David Graves – RI Future

October 14, 2016October 14, 2016

Even National Grid’s contractor doesn’t seem to know what’s going on in Fields Point

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When allegations surfaced last month that National Grid was pushing ahead with their Fields Point liquefaction project despite lack of approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and no proper permits from city and state agencies, Grid spokesperson David Graves was quick to deny it, saying, “The work underway at our property at 642 Allens Ave. property, which has been properly permitted, is unrelated to the liquefaction project.”

Then this picture was taken yesterday:

When asked for an explanation, Graves today said, “Kiewit put this sign up without our knowledge. They are the contractor building the access road for equipment and personnel working on the LNG tank embankment improvement. They are also the contractor designated to oversee installation of the liquefaction equipment when we have the OK to proceed with that project. It appears that in their minds the projects are one and the same, which is not the case. There is no work going on associated with the liquefaction project. Kiewit has been told to take down the sign and replace it with one that clearly identifies what work is underway.”

It seems that the projects under way at Fields Point are so confusing and interconnected that even National Grid’s contractors are having trouble telling them apart.

NoLNGinPVD, an environmental group opposed to the liquefacton facility, issued the following statement: “This is another glaring example of why we cannot trust the process at National Grid’s word and why it is an embarrassment to our state that the “public” utility is pulling the strings of our public officials. DEM refuses to hold National Grid accountable and enforce the legally petitioned for Public Involvement Plan. The city council ordinance committee has shelved a resolution calling for public oversight. The federal delegation that spoke out when a similar project would have affected recreational usage of the bay by wealthy suburbanites is deafeningly silent when the burden of danger is and pollution is absorbed by working class people of color on the south side of Providence. National Grid and their contractor Kiewit do know what they are doing, they are forcing unneeded and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure on a community of color that has raised many environmental justice concerns. They know this, and they think they can get away with it. We’re going to make sure they don’t.”

September 27, 2016September 28, 2016

Updated: No LNG in PVD demands National Grid halt construction at Fields Point

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The No LNG in PVD coalition is demanding that National Grid immediately halt construction and excavation work at 642 Allens Ave, the site of the proposed liquefaction facility in Fields Point. The proposed facility, which is opposed by Mayor Jorge Elorza and nine state legislators, is currently being reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). National Grid has requested that FERC not hold any public hearings or grant fast tracked approval for the project. No LNG in PVD, a coalition of residents, organizations, and elected officials opposed to National Grid’s LNG facility, calls on the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) to revoke a recently granted permit which authorized soil excavation at the site, which is contaminated with numerous toxins hazardous to human health.

A group of concerned Providence community members submitted a petition to RIDEM on August 31st which requested that RIDEM revoke the soil management permit until concerns are addressed and a Public Involvement Plan (PIP) is put in place. RIDEM site remediation regulations, amended in 2011, require a PIP – a formal process for public participation and community oversight of the cleanup plan for activities that occur on contaminated sites. RIDEM formally initiated the PIP on September 6th, notifying National Grid “to initiate the process of developing an approvable PIP associated with the planned environmental cleanup of the Providence Gas Company site, and any other site redevelopment activities requiring remedial actions that fall under the jurisdiction of the Remediation Regulations.”

National Grid was required to respond to RIDEM within seven days with proposed plans and a schedule for developing a PIP with the community, writes No LNG in PVD, but says National Grid has ignored this requirement. In addition to violating this regulatory request, says No LNG in PVD, National Grid has begun excavating soil in a large portion of the site along Allens Ave and Terminal Road. Community members have observed uncovered piles of dirt with visible airborne dust.

The project’s location, 642 Allens Ave, has a long history of industrial contamination dating back to the earliest days of the gas industry. Providence Gas Company operated a “manufactured gas plant” from 1910 to 1954 which resulted in the release of many toxic substances which polluted the soil and groundwater. The site has also been host to an ammonia plant, a toluene facility, a propane works, and most recently an LNG storage facility. Numerous substances which pose a risk to public health, safety, and the environment have been recorded at the site, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), phenolic compounds, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including benzene and naphthalene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ferri and ferro cyanide compounds, asbestos, and metals including lead and arsenic. Many locations in the site contain multiple hazardous substances at levels that far exceed allowed standards, and while some specific areas have been remediated since 1994, the majority of the land has not been remediated.

The petition submitted to to RIDEM articulated a number of community concerns about construction at the LNG site exposing workers or community members to toxins.

“This is our community, people live here and kids go to school here, why does National Grid think it’s okay to put our lives and our health at risk? It’s our legal right to be involved in these decisions,” said Gina Rodríguez, a community resident and leader in the No LNG in PVD coalition. Monica Huertas, another coalition leader said, “It’s outrageous that there’s a known toxic site this close to my house, and we can go down Allens Ave and see clouds of dust blowing off from the piles that National Grid is digging up. The whole point of this Public Involvement Plan law is to address things like that, but National Grid is just ignoring our concerns and DEM isn’t doing anything to stop them.”

A growing number of elected officials are working with the No LNG in PVD coalition and have declared opposition to National Grid’s unnecessary, expensive, and dangerous LNG proposal. The coalition denounces National Grid’s rush to begin work at the site before any public oversight is put in place. “This is exactly what RIDEM’s site remediation regulations are for,” said Representative Joseph Almeida. “In cases like this, where a project could release extremely dangerous contaminants, it is vital that the affected community have a role in overseeing remediation activities. Members of my district are already overburdened by environmental and health hazards. It is vital that DEM stop National Grid from kicking up a new load of previously buried poisons and toxics without giving this community any say.”

David Graves, spokesperson for National Grid, responded. “Construction work now underway on the property is not related to the liquefaction project. All of the work has been properly permitted. As part of our normal procedures, the earth excavated from the site is being covered.

“There are or will soon be two projects underway in the immediate area. One is construction of an access road to accommodate equipment that will come on site to make improvements to containment dyke wall that surrounds the LNG tank. The other is to cap approximately five acres of land at 642 Allens Ave that is part of a remediation project that was started several years ago. Both have been approved by DEM.”

No LNG in PVD coalition member Aaron Jaehnig responded to Graves’ statement. “The petition to DEM for a Public Involvement Plan related to that property clearly requested a halt to any construction or remediation projects until a Plan was in place. DEM’s request to National Grid, for that plan did not alter our request or sepcify that prior permits were exempt. The PIP process exists so the concerned residents, potentially effected by the disruption of toxic materials, are legally granted oversight to such projects. Its great that that National Grid believes they are above participation in this process, it just confirms our suspicions that their actions do not take the public’s well being into consideration. They have already shown a blatant disregard for the community by ignoring DEM’s request for response to the PIP order within seven days. All construction and remediation activity should be halted immediately until that process is completed.”

National Grid has responded a second time, denying some of the allegations made by the N o LNG in PVD coalition: “The work underway at our property at 642 Allens Ave. property, which has been properly permitted, is unrelated to the liquefaction project. One element of the work is environmental remediation. It is enhancing public safety not endangering it as claimed by one group. Also, at no time have we requested to FERC that they not hold public hearings and we responded to DEM on the matter of the Public Involvement Plan (which is unrelated to the current work on the property) within the required time. Every project we undertake is planned and executed under rigid safety and environmental standards and the work currently underway is no exception.”

August 5, 2016August 26, 2016

National Grid says cost of proposed ratepayer fee is a trade secret

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National Grid will not reveal the amount of money they hope to charge customers in their proposed pipeline tariff. That information is a trade secret, and will not be revealed until after the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (RIPUC) decides on the proposal.

On Tuesday evening RIPUC heard public testimony against National Grid’s plan to charge customers for its efforts in building fracked gas pipelines and infrastructure in our state. National Grid also wants ratepayers to guarantee their profits for the venture as well. After the hearing I searched in vain through National Grid’s 572 page application for anything that would indicate how much this plan would cost. Finally I wrote Todd Bianco, principal policy associate at RIPUC for clarification.

“I do not believe there are any costs or rates in the filing that have not been redacted and marked as confidential. You should contact National Grid’s attorney or their spokesperson to confirm that,” said Bianco.

Following Bianco’s advice, I wrote to David Graves, National Grid’s Rhode Island Director of Strategic Communications.

“Portions of the filing are redacted because the document includes confidential information,” wrote Graves in an email, “which if revealed, would give competitors an unfair advantage in building their bids. The same procedure is in place in commodity rate setting. The information is shared with the regulators and is used in their assessment of our proposed rates, but the hard numbers in the estimates are not shared publicly until after the contract has been awarded.”

Graves did note that ratepayer impacts are discussed in the application starting on page 545. All the important numbers for determining actual impacts have been redacted.

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Demonstrators tell National Grid: #NOLNGinPVD

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A demonstration to bring attention to the $100 million fracked, liquefied natural gas compressor station National Grid is trying to build in South Providence was held outside the company’s location at the corner of Allens Ave and Terminal Rd Wednesday afternoon. The demonstration was a joint effort of the FANG Collective, Environmental Justice League of RI (EJLRI), area residents and other community and environmental organizations.

The organizers see the expansion of chemical industries in this area of South Providence as “a clear example of environmental racism as all 11 of the EPA‘s identified toxic polluters in Providence are already in this zip code, which is predominantly low-income people of color.”

The impact and dangers of this project have been outlined by the EJLRI in detail here in a series of articles. The demonstrators have a Twitter hashtag: #NOLNGinPVD

There was a heavy police presence in the area, including a “prisoner transport van and numerous police cars. This was in addition to whatever private security National Grid employs. The heavy policing of local environmentalists and activists has been an ongoing issue in South Providence.

The dirt and soil all along this are near the port and along the bay may be contaminated with some pretty bad chemicals. When digging into that dirt, the soil needs to be tested and precautions, such as covering piles of dirt with large tarps to prevent the contaminated soil from blowing away and contaminating the air, water or nearby, previously uncontaminated areas. So it was with some surprise that I note the large piles of dirt behind the fence at National Grid, created during building project and uncovered by tarps.

Edit: David Graves, spokesperson for National Grid explains: “The soil you’re referring to is the extra dirt that is taken from the ground during gas main replacement. Because of the space taken up by the new mains and the pavement, there is always a certain amount that won’t fit back into the excavation. It’s brought to the Allens Ave. property, sifted and kept on site for future use.”

I did learn a fun game. Standing with the demonstrators and taking pictures on Allens Ave, I noticed that some of them were taking pictures of passing chemical trucks, like this one:

By noting the number on the DOT Hazard Class sign, and looking up the chemical on your cell phone, you can learn exactly how you would suffer and die were that truck ever to be in an accident too close to you. For instance, the truck above has a DOT Hazard Class 1791:

Here’s what you will find out about Sodium Hypochlorite:

ACUTE TOXICITY – Danger Corrosive

INGESTION-

Ingestion of a few ounces can cause corrosion of mucous membranes, swelling of the throat, perforation of the esophagus and stomach, vomiting, colitis, and circulatory collapse. May lead to convulsions, coma or death

EYE / SKIN-

Liquid contact can produce irritations of the skin with blistering. Direct contact with eyes may cause redness, pain and in the case of concentrated Hypochlorite ( 20% by volume), permanent damage.

INHALATION-

Inhalation of mist or fumes can cause bronchial irritation, cough, difficult breathing, inflammation of the mouth, nausea, and in severe exposures, pulmonary edema. Material has odor of chlorine.

Fun, right?

Try it yourself. Here’s a truck carrying DOT Hazard Class 1824:

Here’s the least dangerous truck with a DOT Hazard Class sign that rumbled past in a ten minute period, 3257.

I took these three pictures within ten minutes of each other. At least 20 such trucks pass by every hour.

This is what environmentalists mean when they talk about sacrifice zones. Trucks like these never trundle through neighborhoods on the East Side or East Greenwich. Yet this part of Providence is a neighborhood, with nearby hospitals, schools, businesses and homes.

People live here.

September 15, 2015September 17, 2015

National Grid lists groups that don’t exist in their Public Participation Plan

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The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island (EJLRI) has revealed that the “Public Participation Plan” that National Grid submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) contains no actual community groups in its listing of “Environmental, Community and Neighborhood stakeholders.” The two groups that National Grid did included on the list, the South Providence Neighborhood Association and the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, don’t actually exist. Further, EJLRI points out that “dangerous oil and chemical facilities like Motiva, Univar, and Sprague Energy are counted as community partners.”

The nonexistent groups were listed with FERC as part of National Grid’s plan to build a LNG liquefaction system at the Fields Point LNG Plant on Providence’s South Side. The EJLRI and many other environmental and community groups oppose the expansion. The location of the Fields Point Plant, adjacent to low income communities of color, is seen as environmental racism. And investing in methane gas, which has been revealed to be worse for the environment than coal and oil, seems economically and environmentally catastrophic given the reality of global warming.

David Graves, who does media relations for National Grid, responded that, “The stakeholder list was first developed when both of these groups were active in the neighborhood. The list continues to evolve and contacts for various organizations have been, and will continue to be updated. We have not been successful in locating any other neighborhood groups in the area that have an organized board of directors or a published list of officers and, to my knowledge, we have not been contacted by any neighborhood groups asking to be included in the list of stakeholders. Despite that, our efforts will continue.”

Said the EJLRI, “…there are hundreds of thriving organizations in South Providence and Washington Park.”

August 21, 2015August 22, 2015

Fracked gas releases 8X more methane than previously believed

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A new report from researchers at Colorado State University shows that “U.S. gathering and processing facilities — where natural gas from nearby wells is consolidated for distribution through pipelines,” leak 8 times the amount of methane previously estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Methane “is about 72 times stronger than the same mass of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame.”

As Rhode Island considers moving forward with several large scale natural gas projects, including an expanded pipeline in Burrillville, a new energy plant in Burrillville, and a liquefaction facility in South Providence, it seemed appropriate to ask representatives from business, labor, government and environmental groups for their comments on this report.

It is important to point out, says David Graves, media relations for National Grid, that, “this study has to do with the gathering of natural gas. That’s something National Grid is not involved in and is in no way associated with liquefaction, LNG or the operations of local natural gas distribution companies, which is what we are.” As of this writing National Grid is considering issuing a more comprehensive statement.

Of course, the larger issue is the global impact that fracked gas will have on the climate. (The local health impacts of having a liquefaction facility and LNG storage near a community is outside the scope of the Colorado State University study.) The question becomes, should Rhode Island be committing resources to an energy source that contributes to world destruction? Future generations are dependent on our making smart decisions today.

Governor Gina Raimondo’s office downplayed the impact of our energy choices on future generations, saying, “The Governor has always spoken about the importance of having a balanced energy mix. We have to meet the needs of the present, while looking to the future.

“In the present,” continues the Governor’s office’s statement, “we have a serious problem getting a sufficient supply of natural gas, and our soaring, unpredictable energy costs are a huge challenge for our businesses and our families. This new next generation clean energy facility will help us increase our supply of energy and bring down costs – and in doing so, will help make our state a more attractive place for businesses to operate.

“At the same time, the Governor has made it clear we are committed to doing this in a way that drives a cleaner, more reliable energy system in the long-term. We cannot lose sight of our focus on no-to-low carbon energy solutions, such as energy efficiency and renewables, including offshore wind and solar power. We are focused on enhancing system-wide energy diversity by harnessing clean energy solutions that offer new possibilities for economic growth and innovation. It is clear we can be a real leader for the rest of the country in this industry and create new jobs.”

Michael Sabitoni, president of the RI Building & Construction Trades Council, concurred with the Governor, saying that, “The members of the building trades are just as concerned as anyone else with the quality of life in Rhode Island and that certainly includes their care for the environment. We have supported numerous renewable projects that will provide clean energy to our members and to our state. However, we think even the most ardent environmentalists agree that renewables cannot meet all of our energy demands. Therefore, we support development of clean fossil fuel plants to meet these needs. The proposed Burrillville plant will have the most advanced technology. This project will eventually replace old and outdated plants. In doing so it will not only meet our needs but minimize the concerns raised by the Colorado State report. Quite frankly, it is a project environmentalists should support.”

However, “ardent environmentalists” don’t seem to be on board with this alignment of industry, labor and government. Peter Nightingale, of Fossil Free Rhode Island, said that, “We have known since 2011 that ‘natural’ gas, methane, is not the bridge fuel that our national energy policy claims it to be. Both fracked and conventional gas have a larger global warming potential than coal or oil for any possible use. Robert Howarth, who was one of Time‘s three People of the Year in 2011, summed it up perfectly: the Whitehouse (in suggesting natural gas a ‘bridge fuel’) made a decision that is not based on good science. Today’s report is just the latest of many cracks in the nation’s meth bridge to Hell.”

Edit: After this posted David Graves of National Grid sent me the following statement:

“The Colorado State University report is not directly related to local distribution companies like National Grid. However, we take the issue of natural gas emissions very seriously. We have acted and are continuing to act where we can have the greatest impact. That is by limiting emissions within our system. National Grid has invested significantly in our 35,000 miles of natural gas mains which serve more than 3.5 million customers in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York, lowering overall emissions while the distribution network has grown. We invested more than $1.2 billion in our gas infrastructure this past fiscal year and, to further limit emissions, we will spend $6 billion over the next five years. In Rhode Island, where we purchased the business of New England Gas Company in 2006, we have replaced nearly 300 miles of leak prone pipe beginning with 11 miles in 2009 and adding significantly to those numbers each year. Our goal is to replace 60 miles this year and 65 miles in each of the coming years with a long-term goal of replacing all 1,400 miles of leak prone pipe.”

Fossil Free Rhode Island also suggested the following video:

August 15, 2015August 18, 2015

Environmental racism and the Fields Point LNG Plant

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National Grid‘s plan to build a LNG liquefaction system at the Fields Point LNG Plant on Providence’s South Side met with vocal opposition from several environmental, social and economic justice groups and highlighted the issue of racial injustice in environmental politics. Representatives from the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), the Providence Student Union (PSU) and the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island (EJLRI) took control of the room at one point to conduct a peaceful speak out for the benefit of representatives from both National Grid and FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.)

The event, as planned by National Grid, was unusual. Instead of a series of presentations delivered from a stage, the presentations were arranged around the room in the cafeteria of the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex. At each stop you could learn more about National Grid’s plans for installing a new plant for liquefying natural gas for storage in an existing tank. This had the effect of making each stop along the way a little more personal, as aspects of the project were explained in a one on one manner by National Grid reps.

When I arrived, about an hour before the event started, I noticed the presence of five Providence police officers outside. Inside, the event was being watched over by two additional officers, one a lieutenant. There were some members of the community present, but most of those who attended seemed to be with the RI Sierra Club or Fossil Free Rhode Island and opposed to National Grid’s plan. Members of these groups were content to engage the various National Grid and FERC reps in conversation.

When the young people representing PrYSM, PSU and EJLRI entered the room, they were followed in by the police officers from outside, three of whom were wearing their motorcycle helmets.

“They’re motorcycle officers,” said the Lieutenant when I asked why seven police officers were needed, “That’s not riot gear. I just called them in.”

“So they were outside, directing traffic?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied, “Once we clear here, they’ll go back to traffic duty.”

“I know from other actions I’ve covered that these are all decent kids,” I said.

“We don’t know that,” said another officer, “We didn’t know who was coming, or how many. We saw a bus pull up and then we saw all the bullhorns and the lieutenant asked, ‘All right, who’s in charge?’ We just wanted to lay down some ground rules, some normal, by the law ground rules, and they just completely ignored us.”

When I asked David Graves, media relations representative for National Grid about the number of police officers present, he said that initially, National Grid had asked for a two officer detail, but, “when those protesters were arrested this morning in Burrillville, the police department called us and we said that they should do what they feel is the right thing to do and assign a larger detail.”

Graves was talking about activists from FANG (Fighting Against Natural Gas) chaining themselves to the gate at the Spectra Energy Compressor Station. “I don’t think these people are associated with that group,” added Graves.

Still, it was hard not to see the sudden explosion of police on the scene occurring precisely when people of color arrived as anything other than an expression of the kind of institutionalized environmental and economic racism that the groups were protesting. For a primer on environmental racism, you could a lot worse than watching Jesus Holguin below.

The appearance of racialized policing was heightened when the activists from PrYSM, PSU and EJLRI left the room and all seven police officers followed them outside, leaving no police officers in the room. I note here that the two men arrested in Burrilville were white and middle-aged, like the people left in the room without police officers, not young people of color, who conducted themselves fully within the law and left the room in peace. One of the two men arrested in Burrillville, Dr. Curtis Nordgaard, commented on the treatment he experienced as he made his first foray through the criminal justice system, after being released from District Court on personal recognizance earlier the same day. “Part of why we can do this,” said Nordgaard, “is because of our privileged status.”

National Grid’s rep David Graves disagreed with much of what the various protesters said during their speak-out, but he knew the protesters weren’t trouble. “These kids are wonderful,” he said.

As the fight against environmental racism and for a clean energy future intensifies in the years to come, we should expect large corporations such as National Grid to increasingly rely on the government to use the power of the police to intimidate opposition. Billions of dollars are ready to be spent to prevent the transition to a clean energy future, and the billionaires in control of that money will not let go without a fight. As Dr. Noel Healy said, “There is no fixable flaw in fossil fuel industry business plan. We are asking a company to go out of business.”