge is between gates 30 and 34 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s terminal D. The incident happened just after 10:00 o’clock Monday morning.

The employee has been identified by Transport Workers Union Local 591 as Dave Ostang. The mechanic, an employee who had worked for American Airlines for 30 years, died at an area hospital shortly after the accident. Ostang was reportedly locking the door of a Boeing 767 when he apparently slipped and fell from the jet bridge, landing about 14 feet below.  The plane had been moved from a maintenance hangar to Gate D30.

A posting on the union’s website said, in part –

“Please keep Our Union Brother and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Authorities are investigating the incident.

American Airlines spokesperson Matt Miller gave the following statement:

“At approximately 10:30 a.m. CST today, one of our mechanics was involved in an accident on a jetbridge at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Sadly, he suffered fatal injuries. We extend our deepest sympathies to our co-worker’s family and friends, and our hearts go out to our entire team of DFW airport and maintenance colleagues. Our focus is on taking care of his family and friends during this difficult time.”

What every family needs to know about Texas wrongful death claims.

When someone is killed in a workplace accident, family members left behind must cope with the tragedy as best they can. Many important decisions need to be made, and a wrongful death claim needs to be filed. Workplace accidents are often complex and surviving family members need knowledgeable council to help them in the claims process.

In Texas, a claim can be filed only by specific family members, but there are strict requirements and deadlines that must be met.

Louisiana Judge Tosses Lawsuit Blaming Oil and Gas Industry for Flood Damages

A lawsuit brought in 2013 by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East has been dismissed by a federal judge who found that the Authority had failed to support its claims against dozens of oil, gas and pipeline companies. The Authority sued the companies for damages, arguing that their oil and gas exploration activities had damaged wetland areas, making the coast more vulnerable to flooding during hurricane events such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Background

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (Authority) is one of two levee authorities that service the metropolitan New Orleans area. The authorities are responsible for protecting residents, businesses and properties from flooding, including adopting rules and regulations for carrying into effect a comprehensive levee system (which includes levees, floodwalls, drainage structures and floodgates).

In July 2013, the Authority filed suit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies on the theory that their exploratory activities over time have damaged wetlands, which in turn has left New Orleans vulnerable to catastrophic flooding. Specifically, the suit alleges that the dredging of canals by the oil and gas companies allowed for destruction of wetlands that protect the New Orleans area from flood damages, and that those damages complicated and increased the cost of management of the levee system. 

The lawsuit demanded that the companies immediately begin filling in canals and restoring wetlands, and to compensate the Authority for past damages. The primary arguments made in the lawsuit are that:

(1) the oil and gas activities were conducted under permits that required restoration of dredged canals through the state’s wetlands, which have provided pathways for salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to kill off fresh water marshes;
(2) the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 prohibits impairing the effectiveness of levees, and increasing storm surge by eliminating wetlands makes impairs the levees; and
(3) under a “servitude of drainage” law, an individual cannot take actions on his or her own property that sends water onto someone else’s property, and this is what the oil and gas projects have done by increasing storm surge onto the levee system.

Politics

The Authority’s legal action didn’t go over very well politically. Both Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) declared their opposition to the suit based on its potential to interfere with the state’s own restoration and hurricane protection plans and with the state’s own strategy of requesting from Congress a greater share of offshore oil revenue. The CPRA acts as the levee authority for coastal levee systems in Louisiana and sponsors Army Corps of Engineers levee projects on behalf of the state, making it ultimately responsible for paying the local share of any federal levee construction costs. Gov. Jindal even replaced several members of the East Bank levee authority who had supported the suit. The other authority responsible for levee maintenance in New Orleans, the West Bank Authority, distanced itself from the suit by publicly stating that the East Bank Authority had acted alone.

Dismissal of the Suit

U.S. District Judge Nanette Oliver Brown dismissed the suit on February 17, 2015, agreeing with the defendant group that the Authority had failed to state a claim on all six of its legal theories to hold the defendants responsible for increased vulnerability to flooding. This may settle the question of ultimate responsibility for the area’s vulnerability to catastrophic flooding – for now – but it’s unlikely that legal wrangling over the damages suffered by New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina will end anytime soon.

Source: www.theleveewasdry.com

A truck spilled over 100 gallons of diesel fuel after crashing into a tree in East Palestine, Ohio

MARCH 4, 2015
 
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO (WKBN)

A truck spilled over 100 gallons of diesel fuel after crashing into a tree just outside East Palestine early Wednesday morning, prompting cleanup efforts by local emergency workers.

According to Willie Brantingham of the Columbiana County Local Emergency Planning Committee, a tractor-trailer truck ran off Route 170 and hit a tree just after 5:30 a.m., spilling between 120 and 150 gallons of diesel fuel about a mile south of East Palestine.

According to Brantingham, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency received a notification of the spill since it was more than 25 gallons. Brantingham said the spill was contained and did not pose a public health risk.

Police said the accident forced them to close Route 170 between Jimtown and Bye roads.

Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, blast caused by ruptured gas line

MARCH 4, 2015

(Reuters) - A blast in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, on Wednesday was caused by a contract worker accidentally rupturing a gas line, a city spokeswoman said, and was not at the Sherritt International fertilizer plant as earlier reported by local media.

Wendy Kinsella, communications adviser for the City of Fort Saskatchewan, an industrial center northeast of the provincial capital Edmonton, said there were no injuries and the resulting fire was quickly extinguished.

"There was a bit of a boom when the gas initially released," Kinsella said. "The highway was closed to keep people away from the area."

Initial local media reports said the gas leak was at a fertilizer plant owned by Sherritt International Corp but Kinsella said the explosion occurred to the east of the facility, probably around one km away, in an undeveloped area

Worker suffered serious head injuries after falling about 10 feet from a crane

Gas terminal fatality

March 2, 2015

An employee of UK rental company Quinto Crane Hire was fatally injured in an incident at the Bacton Gas Terminal, in Norfolk, on Saturday morning about 9.15am.
The man, David Eastick, suffered serious head injuries after falling about three metres from a crane in the Perenco UK section of the gas terminal before any crane lifting operations had commenced. He was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge but died later in the day from his injuries.
A statement from the company announcing the sad news added: “A full investigation to determine what actually occurred has been launched by Quinto, Perenco (UK) Bacton Gas Terminal, the HSE and Norfolk Police. Our thoughts and concerns are with David’s family now and not further comment can be made at this time, pending the outcome of the investigation.”
A Perenco UK spokesman said: “An investigation to determine what occurred has been launched by Norfolk police and the HSE, with full co-operation from Perenco and Quinto Crane and Plant Ltd. Our thoughts and condolences are extended to the family.”

A self-erecting tower crane dropped its load of steel tubes into passing traffic last week in the town of Zeebrugge, Belgium.

March 2, 2015

A Near miss in Zeebrugge.  A self-erecting tower crane dropped its load of steel tubes into passing traffic last week in the town of Zeebrugge, Belgium.

The crane lifting its load over an open street

The tubes thankfully dropped between two cars, narrowly missing one as they landed in front and bounced on the street. While no one was hurt in this incident it does reflect the dangers or lifting over an open road.

Two of the tubes landed right in front of a car, thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

Minnesota telehandler fatality

March 4, 2015

A man was killed on Friday when a telehandler attachment, or fork carriage, broke free and dropped on him at a hotel construction site in Rochester, Minnesota.
The man, Ben Baird, 30, was standing under the CAT TL1055 at the time, and was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries and died later from blunt force trauma. The main contractor on site is Far West Construction of Utah, working for a developer PLC.

The attachment or carriage broke free from the telehandler

OSHA and the Rochester police are investigating the incident, and only state that a very large attachment broke free from the telehandler.
Baird leaves behind a wife and four young children. We understand that a fundraising campaign is being raised for their immediate support.

EPA Approves New Climate-Friendly Refrigerants

Rule supports president’s Climate Action Plan by curbing emissions of potent greenhouse gases 

WASHINGTON – As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasing the options for refrigerants used in various kinds of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment in the United States that offer better climate protection without harming the ozone layer. This final action addresses refrigerants under the Climate Action Plan that calls on EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program to identify and approve additional climate-friendly chemicals.

“Today’s rule is an example of how we can turn the challenge of climate change into an opportunity to innovate our way to a better future,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “By working together, businesses and EPA are bringing new, climate-friendly refrigerants to market that better protect our health and the environment.” 

Under the authority of the Clean Air Act, EPA’s SNAP Program evaluates substitute chemicals and technologies that are safe for the ozone layer. This final rule expands the list of SNAP-approved substitutes to include more low-global warming potential (GWP) alternatives that can replace both the ozone-depleting substances and high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The approved substitutes have GWPs that range from 3 to 675 and can replace older compounds with GWPs between 1400 to 4000.

After receiving input from industry, environmental groups, and others, EPA is approving additional low-GWP hydrocarbon refrigerants, subject to use conditions, in the following refrigeration and air conditioning applications:

• Ethane in very low temperature refrigeration and in non-mechanical heat transfer;

• Isobutane in retail food refrigeration (stand-alone commercial refrigerators and freezers) and in vending machines;

• Propane in household refrigerators, freezers, or combination refrigerators and freezers, in vending machines, and in room air conditioning units; 

• The hydrocarbon blend R-441A in retail food refrigeration (stand-alone commercial refrigerators and freezers), in vending machines and in room air conditioning units; and

• HFC-32 (difluoromethane) in room air conditioning units. HFC-32 has one-third the GWP of the conventional refrigerants currently being used in room air conditioning units.

These refrigerants are already in use in many of these applications in Europe and Asia. 

In addition to adding these climate-friendly alternatives, EPA is also exempting all of these substances, except HFC-32, from the Clean Air Act venting prohibition, as current evidence suggests that their venting, release, or disposal does not pose a threat to the environment. 

Learn more about EPA’s SNAP Program and this rule: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/index.html

Allowing the wolf to guard the sheep: pipeline was leaking for more than 12 days before the rupture was discovered because the operator had the system turned off

The pipeline that ruptured and spilled nearly 3 million gallons of saltwater, contaminating a nearby creek and two rivers near Williston, could have been monitored remotely but the system wasn’t turned on, a regulator said last week.

Meadowlark Midstream, a subsidiary of Summit Midstream, relied on checking meters by hand rather than a more sophisticated system that had been installed, said Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources.

The investigation into the spill is still ongoing, but Helms estimates the pipeline was leaking for more than 12 days before the rupture was discovered Jan. 6.
By being allowed to leak for so long, the spill significantly contaminated groundwater near Blacktail Creek, and a North Dakota Department of Health official says the cleanup will take at least five years.

“I think five years would be very optimistic,” said Dave Glatt, chief of the Environmental Health Section. “Ten years, there still may be talk about this.”
Ron Sylte, who owns the land where the spill happened, said pipelines should require greater monitoring.

“Common business practice is if you put something in on one end and it doesn’t come out the other end, you’ve got a problem. You should be able to monitor it that way,” Sylte said. “Somebody dropped the ball.”

Meadowlark Midstream said in a statement the pipeline that ruptured met all requirements of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which began regulating about 20,000 miles of gathering pipelines last year.


Monitoring
The pipeline that ruptured north of Williston transported produced water, the briny waste product that comes to the surface along with oil and gas, from 40 well pads to a saltwater disposal well. The company also operates produced water pipelines in two other nearby segments that were shut down after the rupture was discovered.

The pipelines had flow meters and the capability of being monitored by supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, a remote system to gather data from the meters, Helms said.

Why the company wasn’t using the SCADA system is part of the Department of Mineral Resources investigation.

“They had to drive out to the site, read the number on the meter, and then go site to site, read the numbers and sit down with a computer and add them up to try to see if there were differences that indicated a leak,” Helms said.

In addition, the company performed monthly flyover inspections. A flyover Dec. 30 did not detect evidence of a pipeline rupture.

The state Industrial Commission does not require gathering pipelines to have meters or monitoring systems. State legislation being proposed would strengthen requirements for pipeline monitoring.

Before regulators will allow Meadowlark Midstream to resume operating these produced water lines, they are requiring the use of SCADA, Helms said.

“We want real-time pressure readings, meter readings and temperature readings in their control room when they start up again,” Helms said.

In addition to the pipeline that ruptured, regulators are especially focused on making sure a pipeline that crosses Blacktail Creek upstream of Blacktail Dam has a better monitoring system, Helms said.

Investigation
The Department of Mineral Resources is interviewing landowners, former contractors, employees of oil and gas operators, disposal well operators and pipeline operators in the area to investigate the timeline of the pipeline leak, Helms said.

“When did it happen, when did it start and when could it, should it have been detected?” Helms said.

The investigation will look at lab analysis of the ruptured pipeline, engineering drawings of the pipeline and whether the pipe was installed per the manufacturer’s recommendations.

The composite material used to make the pipeline also is being studied, particularly because the pipeline was six months old when it ruptured. Helms said state regulators know of only three places the material, called FiberSpar LinePipe, is used in North Dakota, however it was only last year that reporting pipeline material and other information became a requirement. The manufacturer says it has thousands of miles of the pipeline material installed, primarily in Texas, Helms said.

Meadowlark Midstream said in a statement that the pipeline was installed with certified FiberSpar experts and monitored by third-party inspectors.

“Extensive testing is being conducted to understand why and how the ruptured occurred,” the company said.

Summit Midstream operates crude oil and natural gas pipelines around the country but only operates produced water pipelines in North Dakota. The company has 850 miles of pipeline in North Dakota and has invested $800 million in the state since 2013.

Cleanup
The pipeline rupture released an estimated 70,000 barrels of produced water, or nearly 3 million gallons, the largest spill of its kind in North Dakota. The brine, which can also contain oil, hydraulic fracturing fluid and other chemical compounds, is more difficult to clean up than oil and can have devastating impacts to the environment.

The levels of chloride and ammonia detected at the rupture site were “acutely toxic” to fish, Glatt of the state health department has said, but a detailed biological assessment won’t be taken until the ice melts. The contamination, which included an estimated 2,520 gallons of oil, reached the Little Muddy River and the Missouri River after contaminating Blacktail Creek.

The levels of chloride detected downstream have reduced significantly as a result of the containment and cleanup operations, Glatt said. The main concern now is groundwater that has been contaminated around the creek.

“We need to cut that off from getting into the creek,” Glatt said.
The company, working with environmental contractor Stantec, has more than 15 interceptor trenches along the creek to capture contaminated groundwater so it can be hauled away for disposal.

Contaminated groundwater is still being removed from a 2006 pipeline spill into Charbonneau Creek, which flows into the Yellowstone River in northwestern North Dakota. That spill involved about 1 million gallons of produced water, or one-third the size of the more recent spill.

“Anytime groundwater is contaminated, you’re looking at a minimum of five years,” Glatt said of the remediation.

Charbonneau Creek rebounded fairly quickly after the spill, Glatt said.
“These creeks typically are used to feast or famine where they have droughts and floods. Their aquatic community is used to that. They have a resiliency where they can rebound fairly quickly,” he said. “We’re hopeful that’ll be the case here, but we really won’t know until that (biological) assessment is done.”
Summit Midstream CEO Steve Newby said in a statement the company is committed to North Dakota and the cleanup of the site.

“We are making significant progress in these efforts, and remain fully engaged in the important work of addressing the impacted land and waterways as quickly as possible,” Newby said.

The state health department, together with the Environmental Protection Agency, plans to take enforcement action against the company, Glatt said. The Department of Mineral Resources also plans to issue its own penalty, Helms said.

Meadowlark Midstream also is proposing a crude oil pipeline in Divide and Burke counties in northwest North Dakota and will go before the Public Service Commission on March 30 for a public hearing.

Chairman Brian Kalk said any company that has had a pipeline spill will face greater scrutiny about what’s being done to prevent another incident.
“Hopefully they have some better details as to why things happened,” Kalk said.