From: Lynda & James Sánchez <diamond...@pvtnetworks.net<mailto:diamond...@pvtnetworks.net>> Subject: [SWR] Fw: [PLW Update] Good for Mammoth Cave to raise an objection Date: August 12, 2015 at 10:44:39 AM CDT To: SWR Cavers <s...@caver.net<mailto:s...@caver.net>> Reply-To: Lynda & James Sánchez <diamond...@pvtnetworks.net<mailto:diamond...@pvtnetworks.net>>
Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal Tuesday, August 11, 2015 Mammoth Cave Park sees pipeline threat James Bruggers, @jbruggers Pushing a toxic mixture of natural gas liquids through an aging pipeline near Mammoth Cave National Park threatens the world-famous cave’s unique and fragile ecological systems, the National Park Service is warning. “The National Park Service is concerned about the potential for a catastrophic failure of the ... pipeline” within areas designed to protect endangered cave shrimp and other rare park resources, park superintendent Sarah Craighead wrote recently in a letter to federal energy regulators. The pipeline is 70 years old and was designed to carry a different product, natural gas, said Bobby Carson, chief of science and resource management for the park. “It’s been underground for a while” and may not be safe for carrying the liquids, which if spilled could damage the park’s rare natural resources, including a variety of endangered species, he said in an interview this week. The proposal by Kinder Morgan to convert part of its subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. operations from carrying natural gas to moving natural gas liquids has stirred controversy all year along a 256-mile path through Kentucky, with citizen groups, environmental organizations and some local officials objecting. Many have asked for a full environmental study rather than the less extensive review now underway. While the proposal has had the backing of the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has collected nearly 300 written comments for its environmental review, many of them critical. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for example, identifies as many as 24 threatened or endangered species, from rare freshwater mussels to tiny plants, that could be put at further risk. The company has responded by filing hundreds of pages of documents with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, attempting to respond to environmental and safety fears. Kinder Morgan is “committed to public safety, protection of the environment and operation of our facilities in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations,” said Richard Wheatley, a Kinder Morgan spokesman. He said in a written statement that “recent statistics show that 99.999 percent of crude oil and petroleum product barrels delivered by pipeline reach their destination safely,” and that a repurposed Tennessee Gas pipeline would be held “to these same high standards.” Karst concerns While natural gas used in homes is methane, natural gas liquids are separated at the well site and can include a variety of hydrocarbons, including ethane, propane and butane. They are used to make plastics, rubber, solvents, antifreeze and refrigerants. Under the plan, another Kinder Morgan subsidiary would move natural gas liquids from fracking zones in Ohio and Pennsylvania more than 900 miles through a repurposed pipeline to nation’s petrochemical hub in Louisiana and Texas. That pipeline now brings natural gas to the Northeast. Craighead argues that the unusual geology across Kentucky’s sinkhole plain that produced the world’s longest known cave system, and one of the most diverse cave aquatic communities anywhere, is threatened by natural gas liquids. She’s not the first to make that case. Water pollution fears are exacerbated by the region’s limestone-dominated geology, with its sinkholes, caves and caverns that could allow a spill or leak to spread for miles, other experts have warned. For example, Ralph O. Ewers, an Eastern Kentucky University professor emeritus and consultant to industry and government, in 2013 strongly cautioned would-be developers of another natural gas liquids pipeline that was planned to cross Kentucky. He warned that sinkholes can swallow roads, buildings and pipelines, creating the danger that hazardous liquids might be released, then move swiftly through subterranean rivers and streams, polluting water sources a mile or more away. In addition, he said deadly vapors that escape could settle into caves. After a bitter political and legal battle, the Bluegrass Pipeline developers, the Williams company, announced last April that it was putting its project on hold because it had not lined up enough customers. Park recommendations The Kentucky portion of the Kinder Morgan proposal does not pass through the national park, which gets more than half a million visitors a year. But park officials said they believe it comes close enough to potentially connect to the park’s cave system and underground streams. The Park Service made four recommendations: •Replace old pipeline with new pipeline in the area of Mammoth Cave within designated critical habitat of the Kentucky Cave Shrimp. •Require intensive groundwater dye-trace studies to determine potential harm that could be caused to Mammoth Cave and connected underground waterways. •Identify and use best-management practices for operating hazardous liquid pipelines in karst topography. •Provide an inventory of all potential chemicals that could be moved through the pipeline. For its part, Kinder Morgan promised to “review data and records” to find “unacceptable imperfections in the pipeline” and would, “where necessary,” upgrade sections to bring them to current code. “While assessing consequence areas along the pipeline, topography and water bodies are carefully considered,” Wheatley said. Much is at stake, Craighead wrote in her letter. “The karst of the Mammoth Cave region is among the most recognized landscapes in the world,” she wrote. “Geological textbooks across the globe contain photographs, not only of the celebrated cave, but it surrounding and overlaying geomorphology.” She said the region serves “as a microcosm of global karst, as water quality and dependent aquatic life contend with daily stresses of human activity.” Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645 and follow him on Twitter @jbruggers. The route: The pipeline enters Kentucky from Tennessee in Simpson County south of Bowling Green and follows a route northeast to Greenup County along the Ohio River, where it crosses into Ohio. Kentucky county miles: Greenup, 19.6; Lewis, 7.1; Carter, 12.4; Rowan, 20.5; Bath, 12.5; Montgomery, 12.1; Powell, 2; Clark, 6.7; Madison, 24.5; Garrard, 12.2; Boyle, 20.3; Marion, 19.7; Taylor, 10.8; Green, 14.5; Hart, 6.5; Barren, 27.6; Allen, 19.7; and Simpson, 7.6. What’s next: •Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff is completing an environmental assessment of the proposal and will decide based on what it finds whether a more thorough review is required. •The commission will ultimately need to approve the request for taking the pipeline out of service for natural gas, and any construction of replacement facilities. More details: Kinder Morgan’s application, public comments and responses are on the FERC website at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/docket_search.asp. Search for docket CP15-88. Rick Smith 5264 N. Ft. Yuma Trl. Tucson. 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