The meeting I attended back in December was run by some attorneys who were trying to organize opposition to the pipeline. It was reasonably well attended with the usual citizens, activists, and curious people. Even a pair of pipeline workers. The odd thing was that there was only one landowner. Out of about 60 or so people. How odd was that? The attorneys said that the usual crowd at their meetings was made up of about one-third landowners. Weird. I guess Randolph County landowners aren’t terribly concerned about the pipeline. Unfortunately, they should be paying attention.
The pipeline is a big deal. It’s going to transport huge amounts of gas from the heart of the Marcellus Shale play to end users in Virginia and North Carolina. The price of natural gas could actually go up because of it. Right now there isn’t enough capacity to handle all the gas that comes out of the ground here in West Virginia. Pipeline owners can set their price, and producers have to pay. With additional capacity, pipeline owners will have a little more competition and should have to pay more for the gas.
This pipeline will have eminent domain. Once FERC approval is done, the company will be able to set their price and terms. Federal regulations will be the only limit. Landowners will not be able to negotiate well, because the company will be able to walk away from the negotiating table whenever they want to and apply eminent domain.
Besides the usual ripping up of surface tracts and the temporary easement or right of way that will be there as long as the pipeline company wants it, landowners need to be concerned about pipeline failure. You might not want a pipeline on your property at all because of the risk, however slight, that it might break. A smaller pipeline can do serious damage and force you to leave your property for days, even weeks. A larger pipeline can be deadly.
The ATEX Pipeline explosion in Brooke County in January 2015 burned about 5 acres of woodlands, according to an article on the West Virginia Press website. The ATEX Pipeline is a 20 inch pipeline that runs to the Gulf Coast.
The Sissonville pipeline explosion in December of 2012 was the result of age-related corrosion, according to a report by the NTSB (.pdf) that was finished up in March of 2014. If you don’t want to read the whole thing or don’t like .pdf links, the West Virginia Gazette wrote a pretty decent summary of it. MetroNews had a great picture in their article that gives some excellent perspective of the size of the fire. Keep in mind that this was a 20 inch pipe.
Again in January 2015 (it was a bad month for pipeline accidents), a pipeline exploded near Jackson, Mississippi. The Weather Channel, of all places, has a story with photos that put the damage in perspective. That pipeline was 30 inches in diameter.
It’s eye opening to say the least. Having a pipeline this big close to your house might be a cause for concern. If you are concerned, now is the time to get involved and to get educated.