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Author Image Posted By : admin 1 Oct
Property Rights Emerge as Growing Issue;

Is Tillerson a Property Rights ‘Illiterate’?

A recent Wyoming Supreme Court decision noted the shale gas ‘gold rush’ has triggered the law of unintended consequences for energy industry executives and government regulators where property rights are concerned.1

More property owners and communities have decided they do not want to be dictated to by energy executives who do not have drilling rigs, pipelines, compressors or underground natural gas storage reservoirs in their own backyard.

As such energy industry operations proliferate across the US and Canada, more property owners, communities and organizations are challenging the adverse effects on, first, the environment and now, property rights.

The most recent example of the energy industry’s new-age NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson who filed suit, along with ten others, to stop construction on a water tower near his property in Bartonville, Texas, about 30 miles outside of Dallas.2

Water Sold for ‘Fracing’?

Tillerson and his rich neighbors (with million dollar property values) sued the Bartonville Water Supply Corporation (BWSC) for, among other fears, that “BWSC will sell water to oil and gas explorers for fracing shale formations leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards.”  [p. 17 of Armey et al. v. Bartonville Water Supply Corp. et al. Number 2012-30982-211, Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Petition, in the District Court of Denton County, Texas, March 15, 2013]

Tillerson and his attorney say the suit is about a water tower not fracking.  While they pedal backward as fast as they can, this lawsuit is a declaration of property rights by the Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil which describes itself as “the largest publicly traded … oil and gas company” in the world. Click here to read about Pinochio Award for Spectra Energy’s ‘Ground Game’ on Sabal Trail Pipeline,

In this court document, they repeatedly assert the right to enjoy their property.  In a staggering statement of hypocritical self-absorption, the lawsuit declares (emphasis added):

“Each of the homeowners built or purchased their homes in Bartonville to live in an upscale community free of industrial properties, tall buildings, and other structures that might devalue their properties and adversely impact the rural lifestyle they sought to enjoy.” [p. 5 of Armey et al. v. Bartonville Water Supply Corp. et al. Number 2012-30982-211, Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Petition, in the District Court of Denton County, Texas, March 15, 2013]

Tell that to “fellow” property owners who live with fracked wells 300 feet from their door or whose property sits on top of underground natural gas storage reservoirs.  Do they not have the same rights as the Tillersons?

Right to Enjoy THEIR Property

The rich folks’ lawsuit is the best legal read currently available, a testament to the double standard of the new NIMBYs of the energy industry.  It is rife with melodramatic whining over their property rights (emphasis added):

  • The lawsuit bleats about “the emotional harm they have sustained from the deprivation of the enjoyment of their property because of fear, apprehension, offense, loss of peace of mind, visual blight or other similar acts or circumstances.”[pp. 11-12 of Armey et al. v. Bartonville Water Supply Corp. et al. Number 2012-30982-211, Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Petition, in the District Court of Denton County, Texas, March 15, 2013]
  •  “The construction of the water tower will create a constant and unbearable nuisance to those that [sic] live next to it.  A water tower will have lights on at all hours of the night, traffic to and from the tower at unknown and unreasonable hours, noise from mechanical and electrical equipment needed to maintain and, operate the water tower, and creates and [sic] unsafe and attractive nuisance to the children of the area.”[p. 17 of Armey et al. v. Bartonville Water Supply Corp. et al. Number 2012-30982-211, Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Petition, in the District Court of Denton County, Texas, March 15, 2013]

So here we have the leader of the largest oil and gas company in the world, whose very name is Latin for “king,” a person of “ordinary sensibilities” (according to the lawsuit).  He and his ten neighbors stand before the world suffering multiple symptoms:

  • emotional harm
  •  irreparable harm to property value
  • “fear, apprehension, offense, loss of peace of mind, visual blight” and more.

Rex: Property Rights ‘Illiterate’

CEO Rex “Not-In-My-Backyard” Tillerson is on record calling the public “illiterate” in science, math and engineering; and what the energy industry does “is a mystery to them and they find it scary.”3

Au contraire, NIMBY Rex.  No mystery here.  The folks whose property rights your company and industry trample with the collusion of government (as in “cartel”) understand it much better than you do.

Is it possible, Rex, you and your wealthy, powerful friends are illiterate on the issue of property rights?  Now that you find the enjoyment of your property  threatened, it’s “scary?”

When your moment of property rights literacy arrived, you failed.

Fellow property owners who have been there, done that – thanks to you – call it poetic justice.

Links & Resources

1Wyoming Supreme Court Decision – Among other points, the court noted (emphasis added):

“Impetus for the extensive changes came from increased use of eminent domain proceedings by public utilities and energy related industries, a void in the Wyoming eminent domain law perceived by landowners as allowing abuse of eminent domain by nongovernmental entities, and accelerating market values of land, making one-time payments for compensation less satisfactory.”

See Wyoming Supreme Court decision – Barlow Ranch, Limited Partnership v. Greencore Pipeline Company, LLC; (2013 WY 34; Case Number: S-12-0038; S-12-0039; Decided March 19, 2013); paragraph cited above on p. 11 of the 43-page decision.  The Court’s decision is easy to locate on the internet and is available as a downloadable pdf file.

This story is covered extensively by U.S. and international news media; a download of the lawsuit and response is available via The Wall Street Journal (a subscription site).  For that, see EXXON CEO Joins Suit Citing Fracking Concerns:  The Wall Street Journal by Daniel Gilbert, February 20, 2014.

Or type the following reference to the lawsuit into a search engine and you should be able to download the pdf file:  Armey et al. V. Bartonville Water Supply Corp. et al. Number 2012-30982-211, Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Petition in the District Court of Denton County, Texas.

Tillerson stated in paragraph 16 of his remarks (emphasis added):  “Now, with these new technologies that evolve always come a lot of questions. Ours is an industry that is built on technology, it’s built on science, it’s built on engineering, and because we have a society that by and large is illiterate in these areas, science, math and engineering, what we do is a mystery to them and they find it scary. And because of that, it creates easy opportunities for opponents of development, activist organizations, to manufacture fear.”

Author Image Posted By : admin 1 Oct
Pinochio Award for Spectra Energy’s ‘Ground Game’ on Sabal Trail Pipeline,

While Company Pushes 8 Pipeline Projects in 14 States; 

Meanwhile PHMSA Documents Corrosion Problems

Spectra Energy (NYSE:  SE) has eight new pipeline projects in the U.S. that, if approved, will result in more than 830 miles of pipeline in 14 states.  In addition, it is constructing a new underground natural gas storage reservoir in Louisiana with a capacity of 15 billion cubic feet.

In Canada, Spectra Energy is busy with three major projects, all in British Columbia.  These involve two processing plants for raw nat gas and a huge “transportation system” – the word pipeline is never used – that is 525 miles in length.  Check for your state in the highlight list below under Links & Resources.1

With all this experience, property owners and communities might expect Spectra Energy execs to be on top of their game when it comes to a knowledgeable response to questions about its pipelines and corporate performance record.

Or maybe not. Click Here to read about OP-ED — Spectra Energy: Trust Facts Not Promises.

Largest Pipeline Project

In the U.S. the company’s largest pipeline project is the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline aimed at cutting a 475 mile swath through three states:  Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

Surely this is a platform for Spectra Energy to demonstrate best-in-class response to questions – to not only reassure communities but to impress federal agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)?

Or maybe not.

Property owners make clear their opposition to Sable Trail pipeline. (Photo courtesy of Carol Singletary.) 

1st Pinochio Award

For example, Andrea Grover, Spectra Energy Director of Stakeholder Outreach (ironic title), asserts at a public pipeline meeting in Georgia that property owners at Spectra Energy’s huge Steckman Ridge compressor/storage facility in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, are “happy” despite ongoing problems there for 5 years, and a consistent lack of response from Spectra Energy to questions.

Thanks to word-of-web, Georgia property owners know Grover’s assertion is a lie.  What else does one call it – an error, slip of the tongue, disingenuous?

FACT:  More than a dozen families who live next to or near the problematic Steckman Ridge compressor/storage facility have complained to Spectra Energy management about a ring of health, water and operational issues surrounding this facility since operations began in 2009.

They have also complained in writing to the federal Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Based on record keeping by neighbors, there have been some 60 shutdowns, blowdowns and related incidents at the Steckman Ridge compressor station and underground natural gas storage facility between August 2009 and the present.

2nd Pinochio Award

The same Spectra Energy executive, Andrea Grover, asserts to Georgia property owners that uncontrolled releases of methane and other hydrocarbons at the Steckman Ridge compressor facility are “normal.” Let’s hope not.

FACT:  Grover should recall the March 9-10 incident last year at Spectra Energy’s Steckman Ridge facility because she was directly involved.  This was yet another uncontrolled release that resulted in 431.5 thousand cubic feet of methane and other hydrocarbons vented to the atmosphere over a two-day period.

Before property owners discovered on their own the size of the leak, Grover asserted to the Associate Editor of the Bedford Gazette that only a “small volume” escaped.  Grover and her Spectra Energy management team all the way up to Canadian CEO Greg Ebel still refuse to publicly acknowledge the size of its fugitive methane release.2

Andrea Grover, Spectra Energy’s Director of Stakeholder Outreach.

3rd Pinochio Award

At the same public meeting in Georgia, Grover asserted to property owners and the news media that she is unfamiliar with the federal Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) 6-figure fine levied against Spectra Energy CEO Greg Ebel.

FACT:  How is it that a veteran of the industry and Spectra Energy whose job is about pipelines remains unaware of such facts?  Does Grover really not know that in December 2012, PHMSA issued her CEO Greg Ebel a “Final Order” and civil penalty of $134,500 related to various violations across several states.

7-year Track Record – Pipeline Corrosion Incidents

Thirteen of the 21 incident causes are attributed to “internal corrosion” –  that’s 65%.  Five of the 21 incident causes are listed as “Material/Weld/Equipment” failure.  None of the incidents are attributed to excavation.

 Spectra Energy’s Pipeline Corrosion Problem

Failure rates offer a real-world metric – much more valuable than promises about “safety.”  Thus, Spectra Energy’s track record, documented by the federal government (PHMSA), reveals internal pipeline corrosion is the chief cause of “significant” pipeline incidents for Spectra Energy over the last 7 years.

Remember three lessons:  Track record, track record, track record.

Spectra Energy’s challenge is simple:  Practice full disclosure about its performance record – full disclosure about the company’s fugitive methane emissions, valve failures, corrosion incidents, and catastrophic failures where they have occurred.

Links & Resources

  • Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Project – 21.4 miles of pipeline through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island & Massachusetts; agreements signed; regulatory review to come; completion date – November 2016
  • Kingsport Expansion – 15.5 miles of pipeline expansion in Sullivan County, Tennessee, Washington & Smyth Counties, Virginia; project is in regulatory review with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
  • NEXUS Gas Transmission – 250 miles of pipeline through Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, Canada; currently in evaluation stage
  • Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN) – 36 miles of new transmission pipeline through Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson, Belmont & Monroe counties, Ohio; project completion date – 4th quarter 2015; currently in regulatory review with FERC
  • Sabal Trail Transmission Expansion – 474 miles of new transmission pipeline through Alabama, Georgia and Florida; project completion date – May 2017; currently in regulatory review with FERC
  • Salem Lateral Project – 1.2 miles of new 16-inch diameter lateral pipeline in Salem, Massachusetts; completion date – November 2015; currently in evaluation state
  • Texas Eastern’s Appalachia to Market Expansion (TEAM) – 33.6 miles of new 36-inch diameter pipeline and above-ground facilities (compressor units) in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi aimed at “bi-directional flow” on the Texas Eastern pipeline system.  Project completion – November 2014; currently in regulatory review with FERC
  • Uniontown to Gas City Expansion Project (U2GC) – multiple compressor station and meter station modifications to permit “bi-directional” flow of gas in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  Project completion in November 2015.

Spectra Energy’s New Storage projects in the U.S.

Commercial Real Estate
Author Image Posted By : admin 29 Nov
Listen to Property Owners Near Spectra Energy Facilities

Note:  The best way to evaluate Spectra Energy is to evaluate its track record, not its promises.  Any evaluation of its track record should include listening to stakeholders who live near Spectra Energy facilities.  

Testimony of Angel and Wayne Smith
Property Owners in Clearville, Bedford County, PA

Regarding Spectra Energy’s Steckman Ridge

Underground Gas Storage and Compressor Facility

EPA Science Advisory Board
Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel
February 1, 2016 Public Teleconference

Hello.

My name is Angel Smith and my husband, Wayne, and I are providing this testimony based on our personal experience with Spectra Energy’s Steckman Ridge underground gas storage and compressor station, located near our property in Clearville, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. We are about two hours from Washington, DC.

For the record, we are neighbors to a 12-billion cubic feet underground natural gas storage reservoir with a 5,000 horsepower compressor station, 13 injection/withdrawal wells and related pipelines. This facility stores and pumps shale gas through the Spectra Energy pipeline system.

We are not Ph.Ds or MD’s; but we are experts on what has happened to us and our animals when drilling and gas storage happened near our property.

  • We watched our artesian water well run over the well casing for months after the compressor went into operation;
  • We watched our animals die – chickens, a horse, several healthy cows, calves (that seemed to be okay for a few days, then dead), and still born calves.

We called the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) several times; and they would show up after the fact.

DEP reps would pull WATER samples and dump them out in front of us. They would take samples and give us a report with iron levels at 10.3 mg/l and manganese 3.228 mg/l. The secondary standards being iron at 0.3 mg/l and manganese at 0.05 mg/l – which means our levels were well over acceptable limits. And a nice letter from DEP that would state, “Drilling has NOT affected your water supply.”

When they were called again, the DEP rep would arrive only to tell us he did not bring enough bottles to pull samples for testing. Once we were told, you’re so close to the Maryland state line, we don’t care.

Then the next letter would arrive claiming our water quality “has improved since drilling” and operations at the compressor station began. DEP was using its now infamous 942 codes, which ignore levels of high iron, high manganese, high arsenic, toluene, and methane in all of our water supplies!

Since 2009 when Spectra Energy put its Steckman Ridge underground storage and compressor station in service, there have been more than 60 shutdowns and related incidents at its facility. And we are still counting.

Spectra Energy’s track record at Steckman Ridge includes deception. For example in March 2013, there was an uncontrolled leak of 431.5 thousand cubic feet of natural gas vented to the atmosphere over a two-day period.  The incident was so disturbing to neighbors that fire trucks rolled to the facility.

Despite the reality that evening, Spectra Energy’s directors of stakeholder outreach first claimed “Nothing was released. There was no smoke. No incident.” By the next day, the company retreated and claimed only a “small volume” of methane was released. To this day, the company refuses to say publicly how much was released. But we have the document in which the company admits this was anything but a small volume. So Spectra says one thing publicly while privately documenting the uncontrolled release of a huge volume of methane.

When Spectra Energy’s Steckman Ridge operation drilled injection/withdrawal well SR 6, not far from our property line, we had a spring pop up inside our barn that we had to fix. There was so much water in our barn, it was running down the driveway onto the paved road.

On November 25th, 2009, we were still drinking our spring water because it did not test positive for arsenic, as our well had. That morning I made coffee, and noticed the water was brown. Up to that point, it never dawned on us that the spring water was now contaminated. We were sick for months!

Again DEP told us our water quality had improved!

After that we installed a $10,000 water treatment system in our house and for our animals. We have watched our pond go up and down in synch with Steckman Ridge’s injection and withdrawal of gas, and our pond turn red.

From 2007 thru 2015, we have watched our pets and livestock die! As noted, our chickens all died; big healthy cattle would fall over and kick their feet and die.  We had one cow tested and it tested positive for liver disease. With four dead dogs, we had one tested and it tested positive for kidney and stage 4 liver disease; its kidneys shut down, and it had an enlarged liver.

The horse DIED the same way as the cattle, kicking its feet, unable to stand – DEAD!  In addition, neighbors have reported losing cattle, dogs, and goats.

At this point, my husband experienced memory loss, lesions on his lungs; and he has an over load of iron. FOR MYSELF, I’VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH enlarged liver, liver disease, and lesions on the liver.  This medical diagnosis is based on liver biopsies for both of us.

The creek that runs through our property tested positive for MBAS, a surfactant. To this day we still have large amounts of foam going down this creek.

Our neighbors have their homes for sale, but there is no interest from potential buyers because of the water contamination and air pollution driven by releases at the Spectra Energy compressor station.

We did not ask to be lab rats, we just wanted to raise our cattle for supplying meat to American families, enjoy our pets, and enjoy life — not ever did it cross our minds to worry about what we are drinking or breathing.

I ask you: Do not let this continue! We cannot allow anybody to say drilling doesn’t affect our water and air. My husband and I are living proof that it does. Please do the right thing. Nobody should ever have to live through what we do.