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Page added on April 23, 2016
New York Denies Critical Permit for Natural Gas Pipeline
New York environmental regulators have rejected a critical permit needed for a major natural gas pipeline project, saying the project fails to meet standards that protect hundreds of streams, wetlands and other water resources in its path.
The Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday it won’t issue a water quality permit for the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania’s shale gas fields to eastern New York. The agency said the project’s construction would affect 251 streams and 500 acres of valuable forest as well as extensive wetlands.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pipeline project in 2014 contingent on the state permit, which is required by the federal Clean Water Act. The project had all needed permits for a segment in Pennsylvania and had already cleared trees there in preparation for construction.
Constitution Pipeline Company, a partnership formed by Cabot Oil & Gas, Williams Partners and Piedmont Natural Gas Company, can appeal the state decision to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We are very disappointed by today’s decision,” Constitution spokesman Christopher Stockton said. “We remain absolutely committed to building this important energy infrastructure project.”
Stockton said the partners will decide whether to appeal after they finish analyzing the state’s rationale for the denial.
The decision comes two days after Kinder Morgan Inc. announced it was mothballing its planned Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, which would have followed some of the same route as Constitution. Kinder Morgan, which was earlier in the FERC process, cited economic reasons for its decision.
After Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in 2014, environmentalists turned their efforts to defeating pipelines and other energy infrastructure projects. They and community groups pressed Cuomo to decline the state permit for the Constitution Pipeline.
“Cuomo’s leadership could inspire a domino effect of related pipeline rejections as other states begin to put the protection of water and our climate before flawed energy projects that do not serve the public interest,” said Roger Downs of the Sierra Club’s Atlantic Chapter.
But some local officials, labor groups and business interests argue the pipeline is essential since New York has been increasing its natural gas consumption.
“We are incredibly disappointed that the administration allowed fear-mongering to once again lead the way,” said Heather Briccetti, president of The Business Council of New York State. She said the decision “will have a direct and immediate negative impact on our state’s economy.”
The Department of Environmental Conservation said that in addition to its review of Constitution’s application and supporting materials, the agency also considered more than 15,000 public comments before reaching its decision.
21 Comments on "New York Denies Critical Permit for Natural Gas Pipeline"
Apneaman on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 5:07 pm
Critical to whom?
I’m sure that the citizens of New York will start dieing en mass any day now cause of this. It’s critical don’t cha know?
makati1 on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 7:45 pm
Something that would not likely be finished and usable before it was no longer needed. Maybe they are getting some common sense in new York? Nah! Miracles don’t happen in the real world.
geopressure on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 8:07 pm
Critical to all those residents trying to get off of heating oil…
Critical for those employees who jobs depend on having affordable natural gas…
makati1 on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 8:10 pm
Geo, how many years away is the ‘complete’ pipeline, IF they started today? will it be ready by 2020? 2025? Later? By then, NG will be the last of their worries. Wait and see.
geopressure on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 8:42 pm
oh, that’s right, the sky is falling…
Apneaman on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 9:16 pm
Geo, what about those employees who jobs depend on selling and delivering heating oil. Are their jobs critical? If so are they more critical than the natural gas depending ones? Is there a critical scale so we can decide which one of these many critical things is the most critical. It’s critical that I find out. I might die otherwise…… cause it’s critical.
You should get a dictionary and look up critical. Then look up hyperbole.
makati1 on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 10:06 pm
Ap, education is not one of geo’s strong points. He’s deep in that river called “denail”.
Outcast_Searcher on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 11:07 pm
Too bad makatai1 can’t deal with facts for 30 seconds and stop spreading FUD here, article after article, post after post.
I spent about 30 seconds Googling “Constitution Pipeline Schedule”. I quickly found a link (constitutionpipeline.com) that shows an article about the planned pipeline, with a milestone schedule.
The planned target for being in service was the second half of 2017 — or well under two years away.
Outcast_Searcher on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 11:09 pm
Apnea, isn’t AGW critical? Wouldn’t replacing heating oil (or at least giving many homeowners the choice) be a really good thing?
But I know, in the doomer’s world, the imperfect is the enemy of the good.
Apneaman on Sat, 23rd Apr 2016 11:35 pm
You know that do ya? Do you know that the leakage rate of natural gas through the entire system is so great that it cancels out the difference in emissions between the two products? I have provided links to numerous studies and articles that demonstrate this. You’re still repeating industry PR. You’re like a bot. No matter what evidence is presented your response is always the same.
None of it matters anyway since we have gone too far. This is also something I have clearly shown, but since you are a slow learner, I’ll summarize. We have already exceeded 1C. Existing emissions assure 2C. Dozens of positive self reinforcing feedback loops are under way and can’t be stopped – like the melting permafrost that contains more carbon that we have burned or ever could. This means we have triggered a vicious cycle. It can’t be stopped. It’s a runaway train. Terminal cancer. The horse has left the barn. We are simply waiting on the inertia – it’ll be along shortly. In the mean time you will just have to be satisfied with a Houston like disaster every week or so.
makati1 on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 12:51 am
Ap, some here cannot see the forest for the trees. Too bad. They want to nit pick trivialities while the house burns down around them.
Outcast says the pipeline will be finished in two years by some schedule published by the pipeline supporter site. It has not even been approved. And probably never will be. So any date published now is pure bullshit. It is to sucker in investors like Outcast.
coffeeguyzz on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 1:19 am
Outcast
Up until a few months ago, the Cabot/Williams partnership expected to have the Constitution in service this fall, for the 2016 winter season.
The DEC delays pushed back tree clearing in NYS (it’s already done in Pennsylvania) past the March 31 deadline for migratory bird protection particulars.
All the involved parties are aware of this and, in fact, numerous agreeable landowners along the NYS pipeline route already, legally, cleared the trees from their own land.
The delay pushed back the earliest in service date to 2017, and now, with the rejection, seemingly to end the project.
At 125 miles long, a 30 inch natgas pipeline could be constructed – start to finish – in just a few months in good weather. The companies start at multiple points simultaneously, and join up for completion.
Legal developments are certain to follow.
Geo
As to the economic impact on the Southern Tier in NYS, it is apt to be both swift and severe.
As you have noted, fully one half the residences in that benighted area use oil for heating. They have long, cold winters in that part of the state.
A local gas distributor, Leatherstocking, was well underway to expand gas heating to both commercial and residential customers.
Not now.
Amphenol Aerospace, employer of over 1,000 and Raymond, one of the oldest, most highly regarded forklift manufacturers in the world, have both stated they may not be able to remain in business without lowered utility costs (which the a constitution would provide).
The next few winters in NYS and New England should prove instructional for many.
Kinder Morgan’s “Fuck you” to NE and suspending work on the massive New England Direct pipeline occurred just a few days ago.
Looks like those folks up there will continue to import LNG from Trinidad and truck oil and propane around for years to come, especicilly as the Pilgrim nuclear plant shuts down and coal burners are turning out the lights.
Davy on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 6:24 am
Yea, natural gas is a dubious clean fuel but from the point of view of liquid fuels for transport any opportunity to switch out gas for oil is a plus. That does not address the climate issues of course.
The climate issues are likely a sealed fate but if we were to try to mitigate AGW then we need to go into a power down crisis and hope for the best. The likely outcome of a power down crisis is the beginning of widespread food insecurity and actual famine. There are no easy choices for our catch 22 of doom. We are damned is we do and don’t.
The issues of deaths and when are probably more now and less later for a power down to mitigate climate change and less now and more later for a continuation of status quo that leads to a worse climate change scenario. The unknowns of choosing climate change mitigation that don’t offer any tangible benefits conflicts with human’s time value of benefits. Humans like immediate reward and the continuation of status quo is an immediate reward in that sacrifice is delayed. Immediate reward for those who are not suffering, that is but either way the suffering are going to suffer but many more will suffer immediately if we power down because our food chain will be disrupted.
The aggregate numbers would be hard to determine and likely never known. There are winners and losers with either scenario. The old generally loose with a power down crisis because of the loss of income and supporting resources for example meds and easier life. The young would lose more for a shortened life with continued status quo. The young are stronger to survive a power down. Those in climate changes immediate cross hairs are going to lose anyway but maybe they would have a slower schedule for land loss and adverse weather conditions.
What would I do if I were king? I would do a power down crisis because it is not only climate change that is the issue. We have a systematic failure of globalism coming anyway for multiple reasons. Continued status quo is continuing bad attitudes and lifestyles that are detrimental to everything including a future of crisis mitigation.
We could start the difficult and painful process of adjustment of population and consumption now. We could do this while our global economy is still functioning. We could start this when things are working so there may be a possibility of management. Once the shit hits the fan all bets are likely off on management and cooperation. Then it is going to be by the seat of our pants and reactive instead of proactive with some kind of planning.
I am not king and the world is stuck in the prisoner’s dilemma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma . We may get lucky and be forced into a power down crisis that forces us into changing poor attitudes and lifestyles. The luck concerns a better outcome to an ugly situation. Less and loss are never good for a population in overshoot.
It is absurd the way the global world is functioning considering the predicaments we are in and the trajectory of their impacts. Would we be doing what we are doing now if NASA told us an asteroid was heading for our planet and it would cause irreparable damage? Not an earth killing one but one that would destroy our food producing potential or something and bring on a serious die off. No, we would be making arrangements to adapt “OR” would we. We might have people deny asteroids exist and fight any efforts.
rockman on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 9:02 am
Less NG for NY? Fine by me: get to dust off those “Let them freeze in the dark” bumper stickers down the road from back when NG deliveries to New England were curtailed.
But I’m curious about the “logic”: ban a new pipeline but continue to receive a lot of NG from frac’d wells in PA. Doesn’t seem very consistant.
coffeeguyzz on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 9:35 am
Rockman
Glad to see your post and hope you are doing well.
Finding ‘logic’ in these situations may prove to be a futile task as, amongst other things, New York State has been vigorously, accurately touting its continual shift to lowered carbon emitting power generation and fleet transport for government vehicles.
What is not stated is that the fuel enabling this is natgas.
One of the oldest, longest running nuclear plants in the country, Indian Point, is located about 30 miles upriver from NYC.
It has continuous, ongoing safety issues – including a very recent spill of radioactive waste.
This plant produces a significant proportion of the area’s electricity.
For a glimpse of the outlook many of the anti frac’ing folks have, I refer you to the Sean Lennon-produced video “Don’t Frack My Mother”, viewable via Youtube.
His mother, Yoko, is featured in the video.
Her dedicated, refrigerated bedroom that stores and preserves her fur coats in the plush Dakota complex in midtown Manhattan, is … powered by nat gas generation.
rockman on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 12:03 pm
Actually I might guess part of the logic behind the NY govt decision: they currently have adequate NG supplies and don’t mind stranding some of that PA frac’d Marcellus NG they can access some years down the road when supplies from the south begin to decline
JuanP on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 12:24 pm
I never liked New Yorkers, most are a bunch of deluded, arrogant pricks. They tend to be some of the worst US Americans, and that takes some doing. I hope I live to see NYC residents freeze and starve to death as a consequence of their own arrogance and stupidity. God knows they deserve no better.
But, the world is not a fair place and it is poor African kids and others like them that pay for these fuckers’ arrogance and greed with their lives everyday. Same as it ever was.
Apneaman on Sun, 24th Apr 2016 1:12 pm
Another present from the cancer industry.
Emergency declared after oil spill in Mediterranean
Officials are worried the oil could wash up on tourist beaches just as the season starts
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/emergency-declared-after-oil-spill-in-mediterranean-a6998331.html
rockman on Mon, 25th Apr 2016 7:07 am
coffeeguy – A good liberal friend of mine freely admits to being a “Cadillac liberal”: she’ll always make the politically correct statements publicly but won’t give up any of the fossil fuel perks she has. In 2015 the state of NY consumed almost 1.4 TRILLION CU FT of NG with more going to residential users then any other sector. Currently the residents of only 3 states pay more for NG then those in NY.
coffeeguyzz on Mon, 25th Apr 2016 12:19 pm
Rock
Yes, I got to do a little checking on the utility supply situation for New England.
The parameters vis a vis adequate supply are very precarious.
Apparently, there are a few old oil burners and coal burners that function primarily on standby to replace the gas that, ordinarily, would fuel power plants (About 50% NE’s electricity comes from natgas).
When temperatures plummet and consumers crank up the heat in houses/businesses, there is insufficient gas for electricity.
Hence, the ‘belchers’ get revved up.
In 2014, there was a day where the spot price for electricity on the interstate ISO system, hit over $1,000/kilowatt.
This time around, winter wise, there will simply be no optional supply other than LNG shipped in from Trinidad to Boston with minimal storage.
The Pilgrim nuclear plant just announced a final refueling giving the Area, at best, three more winters with 600MW of daily juice.
I well recognize that most of these numbers and specs will have little resonance with the anti FF folks as they rarely seem to exhibit much knowledge of how this stuff works.
Those folks up there are going to be hurting big time if the winters are bad and, just in normal times, paying a WAY higher price for this crucial commodity than is necessary.
Oh, well …
Janet on Sun, 23rd Apr 2017 2:06 pm
The Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in NY is due to shutdown in several yrs. What do you think about MA AG energy study?
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/ag_healy_grid_reliability_fine.html