Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Coming Together to Prevent Disaster

Our city council has dealt with many issues in the past, but few present more danger to us than the “Southside Connecter” gas pipeline project. For months this project has been publicly promoted as a distribution line supplying needed natural gas to our area with the promise of added jobs. Neither claim is true. This is a high-pressure transmission pipeline carrying methane, produced by geologically destructive and polluting fracking, through highly populated neighborhoods in Chesapeake and Norfolk. This gas is for export rather than for local use.

I learned a great deal about this project from experts at a public forum hosted by a large citizen's group calling itself the 757 Pipeline Safety Coalition. Participating groups in this coalition are Collana's Shipyard and groups including, the Sunrise Hill Civic League, Mothers Out Front, Southside Taskforce, Chesapeake Pipeline Resistance and the Hampton Roads Green Party. I was particularly impressed by the detailed information provided by pipeline expert, Richard B. Kuprewicz. Mr. Kuprewicz's resume includes being an engineer with decades of experience on pipelines. He has worked for ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Co.), the Four Corners Pipeline Company, and has served on an executive committee advising Congress on a report culminating in new rules concerning pipeline safety. As President of Accufacts, Inc. he is a pipeline regulatory adviser, incident investigator, and expert witness on all matters related to gas and liquid pipeline design, operation, maintenance, risk analysis, and management. Given his expertise, I thought he was in a good position to clarify the issue for us. I asked him the following questions which he generously answered.

How did you hear about and become involved with the 757 Pipeline Safety Coalition?
An attorney for Colonna Shipyard called me around mid-October of this year seeking specialized pipeline technical experience and expertise. I believe he got my name from the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nationally recognized pipeline safety organization, headquartered in Bellingham, WA. I usually am contacted via word of mouth as I don’t advertise and don’t need additional business, given the many pipeline failure investigations and other matters I have been involved with. I’m not part of the Pipeline Safety Trust but I have much respect for that organization. I take my obligations to remain neutral and objective in pipeline matters very seriously.

The Southside Connector Project is being sold to the public as a distribution pipeline which will augment local gas supplies, create jobs, and boost our local economy. What is the reality and what issues most concern you about this project?
The Southside Connector is being sold as a distribution pipeline and it wasn’t until representatives for VNG (Virginia Natural Gas) under oath testified to the real nature of the operation. It will be a high pressure natural gas transmission pipeline. The VNG presentations as a distribution pipeline are very deceiving and in all probability violate federal pipeline safety regulations in this important area. Transmission pipelines, unlike distribution pipelines, are easily capable of rupture resulting in large multi-explosion fireballs that can affect a very large area, especially in a high occupancy area like Norfolk. The continued deceptions, PR spin and failure to be straight and completely truthful on specific technical pipeline safety matters concerning the Southside Connector Project by VNG and its representatives raises serious red flags about this company and the project if rupture is to be avoided. Based on my extensive experience with gas transmission pipelines across the country, the need for this pipeline to meet consumer gas demands within Norfolk and Chesapeake are being gravely misrepresented and overstated. When I see such technical misstatements and inability to tell the truth and nothing but the truth about a transmission pipeline, it does not speak well about the future safe operation of this pipeline, and significantly raises the risk. I don’t make this statement lightly!

What are the dangers posed by this pipeline and its planned route through heavily populated areas of Chesapeake and Norfolk?
Transmission pipelines unlike lower pressure distribution pipelines can rupture with very large blast and heat impact zones. First Responders will not be able to enter such large rupture impact zones for quite some time. The impact of rupture in these highly populated cities will result in many billions of dollars of loss as well as much loss of life. The spin I keep hearing from VNG does not instill confidence with me that they really know what they are doing. The rush to finish a project should not justify doing such an effort recklessly.

What actions do you, and the 757 Pipeline Safety Coalition, feel local city leaders should take to protect public safety?
Have a properly scheduled technical meeting of all parties with no lawyers or PR folks, and with people who can answer specific technical questions about this Project. Commit to possible technical changes that may be warranted to assure proper routing, placement, and operator control of this system if it goes into operation as a transmission pipeline. Otherwise, drop the proposed Project to distribution pipeline pressures (something well below 500 psi) though that needs to be confirmed with VNG given all the misleading information they have been putting out on this Project.

I'm thankful to Mr. Kuprewicz for helping us understand the facts. He is not the only expert wary of this dangerous pipeline. Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board with nearly 20 years experience as a safety consultant stated recently in the Virginian Pilot, “In the case of the Southside Connector, the high-pressure pipeline that Virginia Natural Gas wants to build right through the middle of the city of Norfolk, it's unusual that the pipeline and all its risks, will be introduced into a community that already exists. In fact, I have never seen a similar case. If allowed to be completed, the pipeline will transmit up to 1,250 pounds of pressure per square inch of natural gas right down Norfolk streets. I have driven the route of the pipeline, and I can see that it passes just a few feet in front of churches and schools.”

And pipelines like this do explode. Examples include Moundsville, W. Virginia, Heston, KS, San Bruno, CA, Madison WI, Paradis, LA, Midland County, TX and many, many others – just in the last year. And we are talking about major, devastating fireball explosions with multiple casualties.

The Southside Connector leaves much of our city and downtown within the blast zone. It runs close to schools, churches and homes. It is planned to run through Collana's shipyard at only 3 feet below ground, endangering Navy ships being worked on and presenting us with an imminent danger. It is no surprise that, like other dangerous and polluting projects, it runs primarily through Black and poor areas.

I was glad to see an overflow crowd at the City Council meeting on November 20th and to see so many concerned citizens coming together. Many Berkeley residents spoke of having been misinformed, having water and power cut off without warning and being concerned about the danger of inadvertent explosive pipeline breaches from sewer repairs or roadwork. At one point, former NTSP chairman Jim Hall stated that he did not believe the city council would have made the decision to proceed if they had the needed information. Councilman Riddick proposed that the project be put on hold before being cut off by City Attorney Bernard Pishko who stated that they had sought the advice of experts assuring the safety of the pipeline. Apparently, he was referring to the “independent expert” he personally hired who, as it turned out, had done work for Virginia Natural Gas. Mayor Alexander has since stated that “It’s clear he should not have done that. He wasn’t neutral and detached as he should have been so the council could get an unbiased opinion.”

As I said to our city leaders that evening, the presence of this pipeline and the imminent danger it presents will have a negative impact on the property values upon which city revenue depend and will harm efforts to attract business to our area. Responsible leadership requires that they put public safety first. In spite of denials, they have the power, as spelled out in the easement agreement they signed, to put a stop to this project for public safety reasons. What the 757 Pipeline Safety Coalition is asking for is a 1 year stoppage pending independent studies on technical safety, routing issues and public safety. Given the concerns voiced by experts and the level of danger this pipeline presents, it would be gross irresponsibility to do less.

At the end of that council meeting, Mayor Alexander chastised VNG, stating that they need to be more forthcoming and honest about the nature of this pipeline. On November 27, the Pilot reported that due to the conflict of interests of the “independent expert” City Attorney Pishko hired, they will seek further analysis and advice. One hopes they listen to the actual, independent experts I've quoted.

You too can get involved by going to the 757 Pipeline Safety Coalition website and signing the petition. You can also call Mayor Alexander at (757) 664-4679. Together, we can stop this dangerous, unneeded pipeline and protect ourselves and our city.

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