The latest meeting of the CLG, in Providence on Thursday, featured a panel discussion with representatives from the four companies mentioned above. The panel was pulled together with the help of Douglas Gablinske, executive director of The Energy Council of Rhode Island (TEC-RI) an advocacy group for energy company concerns. Readers of RI Future may remember that Gablinske was a vocal opponent of Cale Keable’s bill to reform the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB).  He was also the only speaker at the RI Public Utilities Commission (RIPUC) to speak in favor of the pipeline tariff.

Gablinske surprised me by asking if I knew about any planned protests or disruptions. I said I didn’t. He asked me specifically about the FANG Collective. I had no idea of what plans they have, if any, I said. Then Gablinske said that he noticed Mary Pendergast on the list of people who had signed up to attend. Pendergast was sitting in the room, and he soon went over to introduce himself to her.

During the course of the presentation there was a disruption. As Invenergy’s John Niland gave his presentation to the room, Mary Pendergast stood and display a small sign that said, “No fracked gas Power plant.” Her protest was silent but it did seem to throw Niland off a bit, as his delivery seemed somewhat distracted.

It was during the third presentation that the disruptions became more pronounced. As Richard Kruse, vice president at Spectra Energy spoke glowingly about the need for bigger and better pipelines in our fracked gas infrastructure future, Kathy Martley of BASE (Burrillville Against Spectra Expansion), Keith Clougherty of the FANG Collective and Sally Mendzela stood up.

“Spectra Energy, Energy for Death,” said Martley as I headed for my camera. “Say no to Invenergy and tell Invenergy to go home,” Martley continued.

As the protest continued, Gablinske took the podium and said, “You have a right to be here but not be disruptive” as Clougherty continued to speak.

Lennette Boiselle, an ally of Geblinske and a lobbyist for the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce got up and left the room, presumably in search of security. Readers might remember Boiselle as the person arguing against democracy at the public comment hearing concerning Cale Keable’s EFSB bill.

“The political correctness, of not allowing other people to talk is sweeping through this country,” said Geblinske, “It’s an incorrect assumption, this gentlemen has the right to speak…”

“We’ve been listening to you our whole lives, Pal,” interrupted Sally Mendzela.

Gablinske ultimately offered to set up a forum where “both sides” could be heard but it is unknown if this will actually happen. The protesters took their seats, no one was ejected from the forum, and Kruse finished his talk.

Amazingly, though, that wasn’t the end. During a brief question and answer period at the end of the presentations, Gablinske called on Clougherty to ask a question!

“I would ask for a question, not a speech or a statement,” said Gablinske, when he realized who he had called upon.

Clougherty then asked Niland, Kruse and Bill Malee, a National Grid VP, “Do your companies have any money set aside for restitution for the millions of people who are going to be displaced and killed by the infrastructure projects you all are proposing?”

There is no good answer representatives from these companies can give, yet Niland attempted one. As expected, it was not good.

I found the most interesting talk of the day came from Mary Louise “Weezie” Nuara, External Affairs Representative for ISO-NE.

“The region’s competitive wholesale electricity markets are really designed to maintain reliability through the selection of the most economically efficient set of resources,” said Nuara, but the states “have environmental and renewable energy goals that are beyond the objectives of the wholesale electricity markets.”

What’s happening is that states are setting goals to increase renewables and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (like the goals set out in ResilientRI, but all the New England states have some version of this idea.) ISO-NE is designed to deliver energy as reliably and cheaply as possible. As a market, it cannot deliver renewables or reduce emissions unless those options are cheaper and cleaner. In August, NEPOOL (which represents the interest of the New England states when dealing with ISO-NE)  began looking into how to adjust wholesale electricity markets to accommodate the goals of the states. It is NEPOOL’s goal to develop a “framework document” by December 2 to provide guidance to ISO-NE regarding potential changes. (A kind of advisory opinion, if you will.)

What makes this interesting, to my mind, is that if ISO-NE starts taking the climate change concerns of the states into account, plants like the one Invenergy is planning for Burrillville will have a harder time selling their energy into the markets.

ISO-NE is a little over a decade old, but already it’s finding that its systems are in need of being updated over concerns of climate change. By contrast, the EFSB here in Rhode Island was established thirty years ago, in 1986. The RI General Assembly has shown little inclination towards revising the EFSB’s mandate in lieu of climate change.

Below please find all the video from the CLg meeting except for the closing comments.

Rebecca Tepper, chair of the CLG Coordinating Committee and chief of the Energy & Telecommunications Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office introduced keynote speaker Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner.

Douglas Gablinske, executive director, The Energy Council of Rhode Island

Jeffrey Grybowski, chief executive officer, Deepwater Wind

John Niland, director of business development, Invenergy

Richard Kruse, vice president and regulatory & FERC compliance officer for Spectra Energy

Bill Malee, vice president of regulatory affairs, for National Grid

ISO-NE Q&A

Last summer, National Grid submitted a proposal to FERC to develop a $180 million facility to produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) directly from a Spectra Energy pipeline that delivers fracked gas from Marcellus Shale to Providence. LNG is produced by cooling natural gas to -260°F, which reduces its volume by 600 times and puts it into liquid form. As described in its application, National Grid would then utilize tanker trucks to export the LNG produced in Providence, primarily to locations in Massachusetts.

“No matter how you look at it, this project is a money-maker for the utility at the expense of our community and our state,” said Representative Almeida. “National Grid is asking us, the ratepayers, to foot the $180 million bill for this project, for what? So they can increase their own profits by exporting LNG out of the state! This does nothing to benefit our constituents, and it does nothing to benefit my neighbors on the South Side. All this proposal will do is transfer money from ratepayers’ pockets to National Grid’s coffers, and we’re not going to accept it.”

Legislators also expressed concerns about the safety risks of the proposed project.

“LNG is a dangerous substance,” said Representative Diaz. “Just two years ago, an LNG facility in Washington state exploded, causing an evacuation of everyone within a two-mile area. If that were to happen at this site, all of my constituents would be in danger. Why is it always our community that must shoulder the collateral damage and safety risks from these toxic projects?”

LNG is stable in liquid form, and without air it is not flammable. However, at any temperature over -260°F it converts to methane gas and expands by 600 times, rapidly pressurizing any sealed container. If LNG spills and mixes with airs, it becomes highly flammable and potentially explosive.

“I remember when Keyspan, which has since been bought by National Grid, applied to FERC with a similar proposal to build an LNG import facility at Fields Point in 2005,” said Senator Pichardo. “That application was denied due to the very real safety concerns of this kind of development. In fact, FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell cited the risks of accidents and explosions when turning down the proposal, stating that the project would not meet current federal safety standards. If doubling down on this dangerous fuel was unsafe ten years ago, it is unsafe for our neighborhood today, and I urge FERC to once again listen to the community’s opposition to this harmful development.”

Finally, the elected officials demanded that the climate consequences of the expanded fossil fuel infrastructure be taken into account.

“The science on climate change is clear. If my generation is to have any chance of inheriting an Ocean State with any state left in it, we need to transition to a clean energy economy as quickly as possible. This proposal would sink millions of ratepayer dollars into unnecessary new fossil fuel infrastructure that would be used for decades past our climate’s point of no return, and that is a betrayal of our children,” said Representative Regunberg. “Mayor Jorge Elorza and the Providence City Council have taken credit for being leaders on climate and environmental issues. But if the city awards a tax stabilization agreement to National Grid to support this project, then it is our belief that the mayor and council can no longer claim this kind of climate leadership. We hope they will do the right thing and tell National Grid that Providence will not facilitate this wasteful, ratepayer-funded, environmentally catastrophic scheme.”

The Providence legislators reported that they are submitting letters detailing their concerns to FERC, joining a growing list of community members and neighborhood organizations opposing National Grid’s application.

[From a press release]

South Providence, at the port, is one of the heaviest concentrations of toxic chemical storage in New England, and not coincidentally, those who live in the area suffer the highest rates of asthma. Sherrie Anne Andre of the FANG Collective and Julian Rodríguez-Drix of the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island lead a tour of over 60 people, including Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, along Allens Avenue, pointing out some of the worst polluters in our state.

The Rhode Island Recycled Metals facility was the first stop. In 2015 the US Coast Guard revealed that the site was operating without proper permits. As a result the facility was not in compliance with laws regarding oil spillage and storm water run-off. In general, recycling is a good and positive thing. But when done without concern for the health and safety of residents and the environment, the losses can outweigh the gains.

Motiva Enterprises LLC occupies both sides of Allens Avenue. Chemical piping actually runs underneath the road. Motiva is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Shell Oil. Here in Providence the facility is the largest of many fuel terminals in the port and a major importer of petroleum products. It receives regular shipments via tanker ship and exports via truck. The Port of Providence is the entry point for the majority of fuels that power southern New England. In 2014 Motiva managed 34,425 pounds of toxic waste products. Over 1000 pounds of toxic waste was emitted into the air, making Motiva the largest air emitter in the City of Providence.

Ethanol trains come through the port every week. Known as “bomb trains” elsewhere in the United States, similar trains were banned in Boston because of safety and toxic concerns. The ethanol is mixed at the Motiva facility and transported out.

Univar is the largest facility in the area. It is a wholesale chemical distributor and chlorine manufacturer. As far as is known, though Univar produces chemicals used in fracking, they are not manufactured or stored in Rhode Island. There are 3.3 million pounds of toxic chemicals stored at the Univar facility. It is the most dangerous facility in all of Rhode Island, with a 14 mile hazard radius. Stored here are 1.4 million pounds of chlorine gas, 1.2 million pounds of anhydrous ammonia, 626,400 pounds of ammonium and 35,000 pounds of formaldehyde. each one requires a chemical risk assessment plan from the Environmental Protection Agency.

National Grid wants to upgrade its facilities at the Port of Providence by installing a liquefaction plant on the premises. This would allow the company to supercool LNG so that it becomes more compact, allowing the company to store much more LNG on the premises. Note that LNG is fracked methane, imported through pipelines to the facility. These pipelines, owned by Spectra Energy, run through Burrillville, through Cumberland, and across the bay from East Providence.

The existing storage tank is filled by truck. It takes about 2600 trucks to fill the 24.2 million gallon tank, said Andre.

The proposed LNG liquefaction facility will cost $180 million. These costs will most likely be passed on to consumers. The facility will be located between National Grid’s existing storage tank and the Univar facility. The energy required to power the liquefaction is equivalent to half of the energy generated by Deepwater Wind, the first offshore wind farm in the United States, presently under construction off the coast of Rhode Island.

One more concern: National Grid is located on the former site of a manufactured gas plant. The soil in the area is soaked with chemicals from when a company squeezed gas from coal, a toxic process that permanently contaminated the land. The RI Department of Environmental Management has records of dozens of other leaking, underground tanks in this area. “The soil we are walking on is known to be toxic,” said Rodríguez-Drix.

On the National Grid site, some of the chemical contaminants have been capped with the intention of keeping the contamination from further spreading, but this capping will be disturbed when construction begins, allowing the wind to carry the toxins into the air and into the bay for the two years of construction.

Below is video of the tour:

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein attended the Toxic Tour, and talked about the Green New Deal.

Raymond Two-Hawks spoke about the aboriginal response to the continued denigration of his ancestral lands.

Laura Perez is running for House District 11 against incumbent state Representative Grace Diaz.

Sheila Calderone is a resident of South providence and a member of the Environmental Justice League who suspects that illnesses she has suffered are a result of the pollutants she has been exposed to while growing up in the area.

In addition to “missing info” that renders the application incomplete, on page 3 the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management notes that impact of the the various projects in Burrillville has been fragmented, making the cumulative impact of Invenergy’s proposed power plant; Spectra Energy’s Aim Project; Eversource Energy, National Grid and Spectra Energy’s Access Northeast project and TransCanada’s Ocean State Power difficult to determine.

“For the purposes of comparing costs and benefits to wildlife, all of the existing and proposed work related to increased natural gas operations (processing and transport) in Burrillville should be reviewed as a single and complete project,” says RIDEM, “Piecemeal review of related projects in different stages by different applicants undercounts their cumulative impacts from loss of forests and fragmentation, air, noise and light pollution etc. in an area of the state that has been a longstanding conservation priority.”

On page 7, RIDEM alleges that the “applicant makes several confusing and conflicting assertions about the purpose and need for the project…

“The emissions and cost-benefit analyses both primarily only list benefits. A proper analysis should include costs, yet there is no mention of loss of forests, biodiversity, ecosystem services etc… This seems particularly important since the application notes that the majority of the benefits outlined (e.g. construction jobs and energy costs savings) would be rather short-lived and the majority of the foreseeable costs would be long term or permanent.”

When it comes to selling the idea of a fracked gas power plant, the RIDEM data request accuses Invenergy of circular logic. “A pointed example includes dismissing hydropower in the Power Generation Alternatives section (and omitting it from all other sections) solely because it would not be appropriate on the proposed [power plant] site, which was selected for proximity to the gas line, and then dismissing alternative project locations because they do not have the desired natural gas infrastructure.”

Further, the “premise that natural gas is the only way to meet [New England’s energy] demand is not borne out by the information provided,” says RIDEM.

RIDEM’s report to the Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) will be shaped by Invenergy’s answers to these and other questions. Though these questions raise serious doubts about the need for the new plant and Invenergy’s integrity in preparing its application, ultimately the EFSB takes RIDEM’s report as advisory only, meaning the board could choose to approve the project despite these issues.

Yet Governor Gina Raimondo’s words, that “if there are issues then the plant won’t go forward,” ring loudly here. The issues raised in this set of data requests are serious, and the questions raised must be addressed honestly.

Spectra Energy

The existence of Spectra’s plan came to light when the Burrillville Town Council released the agenda for the July 13 meeting, which included item 16-200 “Correspondence from Spectra Energy regarding Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC – Access Northeast Project (Pre-filing Docket No. PF16-1-000) relative to potential construction of a liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) storage facility in New England.”

This project is yet another addition to the expansion of fracked gas infrastructure in New England. Page 4 of the Supplemental Project Information Filing for Spectra’s Access Northeast Project (FERC Docket No. PF16-1-000) released in April 2016, reads “As part of this Project, Algonquin will upgrade and expand the existing Algonquin pipeline system and construct a liquefied natural gas storage facility in New England to deliver, on peak days, up to an additional 925,000 dekatherms per day (“Dth/d”) of natural gas.”

This same document, on page 11, lists Burrillville as an alternative site for the facility, noting that further expansion of pipeline capacity might be needed due to its location.

4.2.2.1 Burrillville Site Area

Algonquin began evaluating alternative sites as far west as its Burrillville Compressor Station, which offers a large site already owned in fee by Algonquin. The Burrillville, Rhode Island alternative site is located adjacent to Algonquin’s existing Burrillville Compressor Station. Due to its location, any LNG service that would be pulled into on the G-System and Algonquin’s mainline pipelines from the proposed LNG facility site would have to be pushed from the alternative site at Burrillville using Algonquin’s mainline pipelines that, to this point in the Project development, have been designed to carry 195,000 Dth/d. The location of the LNG site at Burrillville would require that Algonquin’s mainline pipelines carry an additional 225,000 Dth/d for a total of 420,000 Dth/d. To render the same service as that provided by the proposed Access Northeast LNG Facility site (Acushnet, Massachusetts), additional upgrades would be required including: the installation of a total of approximately 17.7 miles of new pipeline (8.1 miles of additional 36-inch diameter pipeline at the Burrillville Compressor Station Discharged 9.6 miles of 30-inch loop on the G-1 System); plus additional horsepower at the proposed Rehoboth Compressor Station.

At Wednesday’s Burrillville Town Council meeting, Town Manager Michael Wood said that there were two locations being considered in Burrillville, the one adjacent to the compressor station mentioned above and another location “off Barnes Rd.” Council president John Pacheco III cautioned those in attendance that the information looks good for Burrillville, but that no one will definitively know Spectra’s plans until July 22.

Repeated calls to Spectra’s media hotline on Tuesday and Wednesday went unanswered, save for an email that Thanked me for my interest, answered none of my questions and referred me to Spectra’s Algonquin Northeast Project website.

Of course, just because the project isn’t being built in Burrillville doesn’t make this a win. Acushnet already has an LNG storage facility, and this will be a second one, or possibly an upgrade.

“This project shouldn’t be built anywhere,” said a Burrillville resident to me after the meeting.

The Burrillville Zoning Board meeting on Tuesday night became tense when Burrillville resident John Anthony Scott, an outspoken opponent of Invenergy’s proposed $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant, attempted to play some video of the noise made by the Spectra Energy compressor station.

One of the many issues regarding the proposed power plant is the noise generated by the build up of fracked gas infrastructure in the area.

“Can we have the security stop this?” asked zoning board chair Raymond Cloutier, at which point four or five police officers descended and peacefully removed Scott from the podium, before escorting him out of the auditorium.

“So you’re surpresssing our first amendment rights,” said Scott, “I’m going to make sure I tell the news channels that. I’ll post it all over social media.”

According to Sally Mendzela, who attended the meeting,

“John Anthony Scott and Nicholas Cook set up huge speakers on the stage. The meeting started with regular business and then went on to public comment. Every speaker had to be sworn in. At some point, Burrillville Town Council attorney Oleg Nikolyszyn or Ray Cloutier, the zoning board chair, asked who had put the speakers up there. Nicholas and John were fetched and then all hell broke loose. They wanted to play a video John’s wife had of the pressure release from the compressor station.

“Oleg got all fired up about the difference between decibels and megahertz and said he would not allow Cook and Scott to play the video or audio recording.

“Cloutier had the five cops present come down front, all with the audience screaming and whatnot. John and Nicholas picked up the speakers and headed out with the cops.”

Edit: John Scott issued a statement in which he points out that “I have & always had a great relationship with the Burrillville Police… After the video… Nick & I left freely to go put equipment away in his car then returned to watch the rest of the meeting listening & supporting our family & friends residents & community!”

Some time after Scott and Cook were escorted out, Burrillville resident and power plant opponent Jeremy Bailey spoke to the board. He took the opportunity to hum to the board, to approximate the sound they might have heard if they had listened to the video and audio.

Both Bailey and John Scott have announced that they are running for positions on the Burrillville Town Council.

During a blow off, which happens several times a year, large quantities of methane and other chemicals are released directly into the atmosphere. The sound approximates a commercial jet airliner taking off.

In September, the trio used reinforced pvc pipe to attach themselves to construction equipment at Spectra’s fracked-gas compressor site as part of a growing resistance to the oil and gas corporations “AIM” expansion project. The expansion of the Burrillville compressor station is a key part of Spectra’s plans to transport gas extracted via fracking in Pennsylvania to natural gas export terminals in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. The protesters were charged with misdemeanor trespass and disorderly conduct, the maximum penalty being 1 year in prison and $1000 fine. Spectra Energy is demanding $30,000 of restitution be awarded as part of the criminal case.

“Spectra is spewing toxic chemicals from their compressor stations, damaging communities with their pipelines, all to expand the fracking industry’s profits at the expense of public health, safety and the environment.  Spectra should be the ones paying restitution for the real harm that they are causing” said Matt Smith, an organizer with Food & Water Watch and one of three defendants in the case.

Spectra’s “AIM” expansion has come under fire recently from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as US Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, who have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to halt construction on the pipeline’s New York segment over safety concerns. Of particular concern is a 2 mile stretch of pipeline that would push volatile compressed gas within feet of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Located just 30 miles north of Manhattan, Spectra’s pipeline expansion near the aging plant creates a situation that puts 20 million residents and the entire economics of the United States at risk. A Spectra pipeline which connects to Spectra’s “AIM” expansion exploded in Salem Township, Pennsylvania last month, creating a massive fireball that left a local resident with third degree burns over 75% of his body.

“These fracked-gas facilities are dangerous on many levels: they are accelerating climate change, constantly off-gas poisonous chemicals, destroying communities where the fracking occurs, and are one shoddy weld away from exploding,” says Keith Clougherty, a defendant in the case.

The Rhode Island portion of the “AIM” pipeline expansion involved doubling the size of an existing compressor facility in Burrillville. The project faced sustained resistance from state wide activists and local community members. In August Invenergy announced plans to build a 1000 megawatt power plant immediately adjacent to Spectra’s compressor station. The fracked-gas used at the plant would be delivered through Spectra’s pipeline system.

Opposition to the power plant has steadily grown in intensity since the project was first proposed. Last week hundreds of people rallied at the Statehouse in support of a bill that would give Burrillville residents the power to vote on any tax agreement negotiated between the town and Invenergy. That same week nearly two dozen national environmental and public health organizations sent a letter to RI Governor Gina Raimondo urging her to demonstrate real climate leadership by rejecting the fracked gas power plant proposal.

Recently Spectra announced plans to expand their Burrillville compressor station a second time as part of the “Access Northeast” project.

Devastation similar to that wrought by a gas pipeline explosion Friday in Salem Township, Pennsylvania is a real possibility in Burrillville, Rhode Island, and discounting this danger would be irresponsible. For a view of the damage done, in which one person was “badly burned,” see this footage from Pittsburgh Action News 4. The photos here are taken from this video.

Ashlee Hardway at Action News 4, wrote, “The explosion happened around 8:30 a.m. and involved a 30-inch pipeline owned by Texas Eastern, a unit of Spectra Energy, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.”

The explosion means that Spectra Energy will not be able to deliver the gas it has been contracted for, and the company has declared force majeure, which temporarily voids a contract for reasons outside a company’s control. This might mean that a dual fuel power plant, like the one planned by Invenergy for Burrillville, will have to start burning diesel oil until the gas pipeline is repaired.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, but it’s hard not to think about a conversation I had with two Spectra Energy inspectors in November who claimed that the company cut corners in building their pipelines.

The safety inspectors essentially predicted this disaster.

“Right now, what they’re hoping to do, is they’re hoping to slam all this through, and then at the end ask for forgiveness,” said one of the former inspectors. “Oops, sorry about that, I didn’t know, let me write you a check. Because once this thing’s turning meter, they’re going to be making millions of dollars a day. It doesn’t matter what your problems are…”

Perhaps suspecting their days are numbered, fossil fuel companies are rushing to build the infrastructure required to keep us dependent on methane or “natural” gas for the next 50 years or more, even as evidence mounts that methane is a major contributor to climate change. This gives lie to the claim that methane will serve as a bridge fuel, something to ease the transition from fossil fuels to green energy sources, as the infrastructure investments being made are long term and permanent. Companies are investing billions laying pipelines, building compressor stations, and constructing energy plants and other infrastructure ahead of industry-wide extinction.

In their rush to build, safety and environmental concerns are being brushed aside, suspect many experts. A recent “Pipeline Safety Trust analysis of federal data,” shows that, “new pipelines are failing at a rate on par with gas transmission lines installed before the 1940s.”  Sarah Smith writes that Carl Weimer, director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, told attendees at a National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives annual meeting in Tempe, AZ that, “The new pipelines are failing even worse than the oldest pipelines.”

Though some of the problems may be related to workers learning how to implement the latest technologies, Weimar says, “there’s also some suggestions that we’re trying to put so many new miles of pipeline in the ground so fast that people aren’t doing construction … the way they ought to.”

In the same piece Smith quotes Robert Hall, of the National Transportation Safety Board Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations, who agreed that, “the rapid construction of pipelines in the U.S. is likely a contributing factor to ‘people … out there possibly taking shortcuts or not being as diligent’ as they would be if the pace of construction were less fervent.”

According to the whistleblowers I talked to:

These pipes have to last underground for at least 50 years. If there’s the smallest mistake in their cathodic protection, that’s what’s going to corrode. All of a sudden you’ve got, even at 800-900 pounds of pressure, doesn’t sound like much, but when you’ve got a 42 inch pipe, traveling that distance and it goes ka-bang, you’re not talking about taking out a block, you’re talking about taking out a large area. You’re talking about a humongous ecological impact, you’re talking about displacing hundreds of families, you’re talking about leveling homes, killing people instantly, I mean, if one of those places were to go up, it’s going to be a bad day.”

In 2011 a cast-iron gas pipe cracked, causing an explosion that killed five people in Allentown, PA. Pipes like those are no longer used. But when work is rushed, construction is sloppy and disaster is possible.

“There’s a reason we do what we do,” said Inspector One, “Every bolt is torqued. I know when you torqued it, I know what torque wrench you used, what model number, when it was calibrated. That’s how serious every flange has to be. Because if one of these points blow up you’re talking about a humongous issue. These guys are making those kind of mistakes. They’re short-cutting things, they’re not inspecting things properly, they’re covering stuff up before an inspector’s had a chance to look at it.

“I have had inspectors that have come up to me in the field and have said to me that there is a pipe buried under ground that was not inspected appropriately. And the reason that it was not excavated and inspected is that it cost too much money.”

All pipeline welds are examined with x-rays to make sure they are up to code. After the weld is x-rayed the inspector waits for the film to come back from the lab. “How is it that you have a pipe already buried before you receive the film?” Inspector One asks, noting that he had a tech “receiving the film (on Tuesday) for a pipe buried last Wednesday.”

Spectra “has a checkered history of accidents and violations of federal safety rules in the U.S. and Canada dating back decades,” says Dan Christensen writing in the Miami Herald.  “Since 2006, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recorded 25 incidents that caused more than $12 million in property damage along Spectra’s main line — the 9,000-mile Texas Eastern Transmission that connects Texas and the Gulf Coast with big urban markets in the Northeast. The causes ranged from equipment failure and incorrect operations to pipe corrosion.”

SpectraBusters has a long list of links to stories about Spectra’s poor performance record.

Spectra, a multibillion dollar company, will likely cut a check to cover the damage in Pennsylvania. That check might amount to a day’s earnings for the company, maybe less. Meanwhile, what is the cost in human terms?

The victim “told us that he heard a loud noise and compared it to a tornado. All he saw was fire and started running up the roadway and a passerby picked him up,” [Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob] Rosatti said.

“The heat was so intense that it was burning him as he was running,” he said.

A quarter-mile evacuation zone was established. Rosatti said the explosion and fire “damaged all the trees, all the utilities going down the roadway — the phone, cable, electric. Burned all the telephone poles off. It kind of looks like a bomb went off.”

A group of people associated with The FANG Collective carried out an action at the international headquarters of State Street Corporation in downtown Boston on Friday. Two members of the group locked-down to two doors at the main entrance of the building using bicycle locks while others swarmed inside urging the companies to end its investments in the fracked-gas industry.

Galen Shireman-Grabowski and Jay Gustaferro of Gloucester, MA were extracted from their lock down by security and police and placed under arrest.

State Street Corporation is Boston’s oldest financial institution and has $28 trillion in assets.  State Street is one of the largest institutional shareholders of a multitude of companies involved in fracking, fracked-gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Among their top holdings is Spectra Energy, whose pipeline expansions projects have come under intense scrutiny across the Northeast.

“State Street Corporation with it’s holding in companies like Spectra Energy, Anadarko and Dominion, is fueling the climate crisis and impacting communities that are being inundated with fracked-gas infrastructure across the country,” Said Shireman-Grabowski who traveled from Vermont for the action.

State Street Corporation has faced protests over the past year from activists resisting Spectra’s “AIM” pipeline expansions project, Dominion’s Cove LNG facility in Maryland and Kinder Morgan’s “NED” project. On Wednesday Kinder Morgan declared that they were indefinitely delaying the NED pipeline project that would have cut across Massachusetts.

Activists held signs that listed a number of the fracked-gas companies that State Street has holdings in that read “State Street We See You.” Another banner deployed on the site read “State Street Divest: No More Pipelines.”

“State Street Corporation is locking our world into a climate crisis and they can no longer hide from public scrutiny. We are watching them, and we will hold them accountable,” said Gustaferro.

[from a press release]

Four people have been arrested at National Grid‘s North American headquarter building in Waltham, MA. National Grid, one of the Northeast’s largest utility companies, has a track record of injustice.

[Update: All 4 activists were booked at the Waltham, MA Police Station and are being transferred to the Waltham District Court at 38 Linden St. All have been released.]

On Wednesday a group of residents from the Boston area launched a sit-in at National Grid’s North American Headquarters. Activists cited concerns about National Grid’s practice of utility shut-offs, past and proposed rate hikes, and the company’s support of Spectra Energy and Kinder Morgan’s proposed fracked-gas pipeline projects.

The activists deployed a report card-style banner in National Grid’s lobby with “subjects” and bright red Fs indicating failing grades. Alongside these grades were required action the activists would like to see the company take. Highest on the list banner was National Grid’s practice of utility-shut offs.

“Utility shut-offs disproportionately impact the most vulnerable members of society; elders and those with disabilities, low-income communities, and people of color,” said protester Carly Toomey. “Rate hikes and shut-offs fuel displacement in areas already reeling from gentrification.”

The FANG Collective, who supported the action, has been fighting Spectra Energy’s fracked gas pipelines in the region for two years. National Grid is a 20 percent stakeholder in Spectra’s proposed Access Northeast pipeline, a $5 billion project that would be paid for by a ratepayer tariff on National Grid consumers.

The activists pointed to the fact that the shift to fracked-gas as an energy source requires the construction of  infrastructure like power plants and liquefaction facilities in low-income communities and communities of color. Proposed facilities are planned for Salem and Brockton, MA, Providence and Burrillville, RI, and Bridgeport, CT, among others.

“We demand National Grid drop their support for fracked-gas infrastructure and instead fund local green jobs, especially for women and people of color,” said Jonathan Barry who participated in the sit-in. “These investments would contribute to healthy communities as opposed to displacement and climate change.”

[From a press release]