Pilgrim Pipelines in NJ Anne Powley – Mahway, NJ Glen Rock Environmental Commission - January 18th, 2017 StopPilgrimPipeline.com Who is CAPP? • Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipeline(s) • Formed in summer of 2014 • 72+ civic, environmental, and faith- based organizations across NJ and NY with thousands of members 2 Who is Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings Co.? • Start up venture formed in 2013 by four energy and finance executives, based in CT o Limited resources, need ~ $1B in financing o Backed by Energy Investors Fund, which was acquired by Ares Management LP (www.aresmgmt.com) in Jan. 2015. o Outsourcing virtually all functions (construction, design, engineering, environmental analysis, spill remediation and cleanup) • Not a utility - Pilgrim does not have eminent domain authority in either state. 3 What are the Pilgrim Oil Pipelines? • Two parallel pipelines, 178 miles, between Albany, NY and Linden, NJ • Explosive/Corrosive Bakken crude oil will be sent southbound; refined products will be sent north • 400,000 barrels of Bakken crude and refined oil products to travel daily (24/7) for 30+ years. • Pilgrim route splits at southern end near Scotch Plains with one branch going to Phillips 66 Bayway refinery and second going to Kinder Morgan docks in Port Reading (refined product storage) 4 How Dangerous is This Oil? • Bakken oil is more hazardous than conventional crude - lighter and contains a number of gases and compounds, such as methane and propane, that can make it much more corrosive and volatile; named most explosive crude by WSJ • July 2013, Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, a train carrying Bakken crude derailed, exploded and killed 47 people. • Federal Railroad Administration concerned about Bakken crude when it became aware of “severe corrosion” of tank car walls and joints. • Bakken oil is so flammable it can be ignited at temp as low as 68 F. • May 2013, Enbridge Inc. discovered dangerous hydrogen sulfide levels in Bakken crude – 24 times the legal limit. • Refined products such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, etc. are even more dangerous when spilled or vaporized than crude oil! 5 Proposed Route* • Crosses 5 NJ/NY counties, 29 NJ towns, 35 NY towns & environmentally fragile areas/sources for water. • Through the most densely populated areas of the state • Through the Highlands, which provides drinking water for over 60% of NJ residents • Through the Ramapo Watershed and the Wanaque, Pequannock and Ramapo Rivers, Buried Valley Aquifer in many places as well as the Passaic River in three places. o a number of sole-source aquifers, endangering the municipal water wells. o Crosses Troy Meadows; next to Great Swamp *Based on last proposed route, not formally filed yet with NJDEP. 6 Map of Pipelines Route Through NJ Route follows Spectra Gas Line easement through Montville, then PSE&G ROW to Scotch Plains. Proposed route not final. Pilgrim Pipelines Not Needed • Pilgrim claims to be an alternative to barges • “The pipeline would in no way increase the amount of oil and refined products currently transported between Linden and Albany,” 1 • No evidence NJ will see any refined fuels from pipeline • There is no bottleneck • Phillips 66 Bayway refinery that handles Bakken crude is building its own rail facilities in Linden and in North Dakota to ensure a steady supply of oil and no interest in the pipeline. • The only beneficiaries of this pipeline will be Pilgrim’s investors • NJ already has over 100 superfund sites • Will we allow four investors in Albany to control the risk to New Jersey’s drinking water for the next 30+ years? 1http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2014/05/environmentalists_detail_opposition_to_proposed_pipeline_bet 8 ween_albany_and_linden.html Local Concerns • Health & safety : o First responders at risk, untrained, not equipped, municipalities pay costs. Pilgrim’s contractor, Halliburton, has 24 hours to show up. o Clean up after a disaster is out of our control o Potential for devastating explosions where sited near high-pressure gas line o Extended evacuations from homes and schools. o Aquifer poisoning, possibly for generations • Financial: • Decreased property values • Pilgrim will not indemnify* municipalities, businesses or homeowners for damages to health or property. Municipalities are responsible for replacing and/or purifying their water and first responder costs and damages to roads and other public property. o No insurance required by Federal or State law! o Pipeline company can walk away if clean up causes bankruptcy. 9 *As stated by George Bochis, VP of Development, at Kinnelon meeting, 10/26/14 Impact on Highlands Water (1) • NJ has a dense, interconnected network of rivers, streams, reservoirs and aquifers • Highlands supplies water to 5.4M NJ residents and three of the largest NJ industries: pharmaceuticals, food processing and tourism. • Pipeline leaks could poison the aquifers and surface water • Shut-off valves will be 10 miles apart (max.). • The Pequannock, Wanaque and Ramapo Rivers (three major water arteries) are all at risk. • Sixteen streams cross the pipeline between Mahwah/NY border and Wanaque. • All feed the Ramapo and Wanaque Rivers. • Pipeline proposed route goes directly under the Wanaque and Pequannock Rivers • These three water arteries feed the Pompton River and Upper Passaic River, both sources of drinking water either drawn directly by towns or by water companies who transport water long distances. • Wanaque River feeds Wanaque Reservoir, as do Pompton and Passaic Rivers via pumps. o During recent drought Wanaque Reservoir may have gone dry without river water. 10 Impact to Local Water Supplies • Glen Rock • Ridgewood Water Co. draws supplemental water from Suez in times of drought • Ridgewood passed a resolution against the pipeline in November 2016 because NJ Water Supply Management Act NJSA 58:1A-1 mandates that water is a public asset and the state can redistribute it to serve the needs of communities with inadequate supplies. Allendale and Wyckoff followed on same reasoning. • Mahwah • The Ramapo River Basin Aquifer is recharged by the river. • Mahwah has 5 wells at the base of the Ramapo Mountains along the Ramapo River. • Wanaque • Town wells are downhill from the pipeline. • Aquifer pollution would result in strict DEP limits on drawdowns from replacement sources, which can impact economic development. • There are NO economically feasible alternative water sources 12 Impact on NJ Water • NJ has 4th lowest water prices in US! • An oil spill in the Highlands would be a disaster o Crude oil contains “BTEX” – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. The EPA stated “maximum contaminant level goal” for benzene is zero because it causes blood diseases and cancer. o A one minute spill of Bakken crude could release about 70 lbs of benzene* - enough to render 1.7 bn gallons of water unsafe o Wanaque and Monksville Reservoirs have about 37 billion gallons of water. A spill of Bakken crude in their watershed would render that full amount undrinkable in less than 30 minutes. • Who pays to deal with contaminated water? • NJ still in drought conditions • NJ Water Master Plan has not been updated in 22 years *Source: Transportation Safety Board of Canada, based on sampling the Bakken crude that killed 43 13 people in Lac Megantic, Quebec. Risk to Property Values • Leaks could force residents from homes for many months if not forever. o Mayflower Arkansas residents may never return. o Oil fumes are toxic • Water supply contamination would also destroy property values. • Property values are affected by the presence of perceived dangers and would decrease by the mere installation of an oil pipeline. 14 Risks to Health • Oil fumes are toxic and carcinogenic. • Breathing the fumes from crude oil are known to cause chemical pneumonia, irritation of the nose, throat, and lungs, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, loss of coordination, fatigue, nausea, and labored breathing. • Chronic exposure can result in irregular heartbeats, convulsions, and coma. • Crude oil is a known teratogen1 and can cause birth defects and changes in fetal development. • The target organs for crude oil are the hematopoietic (blood forming) system, lymphatic system, nervous system, and reproductive system. Benzene is a known carcinogen. 1A drug or other substance capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, causing birth defects. 15 A Few Facts on Oil Spills • 400 reported pipeline incidents with 119,200 Barrels (5M gallons) spilled resulting in $266 Million in Property Damage in 2013 alone. • The 10 year average (2004 - 2013) is 631 incidents/year (1.7 incidents per day) with 97,263 barrels/year (4 million gallons) spilled resulting in $494 Million in Property Damage. o Engineering consultants Kiefner & Associates, Inc., concluded: “The ‘average’ pipeline has a 57% probability of experiencing a major leak, with consequences over the $1 million range, in a ten-year period.”* • Only 1/5 of the national pipeline system has been inspected by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) since 2006. o 135 federal inspectors oversee 2.6 million miles of pipeline, which means each inspector is responsible for almost enough pipe to circle the Earth. • The Wall Street Journal found that of the pipeline operators discover less than 20% of oil spills *. http://www.tbp.org/pubs/Features/W15Bell.pdf 16 Congressional Research Pilgrim Claims: Service Says: • Pipelines are safest form Pipelines Spill 2X More than Barges and Rail of oil transportation. Reality: • Pipelines leak 2x more than barges and trains combined! • PHMSA’s “Safety” goal refers only to reducing injuries and deaths from pipeline incidents.1 PHMSA has separate environmental goals 1 2http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMS A/DownloadableFiles/PHMSA%20Strategic %20Plan%20Final%208%203%2012.pdf 17 Pipelines are Not the Answer to the Problem of Oil Bomb Trains • Trains carry over 2/3 of Bakken oil for the following reasons: o Refiners off the national pipeline grid are often willing to pay more for crude o Railroads offer more flexibility in a volatile oil market.