"Will It Be 'Fracked' Natural Gas?" -- I Can't Make This Stuff Up

The northeast is desperately short of natural gas.

Private enterprise is trying to rectify the situation.

Kinder Morgan has propose a natural gas pipeline from somewhere in the south to bring natural gas to the northeast.

Sounds like a pretty straightforward endeavor.

But some little ol' spinster is concerned: "Will this be 'fracked' natural gas?"

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA) is reporting:

As a proposed Tennessee Gas Co. natural gas pipeline project through the Northeast begins to take shape, local officials are closely watching the potential impact.

Lenox, Richmond, Washington and several other communities are on the path of the 250-mile Northeast Pipeline Expansion Project extending from upstate New York, across western and northern Massachusetts to Dracut, a town north of Lowell near the New Hampshire border. The 36-inch pipeline project is preliminary and would require federal and state permits.

Construction of the $2.75 billion to $3.75 billion project could begin in April 2017 with completion by November 2018, according to internal documents supplied by Kinder Morgan Inc., the Houston-based parent company of Tennessee Gas Pipeline.

"The project is of sufficient scale to address the long-term energy needs of New England and Atlantic Canada by providing access to abundant new supplies," the company's project overview states. "These significant volumes should lower the price of gas in New England energy markets and enhance reliability of gas and electricity grids."  

But then this:

When voters attend the May 1 annual town meeting at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School, they'll find a citizens' petition by environmental advocate Lee Scott Laugenour urging the Select Board to take a firm stand against the high-pressure pipeline designed to deliver hydraulic-fractured ("fracked") natural gas.

"Fracking" involves the injection of water and chemicals under high pressure into underground rock formations to release gas trapped there.

The citizens' petition urges the Lenox Selectmen to oppose any pipeline carrying hydrofracked natural gas through the community.  

I guess Lee Scott Laugenour, community organizer, prefers dirty coal to "fracked" natural gas. LOL. I assume he heats his home with wood, a renewable resource. This guy isn't even a "NIMBY." I guess he's looking out for the southerners. NITBY (not in their backyard) or NITBYE (not in their backyard, either). Probably a NITWIT.

I know what my answer to this question would be:

Asked by The Eagle whether any gas would be shipped overseas, Melissa Ruiz, manager of corporate communications for Kinder Morgan, stated: "The gas would be delivered to the Northeast region, but that really depends on where potential shippers wish to transport the gas. The Northeast Expansion Project is in response to the growing needs for natural gas in the New England region. Kinder Morgan is in the process of negotiating definitive agreements with customers that will ultimately determine where the gas will be delivered.

Posted for archival purposes only ("the road to New England") -- I don't give a hoot. 

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Marcus Hook Refinery Could Be Natural Gas Export Hub

Marcus Hook refinery is located on the banks of the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia. A new natural gas pipeline from western Pennsylvania (the Marcellus) to eastern Pennsylvania is being considered. Philly.com is reporting:

It is out with the old and in with the new at the 500-acre waterfront facility formerly known as the Sunoco Marcus Hook Refinery, now the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex.

Workers last week ripped down aging petroleum-processing equipment, part of a labyrinth of machinery that has produced gasoline, diesel, and kerosene for more than a century. Other crews built cryogenic storage tanks more than 130 feet tall with three-foot-thick walls that will hold the future: new fuels from the prolific Marcellus Shale region.

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., a pipeline company that bought the property for $60 million last year from its sister company, Sunoco Inc., is converting the site into a major center for processing and shipping natural gas liquids.

Again, the usual opposition by community organizers. For archival purposes only: the road to New England.