Sample

 Questions  to  Ask  of  Pipeline  Companies  Proposal  New  or  Expanding  
Pipeline  Projects  for  Your  Community  
 
We  understand  that  in  the  FERC  process,  landowners  have  the  right  to  await  the  outcome  of  the  full  
FERC  approval  process,  including:  
• project  pre-­‐filing  with  FERC  
• filing  application  materials  for  FERC  review  
• becoming  intervenors  in  the  process  
• issuance  of  an  Environmental  Assessment  and/or  Environmental  Impact  Statement    
• comment  periods  associated  with  all  such  documents  
• and  the  release  of  FERC  approval  of  the  project    
before  landowners  legally  need  to  sign  easement  agreements.    Will  you  abide  by  this  legal  process  and  
refrain  from  telling  landowners  they  need  to  sign  easements  before  this  process  is  complete?  
 
Will  you  work  with  landowners  to  achieve  the  minimum  impact  to  their  quality  of  life  by  addressing  
landowner  issues  by  meeting  with  landowners  as  groups  who  are  collectively  impacted,  and  not  
limiting  your  communications  to  individual  meetings?  
 
What  percentage  of  landowners  have  granted  survey  permission?  In  both  PA  and  NJ?  
 
Are  you  planning  on  executing  eminent  domain?  
 
What  authority  over  your  pipeline  construction  and  location  decisions  will  you  grant  to  our  local  town  
council/supervisors/commissioners?  
 
If  this  pipeline  were  to  go  through  would  you  target  this  right  of  way  for  future  expansions  or  new  
pipelines?    If  you  say  no  tonight  are  you  willing  to  sign  legal  documentation  to  that  affect?  
 
The  stigma  of  the  pipeline,  would  significantly  depreciate  the  values  of  properties  near  the  pipeline.  
Are  you  planning  on  compensating  homeowners  who  are  near  pipeline  property  for  their  loss?  
 
I’ve  read  that  land  owners  will  have  to  pay  the  increased  insurance  on  land  that  you  run  a  pipeline  
through?  Can  you  provide  documentation  showing  us  how  much  we  can  expect  in  these  kinds  of  
costs?  
 
Who  pays  for  the  damages  and  clean  up  when  something  goes  wrong?    
 
How  does  the  pipeline  company  plan  to  compensate  the  township  for  increases  in  the  taxpayer  
burden  to  improvements  in  emergency  preparedness,  given  our  Class  9  Protection  status?    (If  your  
community  has  limited  emergency  services  and/or  only  has  volunteer  emergency  service  personnel  
please  include  this  information  in  your  question.)  
 
Has  the  company  taken  into  consideration  the  danger  of  building  a  pipeline  over  the  Holland  fault?  
• If  not  why  not?      
• If  yes,  then  what  are  your  findings  and  explanations  for  this  obviously  dangerous  decision,  
including  has  the  company  estimated  the  potential  impact  radius  should  an  explosion  occur  on  
the  fault?    Please  provide  all  review  information  and  data.  
 
Will  you  create  evacuation  plans  for  our  Township?    Will  you  regularly,  at  least  annually,  hold  public  
meetings  to  alert  everyone  and  train  everyone  in  these  evacuation  plans?  
 
Do  you  have  a  plan  to  prepare  our  first  responders  for  gas  related  accidents?  Does  that  fall  to  the  
Township?  
 
What  happens  in  20  or  so  years  when  the  gas  is  gone  and  your  pipeline  is  no  longer  in  use,  will  you  
commit  to  full  removal  and  restoration  of  our  land?    
 
What  effort  did  you  make  to  coordinate  your  planning  for  this  pipeline  with  other  pipeline  companies  
-­‐-­‐  so  you  could  share  capacity  and  negate  the  need  for  this  new  project?  
 
What  effort  did  you  make  to  co-­‐locate  this  project  with  an  existing  pipeline  or  other  existing  right-­‐of-­‐
way?      
 
How  wide  is  the  blast  zone  in  a  30”  transmission  pipe?    (We  all  know  of  the  recent  tragedy  in  Ewing  
NJ  from  the  blast  a  much,  much  smaller    6”  distribution  pipe.)  
 
• What  is  the  maximum  allowable  operating  pressure  (MAOP)  of  this  proposed  pipeline?    
• Will  the  company  calculate  the  High  Consequence  Areas  (HCA)  along  the  entire  pipeline  path  
so  the  public  can  see  what  might  be  vaporized  or  burned  if  an  explosion  were  to  occur?        
• What  will  be  the  Potential  Impact  Radius  (PIR)  if  an  explosion  were  to  occur  based  on  the  size  
and  diameter  of  the  pipe,  MAOP,  and  the  strength  of  the  pipe?      
• What  is  the  potential  and  radius  of  secondary  fires  beyond  the  PIR?      
 
What  grade  pipe  will  be  used  for  the  project?    Will  it  be  consistent  and  the  strongest  available  along  
the  entire  pipeline  path?    (Or  will  rural  areas  get  a  lower  grade  pipe  than  more  populated  areas  which  
is  often  the  case  with  these  projects)?      
 
Williams’  record  on  safety  has  been  terrifying  this  year  with  the  explosions,  fires  and  community  
evacuations  in  Opal  WY  and  Plymouth  WA,  where  shrapnel  from  the  explosion  pierced  a  liquified  
natural  gas  storage  tank.  And  as  locals,  we  remember    the  2011  Allentown  explosion  of  a  UGI  pipeline  
that  killed  5.    Why  should  we  believe  that  Williams  and  UGI  will  build  and  maintain  PennEast  safely?    
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/04/natural_gas_accidents_in_portl.html  
 
Page 2 of 6
Sample Pipeline Questions provided by:
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Pipeline Safety Coalition, NJ Sierra Club
Is  the  state/township  being  paid  by  the  pipeline  company  for  development  rights    that  the  
state/township  now  own  from  property  that's  been  placed  in  preservation?  
 
Exactly  what  kind  of  revenue  is  the  township  expected  to  obtain,  and  when  does  any  revenue  stream  
begin  and  what  is  it  based  on?  
 
Much  of  the  land  being  chosen  for  your  pipeline  is  conservation  land,  green  acres,  farmland,  and  
waterways.    All  of  the  open  spaces  we’ve  worked  so  hard  and  paid  for  through  our  taxes  to  
protect.      Why  have  you  targeted  these  areas?  
 
What  is  the  right-­‐of  way  width  you  are  proposing?    Assuming  it  is  the  standard  100  to  200  feet,  are  
you  willing  to  use  construction  practices  that  we  know  to  exist  and  have  in  fact  been  used  in  nearby  
New  Jersey  projects  to  narrow  that  right  of  way  disturbance  to  closer  to  50  feet?      
 
Will  you  commit  to  leaving  forested  and/or  vegetated  landscapes  uncut  for  purposes  of  aerial  right-­‐of  
way  surveillance?  We  are  able  to  provide  substantiation  of  avoiding  clearing  a  right-­‐of  way  simply  for  
purposes  of  maintenance  surveys  is  possible.  
 
Will  you  commit  to  supporting  right-­‐of  way  maintenance  that  avoids  all  use  of  chemicals,  restores  
native  ecosystems,  and  allows  for  a  closed  canopy  in  forested  areas  cut  by  the  right  of  way?      
 
Will  you  commit  to  conducting  invasive  species  management  along  the  right-­‐of  way  for  at  least  10  
years,  beyond  the  minimum  required  by  FERC?    
 
Will  you  commit  to  development  practices  that  avoid  soil  compaction  to  the  greatest  degree  possible,  
for  example  those  practices  recommended  in  the  Delaware  Riverkeeper  Network  report  “Achieving  
Higher  Quality  Restoration  on  Pipeline  Rights  of  Way”  by  expert  Leslie  Sauer?  
 
Will  you  commit  to  using  Horizontal  Drilling  to  cut  under  all  waterways,  wetlands  and  forests  so  as  to  
minimize  the  harm  resulting  from  traditional  construction  practices  that  mechanically  cut  through  
them  creating  maximum  damage?    How  will  you  ensure  this  drilling  will  not  result  in  Bentonite  spills  
and  drilling  muds  going  into  the  drilled  waterway  as  happened  in  the  Upper  Delaware  when  the  
Northeast  Upgrade  Pipeline  Project  was  drilled  under  the  River?  
 
Will  you  commit  to  ensuring  a  300  foot  vegetated  buffer  along  all  waterways  after  construction  to  
ensure  maximum  habitat  and  water  quality  protection?      
 
Will  you  plant  larger  diameter  trees  and  shrubs  to  encourage  faster  restoration  and  avoid  mortality  to  
deer  browse?      
 
Beyond  larger  trees,  what  practices  will  you  use  to  prevent  deer  destruction?  Will  you  commit  to  deer  
fencing  when  requested  by  the  property  owner?      
 
How  many  waterways  are  in  the  path  of  this  project?      
 
How  many  wetlands  are  in  the  path  of  this  project?  
 

Page 3 of 6
Sample Pipeline Questions provided by:
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Pipeline Safety Coalition, NJ Sierra Club
How  many  acres  of  public  lands  are  you  targeting  with  this  project?      
 
How  many  compressor  stations  will  this  project  require  and  where  will  they  be  located?  
 
Will  there  be  any  blasting  as  part  of  this  project?  
 
In  your  General  Route  Evaluation  and  Assessment  process,  will  you  contact  the  county  planning  
commissions  now  to  determine  what  local  impacts  you  may  not  be    aware  of?  
 
What  percentage  of  this  gas  is  being  exported?    We  know  that  there  is  a  big  increase  in  efforts  to  
export  gas,  including  building  new  export  facilities,  because  you  can  sell  the  gas  for  4  times  the  
amount  overseas,  so  are  you  really  not  going  to  export  at  any  point  in  the  future?      
• How  can  you  really  promise  that?  You  are  hooking  into  other  lines  that  can  and  do  lead  a  path  
to  newly  approved  LNG  export.  
• If  the  answer  is  none,  will  you  commit  in  writing  that  none  of  this  gas  will  ever  be  exported  
overseas  and  that  if  that  were  to  happen  you  will  compensate  all  property  owners  along  the  
route  with  a  percentage  of  your  increased  profits  from  doing  so?  
• If  the  answer  is  some  then  how  much  and  from  what  LNG  facility  will  it  be  exported?  
 
Of  the  supply  of  gas  promised  to  NJ,  what  areas  of  NJ  will  receive  it?  Will  this  require  the  addition  of  
more  transmission/distribution  pipelines?  
 
Is  it  true  that  the  gas  company  has  no  liability/obligation  to  repair  damage  to  the  floodplain  that  may  
be  caused  by  construction,  but  does  not  exist  within  the  ROW?  
 
What  are  you  doing  to  protect  streams,  the  woodlands,  the  watershed,  farmlands,  and  our  
aquifers?    How  wide  a  path  are  you  clearing?  
 
Regarding  the  employment  opportunities  asserted,  what  percentage  of  workers  will  be  local?  
• Are  these  union  jobs?  
• Given  our  understanding  that  much  of  the  work  requires  specialized  skills,  and  many  of  these  
specialists  are  from  regions  such  as  TX,  what  percentage  of  workers  will  be  from  out-­‐of-­‐state?  
 
Many  analysts  are  not  bullish  on  the  gas  market,  believing  it’s  a  bubble  and  production  estimates  are  
over-­‐stated.    Should  a  market  bubble  burst,  how  does  PennEast  plan  on  having  sufficient  resources  to  
maintain  the  safety  and  integrity  of  the  pipeline?      
 
In  a  Sept  2,  2014  article  on  PennEast  in  nj.com,  PennEast  spokesperson  Patricia  Kornick  was  quoted  
as  saying,    "This  is  not  fracking;  this  is  construction  of  a  pipeline.  This  is  not  about  fracking."  Given  
that  the  US  Energy  Information  Administration  has  estimated  that  Marcellus  shale  production  is  six  
times  greater  than  three  years  ago  –  and  exceeds  domestic  demand  –  how  can  you  claim  that  the  
expansion  of  transmission  pipeline  infrastructure  such  as  PennEast  is  not  about  this  expansion  of  
fracking  and  shale  gas  extraction?  
 
Given  all  of  the  reports  of  water  pollution,  air  pollution,  deforestation,  and  other  environmental  
harms  resulting  from  shale  gas  extraction  how  can  you  continue  to  assert  that  the  gas  you  are  
bringing  through  your  pipeline  is  clean  and  safe?  
Page 4 of 6
Sample Pipeline Questions provided by:
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Pipeline Safety Coalition, NJ Sierra Club
 
Will  you  put  an  escrow  account  in  place  to  help  property  owners  deal  with  harms  they  suffer  as  a  
result  of  this  pipeline?  
 
Will  you  provide  property  owners  with  funds  necessary  to  pay  the  increased  insurance  rates  they  will  
have  to  pay  as  the  result  of  a  gas  pipeline  going  and  flowing  through  their  property?  
 
How  far  does  a  home  have  to  be  from  the  pipeline  to  be  safe  if  there  were  an  explosion?    Is  25  feet  
enough?    30  feet?    40  feet?    Would  you  feel  save  if  your  family  and  kids  lived  that  close?  
 
 
 
 
Delaware  Riverkeeper  Network         New  Jersey  Sierra  Club    
215  369  1188               609-­‐656-­‐7612  
[email protected]       [email protected]  
www.delawareriverkeeper.org           www.newjersey.sierraclub.org  
 
 
Pipeline  Safety  Coalition           Berks  Gas  Truth  
484  340  0648               610  678  7726  
www.pscoalition.org             [email protected]  
                www.gastruth.org  
   

Page 5 of 6
Sample Pipeline Questions provided by:
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Pipeline Safety Coalition, NJ Sierra Club
Questions  to  local  government  officials:  
 
What  is  the  current  township  government’s  position  on  this?    
 
Is  the  township  making  any  money  on  this?  How  much?  
 
Do  you  own  property  that  will  be  impacted  by  this  pipeline?  
 
Is  the  township  able  to  handle  the    loss  of  revenue  that  will  be  caused  by  landowners  having  their  
properties  re-­‐valued  and  lowering  their  tax  assessment?  
 
Many  in  the  community  were  and  are  unaware  of  the  pipline  proposal,  given  that  we  are  all  impacted  
directly  and/or  indirection  what  are  you  doing  to  ensure  all  in  the  community  are  alerted  to  events  
like  these?  
 
Are  you  planning  any  town  halls  and  inviting  environmental  groups  and  pipeline  safety  experts  to  
provide  information  to  help  us  with  this?  
 
 Will  you  make  township  meeting  space  available  for  those  who  want  to  meet?  
 
Are  you  getting  together  with  other  townships  affected  by  this  pipeline  proposal  to  coordinate  
concerns  and  efforts?  
 
Will  you  write  a  resolution  against  the  pipeline?  
 
 
 
 
Delaware  Riverkeeper  Network         New  Jersey  Sierra  Club    
215  369  1188               609-­‐656-­‐7612  
[email protected]       [email protected]  
www.delawareriverkeeper.org           newjersey.sierraclub.org  
 
 
 
Pipeline  Safety  Coalition           Berks  Gas  Truth  
484  340  0648               610  678  7726  
www.pscoalition.org             [email protected]  
                www.gastruth.org  
 

Page 6 of 6
Sample Pipeline Questions provided by:
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, Pipeline Safety Coalition, NJ Sierra Club