Public meeting on pipelines Several major gas pipelines are being carved through the forests and fields of northern Pennsylvania and many more are on the drawing board. These projects have raised many questions and concerns among landowners, conservationists and others who are affected. Potter County Natural Gas Resource Center’s next public meeting, titled “Understanding Natural Gas Pipeline Development,” will address some of the issues. It will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the Gunzburger Building and should be of interest to property owners, concerned citizens, local elected officials, community leaders and others. “Pipelines are the new, big issue out there,” said Paul Bruder, a real estate attorney. “The craze over the wells has been dying down and pipeline-related issues are going to be in the forefront over the next couple of years as Pennsylvania sorts out its policies.” Absence of pipelines is one of the two factors cited by experts in explaining the two-year lull in gas development; the other is lingering low prices being paid at the wellhead. At the Sept. 24 meeting, Dave Messersmith from Penn State Extension will talk about community and environmental impacts, regulations, eminent domain, as well as pipeline right-of-way negotiation issues. Messersmith holds a master’s degree in agronomy and has been a member of Penn State’s Marcellus Education Team for six years. Potter County Conservation District Manager Chris Mitterer will also speak about local impacts, regulations and policies related to pipeline construction. Proposed legislation that would strengthen Pennsylvania’s pipeline regulations are being debated by the State Senate. SB 504 would require pipeline operators to notify all property owners within one-half mile of the earth disturbance and would require the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection to post on its website permit applications and supporting public documents, such as engineering studies. Companion measures would require pipeline operators to replace agriculture or conservation easements compromised by construction; require companies to minimize stormwater impacts; and remove eminent domain condemnation authority in Agriculture Security Areas. The legislature passed the Pipeline Safety Act in February 2012, expanding the Public Utility Commission’s authority to enforce federal pipeline safety laws and requiring the PUC to maintain a registry of pipeline facilities in Pennsylvania. “When you think of the hundreds and hundreds of miles of pipelines in Pennsylvania, we really need to know where everything is,” Bruder pointed out. Another measure, Pa. Act 13 of 2012, requires the state’s energy executive, currently Patrick Henderson, to submit recommendations annually. In December, Henderson called on the legislature to repeal legal impediments that prevent the sharing of pipeline rights-of-way; amend laws that limit the sharing of pipeline capacity, and revise the Pennsylvania One-Call program create a statewide unconventional gas pipeline map.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 13:36:57 +0000
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