Rick Perry Rejoins Pipeline Company After He Steps Down From Trump Admin Energy Department
06 January
Energy
Former U.S. Sec. of Energy Rick Perry speaks at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0
By Sharon Kelly
Former Trump administration Energy Sec. Rick Perry, who resigned from his cabinet-level post effective last month, has joined the board of directors of the general partner of Energy Transfer LP, according to a filing made today with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Energy Transfer.
<p>Before joining the Trump administration, Perry had served on the board of Energy Transfer, the pipeline company behind controversial projects including <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/energy-transfer-partners-bakken-oil-pipeline-through-iowa" target="_blank">Dakota Access</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/conflict-cajun-country-bayou-bridge-pipeline-louisiana-standing-rock" target="_blank">Bayou Bridge</a>, and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/03/energy-transfer-opens-mariner-east-2-pipeline-criminal-investigation-pennsylvania" target="_blank">Mariner East</a>, but resigned to become Secretary of the Department of Energy. On January 1, 2020, Perry was appointed as a director of LE GP, LLC, the general partner of Energy Transfer LP, according to today's SEC filing, made after the market closed. ("Energy Transfer is structured as a master limited partnership," Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-03/ex-energy-secretary-rick-perry-joins-energy-transfer-board" target="_blank">reports</a>.)</p>
<p>The news comes on the same day that Pennsylvania regulators announced a record $30.6 million fine for Energy Transfer over an explosion of the company's Revolution pipeline. State regulators said they would resume permitting for the firm's Mariner East project.</p><p>Energy Transfer is currently seeking to <a href="https://www.kallanishenergy.com/2020/01/02/energy-transfer-wants-to-nearly-double-dapl-capacity/" target="_blank">roughly double</a> the flow of fossil fuels along its Dakota Access project, raising the pipeline's capacity to 1.1 million barrels a day, up from the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2019/12/27/energy-transfer-led-pipeline-group-wants-to-nearly-double-its-pumping-in-illinois/" target="_blank">560,000 barrels</a> of oil currently flowing through the Dakota Access system. </p><p><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/02/06/facing-felony-charges-rick-perry-joins-board-energy-transfer-partners" target="_blank">Perry first joined the board</a> of the company, then known as Energy Transfer Partners, in February 2015, as he was facing state-level felony charges, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/24/467946196/texas-appeals-court-tosses-final-felony-charge-against-former-gov-rick-perry" target="_blank">dismissed a year later</a>, for abuse of power during his term as Governor of Texas.</p>
<p>In 2017, after being chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Energy, Perry said that he <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/19/rick-perry-hopes-head-agency-he-once-forgot/96732676/" target="_blank">regretted his previous statements</a> about eliminating the very department he would go on to lead. During his tenure in the Trump administration, Perry sent a proposed rule to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (<span style="background-color: initial;">FERC</span>) to speed the approval of a proposal which would ensure that nuclear and coal plants received compensation for the "resilience" they give to the power grid, <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rick-perry-urges-ferc-protect-coal-nuclear-power-plants/article/2636085" target="_blank">The Washington Examiner reported</a>.</p><p>Speaking at CERAWeek, an annual energy conference in Texas, in March 2018, Perry said "clean" fossil fuels are the future, and a focus on renewables isn't the answer. "Listen, we support renewables," he told the audience, but suggested that the focus under the Paris Agreement was not the right approach. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" he asked, pointing to projections that fossil fuels aren't going anywhere soon. </p>
The Revolving Door Spins
<p>The Trump administration has come under fire over revolving door concerns before — often involving the hiring of former corporate lobbyists for government roles. "At the halfway mark of President Donald Trump's first term, his administration has hired a lobbyist for every 14 political appointments made, welcoming a total of <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/staffers/category/lobbyists" target="_blank">281 lobbyists</a> on board, a ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations analysis shows," ProPublica reported in <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/we-found-a-staggering-281-lobbyists-whove-worked-in-the-trump-administration" target="_blank">October</a>.</p><p>Other former high-level Trump officials have also come under fire for accepting roles in industries previously under their purview, including former Interior Secretary <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/ryan-zinke" target="_blank">Ryan Zinke</a>. In July last year, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-23/former-interior-chief-zinke-now-enlisting-energy-mining-clients" target="_blank">Bloomberg reported</a> that Zinke began working as a consultant for oil and mining firms after leaving the Interior Department, drawing criticism from good governance watchdogs. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-kelly-new-role-will-profit-from-child-separation-policy-2019-5" target="_blank">similarly drew condemnation</a> when he joined the board of Caliburn International, operator of the largest U.S. center for housing migrant children, after playing a role in policy debates over the separation of migrant children from their families. And former Environmental Protection Agency chief <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/scott-pruitt" target="_blank">Scott Pruitt</a> was reportedly in talks in September 2019 to work as a consultant for a Kentucky coal mining executive, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/climate/pruitt-coal-consulting.html" target="_blank">according to</a> The New York Times.</p><p>A January 28, 2017 executive order issued by President Trump requires executive branch appointees to pledge that they will not lobby agencies where they previously worked for five years.</p>'Historic' Fine for Energy Transfer Announced in Pennsylvania, Permitting Bar Lifted
<p>Perry joins a company with a troubled track record when it comes to the law.</p><p>On the same day as the SEC filing announcing Perry's new role, Pennsylvania <a href="http://files.dep.state.pa.us/ProgramIntegration/PA%20Pipeline%20Portal/RevolutionPipeline/Consent_Order_and_Agreement_01-03-2020.pdf" target="_blank">announced</a> that it had reached an agreement with ETC Northeast Pipeline, LLC, an Energy Transfer <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1276187/000127618719000011/et-12312018xex211.htm" target="_blank">subsidiary</a>, over the 2018 explosion of the Revolution pipeline, part of the state's expanding network connecting the shale gas industry and the plastics and petrochemical industry.</p><p>The agreement includes a $30.6 million fine, one of the largest in commonwealth history — dwarfing the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2019/12/04/pennsylvania-prosecutor-accuses-energy-transfer-of-buy-a-badge-security-scheme/" target="_blank">$13 million</a> in prior fines <a href="https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/119459-pennsylvania-again-fines-me-2-total-penalties-exceed-13m?v=preview" target="_blank">issued as of September</a> last year by state regulators for environmental violations during Mariner East pipeline construction. It also lifts a permit bar that <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/governor-wolf-issues-statement-dep-pipeline-permit-bar/" target="_blank">blocked</a> Energy Transfer from obtaining new permits for its pipeline construction projects, including an ongoing expansion of its Mariner East pipeline system.</p><p>"The settlement announced Friday means the company can also begin the process of repairing the Revolution pipeline, which links shale wells in Beaver and Butler counties to an Energy Transfer gas processing plant in Washington County," the Pittsburgh Post Gazette <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2020/01/03/Energy-Transfer-30M-penalty-pipeline-explosion-permit-ban-Revolution-Mariner-East/stories/202001030137" target="_blank">reports</a>.</p><p>In August, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/08/30/shell-beaver-county-pennsylvania-revolution-pipeline-permit-scandal" target="_blank">state auditors reported</a> that Revolution pipeline's permits were "reviewed and authorized" by a county-level office that lacked authority to review so-called "gathering" pipelines like Revolution.</p><p>Pennsylvania environmentalists decried the commonwealth's lifting of the permit ban, which was established in early February 2019 after Energy Transfer struggled to repair the site of the Revolution blast and repeatedly created sinkholes that exposed buried portions of the Mariner East 1 pipeline project.</p><p>"There has been a failure by Energy Transfer and its subsidiaries to respect our laws and our communities," Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2019/02/08/pa-dep-halts-new-pipeline-permits-for-mariner-east-cites-ongoing-violations-with-revolution-pipeline/" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement when the bar was announced. "This is not how we strive to do business in Pennsylvania, and it will not be tolerated."</p><p>Last month, Energy Transfer and its security contractors were <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/12/08/energy-transfer-tigerswan-bribery-conspiracy-charges/" target="_blank">charged</a> with criminal conspiracy, bribery, and other related offenses in the state over allegations centering on alleged intimidation tactics used by the firm's security guards, who also served as Pennsylvania state constables, in what prosecutors referred to as a "buy-a-badge" scheme. "We do not believe these charges have any merit," an Energy Transfer spokesperson <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/12/08/energy-transfer-tigerswan-bribery-conspiracy-charges/" target="_blank">told</a> The Intercept when those charges were announced.</p><p>"Given the disastrous environmental degradation Energy Transfer caused with its Revolution pipeline, the company has lost its social license to operate," Joseph Otis Minott, attorney for the Clean Air Council, said in a statement today on Pennsylvania's agreement with Energy Transfer.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/01/03/energy-secretary-rick-perry-rejoins-energy-transfer-board-dakota-access">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>
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FBI Begins Corruption Investigation of Another Energy Transfer Pipeline Project
14 November 2019
Popular
Private homes surround a 20 inch gas liquids pipeline which is part of the Mariner East II project on Oct. 5, 2017 in Marchwood, Penn. Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images
The FBI is looking into how the state of Pennsylvania granted permits for a controversial natural gas pipeline as part of a corruption investigation, the AP reports.
<p>Sources tell the AP that the FBI is questioning current and former state employees about Governor Tom Wolf's administration's role in approving the Mariner East project, also owned by Dakota Access's owner <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/energy-transfer-partners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Energy Transfer Partners</a>. The bureau is looking to find out whether the state forced permits for construction through the environmental agency, and whether Wolf or his administration benefited from granting the permits. </p>
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</p><div id="e97cd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UM0RAZ1576661143"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1194360259877339137" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“The FBI has begun a corruption investigation into how Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration came to issue permits for con… https://t.co/Mqb2Nu5mfr</div> — Carrie (@Carrie)<a href="https://twitter.com/UnlessPA/statuses/1194360259877339137">1573592650.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>The project has been plagued with delays, lawsuits and environmental fines and has faced serious local opposition since its start in 2017.</p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Indigenous leaders from Brazil and allies held a non violent direct action in NYC to show solidarity with the indigenous resistance and "Terra Livre" — the national indigenous mobilization in Brazil. Erik McGregor / Pacific Press / LightRocket / Getty Images
For the past seven years, the Anishinaabe people have been facing the largest tar sands pipeline project in North America. We still are. In these dying moments of the fossil fuel industry, Water Protectors stand, prepared for yet another battle for the water, wild rice and future of all. We face Enbridge, the largest pipeline company in North America, and the third largest corporation in Canada. We face it unafraid and eyes wide open, for indeed we see the future.
<p>The Anishinaabe speak of this time as the time of the Seventh Fire — we must choose between two paths, one well worn and scorched, the other green.</p>
<p>Under a hail of water cannons, the name "Water Protector" was immortalized in the battle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. The rights of humans, and the rights of Nature, were trampled by the corporate machine of the pipeline company known as Energy Transfer Partners and $38 million worth of militarization. That's what was <a href="https://weresist.org/2017/03/21/dapl-protest-clean-up-cost-north-dakota-38m/" target="_blank">paid out in the name of "policing and cleanup"</a> by the state of North Dakota to brutalize Water Protectors who came from a dozen states and cities to protest against Energy Transfer Partners and the Dakota Access Pipeline.</p><p>Standing Rock was surely a <a href="http://nvrmi.com/?page_id=43" target="_blank">Selma Moment</a> in the environmental movement. This was a battle over the water and rights of Indigenous peoples and nations, but this was also clearly a battle over climate change and the future. We left Standing Rock with a deeper understanding of who we were and of this moment in time.</p><p><span></span>For the past six years, the Anishinaabe and our fellow Water Protectors have been fending off mega projects — coal generators, mining projects and Enbridge pipelines, which deliver oil from Canada to the United States. After a three-year battle against Enbridge's proposed Sandpiper, a 640,000-barrel-a-day fracked oil pipeline from North Dakota to Wisconsin, Enbridge canceled the project August 2, 2016, and purchased 28 percent of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The largest pipeline company in the western hemisphere folded its hand.</p><p><span></span>Yet the company came back with a plan to build Line 3, the 915,000-barrel-a-day tar sands pipeline. The bitter battle between Water Protectors and Tar Sands Wiindigos ("cannibals" in Ojibwe, a word that now serves as a metaphor for colonizing and extractive oil companies like Enbridge) continues. This last month, the Bad River Band of Anishinaabe filed suit against Enbridge, Inc., demanding that the company remove Enbridge's <a href="https://www.enbridge.com/~/media/Enb/Documents/Infographics/IG_CanWeTrustASteelPipeline.pdf" target="_blank">66-year-old Line 5</a>, which traverses from the south shore of Gitchi Gummi toward the Straits of Mackinac. There, the opposition to a new pipe/tunnel scheme in a precarious crossing of the Great Lakes continues.</p>
<p>As an economist by training, I refer to capitalist economics as "Wiindigo Economics" — the economics of a cannibal. Enbridge's proposed Line 3 represents l70 million metric tons of carbon annually added to the environment, according to calculations made by analysts at Honor the Earth, the 26-year-old Native-led national environmental organization where I serve as executive director.</p><p>Now, slaying a Wiindigo like Enbridge is complicated. In this case, we must just keep saying no — legally, in the streets and in the investment world. We must starve the Wiindigo. Tar sands oil is extremely expensive. Put it this way: Every source of oil in the world is cheaper – much cheaper. According to Rystad Energy oil analysts, the average tar sands project won't even break even on the cost of getting the fuel out of the ground unless international oil prices rise to <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rystad-u-shale-now-world-160000388.html" target="_blank">$83 per barrel</a> and stay there. In contrast, the average U.S. fracked oil well will break even with oil prices at $46 per barrel. And that tar sands oil is landlocked. It will remain so.</p><p>Just before he died, David Koch sold his tar sands assets. He's rumored to have lost billions. The Koch brothers at one point held the largest tar sands reserves, but this August, they sold their remaining assets to a unit of Paramount Resources Ltd. "for an undisclosed sum following halted attempts to develop projects," <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/article-koch-industries-sells-its-oil-sands-properties-to-paramount/" target="_blank">according to <em>The Globe and Mail</em></a>. That's what happens with divestment and a lack of pipelines.</p><p>Native peoples have been shackled with fossil fuel projects, and many are withering away. For the past 70 years, <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Coal_and_Native_American_tribal_lands" target="_blank">four of the 10 largest coal strip mines</a> have been in Crow, Hopi and Navajo territory. By the end of the summer, three of those coal strip mines will be closed down, and with them, many of the units of the aging coal generators — Four Corners, Navajo Generating Station and Colstrip Units 1 and 2.</p>
<p>At the end of the fossil fuel era, big companies try to dump their liabilities on Native nations. BHP Billiton dumped a 50-year-old coal strip mine on the Navajo Nation in 2016, and Canada's Trudeau administration is trying desperately to peddle the liabilities of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project (also known as Trudeau West) to a collaboration of First Nations in Canada. But times are changing.</p><p>This past month, two units of the colossal Colstrip Power plants, fed with Crow coal extracted by the Westmoreland Coal Company are scheduled to close by the end of the year. In turn, lawsuits filed by grassroots citizens organizations such as the San Juan Citizens Alliance and its partners have forced the closure of more units at the notorious Four Corners power plant. Change is inevitable. The question is, who controls the change.</p><p>In 2017, the Kayenta Solar Facility came online with 27 megawatts of power for Navajo people. This wholly owned Navajo project is the first-of-its-kind utility-scale solar project within the Navajo Nation.</p><p>Navajo Tribal Utility Authority General Manager Walter Haase said this project "<a href="https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/navajo-solar-project-sending-power-grid-kayenta-ariz" target="_blank">demonstrates the Navajo Nation</a> is ready for large-scale renewable energy production," calling it a "gigantic first step toward enhancing the green economy."</p>
<p>Kayenta Solar was built in six months by Navajo people, who count among them more electrical engineers than any other tribe. On the White Earth reservation, 8th Fire Solar was launched this summer, producing Solar Rating and Certification Company — certified solar thermal panels to distribute throughout North America. Honor the Earth is also putting in 200 kw of solar to support the communities of White Earth.</p><p>Now is the time to choose the green path over the scorched path. The stakes are raised daily: Fires burn to the north, west, south and east, and we all feel the grief of our Mother Earth, for we are her children. It is time to be a Water Protector. It is time to be a Wiindigo Slayer — that is, it is time to stop the monsters and cannibals that plague our villages. That's what our Anishinaabe ancestors did: They slayed those Wiindigos, and that's why we are still here, 8,000 years later. It's time for this generation to summon up our courage, vision and prayers.</p><p>We are familiar with Wiindigos. We have been Wiindigo Slayers in the past, and we will be again. They have the money, but we have the people. We also have a vision for life in the future.</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/water-protectors-are-prepared-for-battle-join-us/" target="_blank">Truthout</a></em>. <em>It is republished here as part of</em> <em>EcoWatch's partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Dakota Access Pipeline Company Misses Deadline to Plant 20,000 Trees Along Pipeline Route
03 January 2019
Energy
Protesters walk along land being prepared for the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota on Sept. 3, 2016. ROBYN BECK / AFP / Getty Images
Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, has missed its 2018 deadline to plant tens of thousands of trees along the pipeline's route, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The company was supposed to plant 20,000 trees along the pipeline's 359-mile route through North Dakota by the end of 2018, as per the terms of a September 2017 settlement with North Dakota's Public Service Commission. So far, it has planted only around 8,800.
<p>The settlement came about because of two major complaints, <a href="https://apnews.com/f86407f5155d470b975595407809f840" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported in 2017</a>:</p><ol class="ee-ol"><li>Energy Transfer Partners failed to adequately report the discovery of Native American artifacts along its route. The artifacts were not disturbed, but the company did not get permission from the commission for a route change.</li><li>Regulators were concerned that the company had disturbed too many trees and improperly removed <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil" target="_self">soil</a> while laying pipe.</li></ol><p>In the settlement, Energy Transfer Partners agreed to plant trees in soil conservation districts along the route and help write a "how-to" manual for handling the discovery of artifacts, but it did not have to pay a $15,000 fine or payment, as regulators originally proposed. </p><p>"This really is not as much about the monetary amount as it is about awareness and influencing future behavior," Commissioner Brian Kroshus said at the time.<br></p><p>Now, Energy Transfer Partners is relying on a provision in the settlement allowing it more time to plant the trees if it encounters difficulties. Perennial Environmental Services, the company Energy Transfer Partners hired to manage the tree planting, said it had run into the following problems: </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Equipment and staffing problems</li><li>Poor conditions for planting</li><li>A lack of landlords willing to have trees planted on their land</li><li>An incident in which one soil conservation district refused any plantings because it didn't think the 15 tree species listed in the settlement were appropriate for the area </li></ul><p>Perennial Environmental Services said soil conservation districts in six counties had committed to planting 16,800 trees in 2019 for a total of more than 25,500. Commission officials were not available for comment on whether or not they thought the delay was justified, The Associated Press reported.</p><p>The Dakota Access Pipeline <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/what-standing-rock-gave-world-2549906333.html" target="_self">sparked massive protests</a> by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their allies over concerns it would threaten the tribe's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" target="_self">drinking water</a>. The protests seemed to have been successful when the administration of former President Barack Obama <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/army-corps-permit-dakota-access-pipeline-2128363393.html" target="_self">denied a key permit</a> for the project towards the end of 2016, but President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump </a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dakota-access-pipeline-2211697835.html" target="_self">signed an executive order</a> greenlighting the pipeline early in his term.</p>Oil began flowing through the pipeline in June of 2017, which was projected to move around 520,000 barrels of oil a day along more than 1,000 miles through North Dakota to Illinois, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/01/531097758/crude-oil-begins-to-flow-through-controversial-dakota-access-pipeline" target="_blank">NPR reported at the time</a>.
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</p><div id="a45f5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8AQMHF1576663789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="999764476088942593" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Stopping a Dakota Access Pipeline Leak in Under 10 Minutes? A Fairy Tale, Say the Standing Rock Sioux… https://t.co/Fqls80RPxQ</div> — Indigenous (@Indigenous)<a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanIndian8/statuses/999764476088942593">1527197400.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Energy Transfer Partners and Banks Lost Billions by Ignoring Early Dakota Access Pipeline Concerns
04 December 2018
Energy
Native American leaders and environmental groups called on New York City to divest from banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline on Feb. 23, 2017. Erik McGregor / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images
By Sharon Kelly
Roughly four years ago, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) filed a federal application to build a 1,172 mile oil pipeline from North Dakota's Bakken shale across the U.S. to Illinois at a projected cost of $3.8 billion.
Before that application was filed, on Sept. 30, 2014, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe met with ETP to express concerns about the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) and fears of water contamination. Though the company, now known as Energy Transfer, had re-routed a river crossing to protect the state capital of Bismarck against oil spills, it apparently turned a deaf ear to the Tribe's objections.
<p>Following that approach proved to be a very costly decision, a <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/project/fpiep/sites/default/files/attached-files/social_cost_and_material_loss.pdf" target="_blank">new analysis</a> concludes, with ETP, banks, and investors taking billions in losses as a result.</p><p>"This case study estimates that the costs incurred by ETP and other firms with ownership stake in DAPL for the entire project are not less than $7.5 billion, but could be higher depending on the terms of confidential contracts," a new report, "Social Cost and Material Loss: The Dakota Access Pipeline," concludes, noting that the figure represented nearly double the initial project cost. "The banks that financed DAPL incurred an additional $4.4 billion in costs in the form of account closures, not including costs related to reputational damage."</p><p>In addition, the company's "poor social risk management" caused taxpayers and "other local stakeholders" to incur at least $38 million in costs, the report concludes.</p>
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</p><div id="65caa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PFF5DX1576663789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="791734219462410240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"This is what it's all about," protestor says. "Sacred water." Not sure guys on left agree. #NoDAPL #DAPL https://t.co/vHPRC2OHU5</div> — Wes Enzinna (@Wes Enzinna)<a href="https://twitter.com/wesenzinna/statuses/791734219462410240">1477599122.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>As opposition to <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL</span> <a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/a-timeline-of-the-dakota-access-oil-pipeline" target="_blank">grew</a> from a handful of locals to a movement attracting thousands of supporters to Standing Rock and backers worldwide, construction fell behind schedule and over budget, with costs rising from a predicted $3.8 billion to at least $7.5 billion, the new report finds. Over that time, Energy Transfer's stock price fell 20 percent—at the same time as the tech investment index <span style="background-color: initial;">S&P</span> 500 grew roughly 35 percent, the report noted. Energy Transfer's stock also underperformed other companies in the same industry.<br></p><p>"Across the board, this project was out of line with the existing principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international standards for resource development near indigenous peoples' lands," <a href="https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=561" target="_blank">Carla F. Fredericks</a>, author of the study and director of Colorado Law's American Indian Law Clinic, said. "The losses in this study underline that companies need to take those principles into account." </p><p><strong>Making a 'Material Loss'</strong></p><p>The study points to early decisions by ETP as the cause of those losses.</p><p>"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe communicated their opposition to DAPL for three years and they were frustrated by the lack of meaningful consultation from Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), DAPL's parent company, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)," Fredericks, an enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, and co-author <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/business/mark-meaney" target="_blank">Mark Meaney</a> of the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business wrote. "In fact, those opportunities for early engagement were ETP's, the USACE's and other investors' missed opportunities to understand the developing social risks that subsequently manifested into intense social conflict and ultimately resulted in material loss."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9dcf1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KLJT3H1576663789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="837708599023583237" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">US / indigenous rights: @UNSR_VickyTauli urges consistent policies for projects like Dakota Access Pipeline https://t.co/fVdVZtcsnG</div> — UN Human Rights (@UN Human Rights)<a href="https://twitter.com/UNHumanRights/statuses/837708599023583237">1488560268.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>When it comes to human rights issues, the report's authors dismiss the notion that a company's management can adequately protect shareholders from losses or liability if they use compliance with state and federal laws as their only benchmark.<br></p><p>"Unfortunately, the companies and financiers behind DAPL presumed that compliance with national laws was sufficient for the project to move forward on Sioux territory rather than abiding by international human rights standards," the report finds. "Their lack of attention ultimately resulted in material loss."</p><p>The report faults Energy Transfer's management specifically for failing to disclose risks of costly delays due to public opposition to investors at an earlier stage.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk2NTUxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzAzODExOX0.B-xgHvxI6V51ghzcybRH1Hqi3wo8xQeTPHVlf2rYqiE/img.jpg?width=980" id="39643" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9b2bd341f90d5dea71b11cd218de8af9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Guerrilla street painting against fossil fuel pipeline investment outside Wells Fargo World Headquarters in San Francisco, Nov. 6, 2017 </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/43005015@N06/" target="_blank">Peg Hunter</a>,<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>In this case, <span style="background-color: initial;">ETP</span>'s reporting concerning the project was silent or exclusively positive until the publication of its third quarterly report on Nov. 9, 2016, in which the company acknowledged that 'protests and legal actions against <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL </span>have caused construction delays and may further delay the completion of the pipeline project,'" the report finds. "By this time, social pressure had been mounting for months and there is evidence that the company knew of these risks long before they were disclosed to investors."<br></p><p>"The timeline shows that ETP made few good faith efforts to understand and integrate the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's concerns about the environmental, social, and cultural risks into their operations and that ETP did not disclose known risks to investors until a later date," it adds. "As a result, investors were not aware of the potential for delays and it is possible that this resulted in the overvaluation of ETP's stock price."</p><p>It wasn't only ETP's investors that suffered an economic blow due to DAPL. Reported account closures at banks that funded the DAPL project totaled $4.4 billion, including 150,000 personal bank account closures worth $86.2 million, with the remainder coming from city divestments.</p><p>"It is reasonable to suggest that the degree of public criticism directed towards banks—relative to the size of the transaction—was greater than expected and was underestimated during the banks' own review of the project's viability," the report says.</p><p><strong>Courtroom Fights</strong></p><p>DAPL is now flowing oil—but legal battles continue. In early November, Energy Transfer <a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Bakken-Prices-Crumble-On-Pipeline-Woes.html" target="_blank">announced</a> that it would seek to expand DAPL's capacity from 525,000 barrels per day to 570,000 barrels a day, spurred by growing oil production from North Dakota's Bakken shale.</p><p>The DAPL fight is far from over. Lawsuits and criminal prosecutions of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipeline</a> opponents now include a federal class action <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/26/lawsuit-dakota-access-road-blockade" target="_blank">filed</a> by five plaintiffs against private security firm TigerSwan and state and county officials, alleging that the defendants violated plaintiff's constitutional rights by closing public roads for prolonged periods in 2016 to 2017, part of an effort to quiet resistance to the DAPL project.</p><p>As DeSmog <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/26/lawsuit-dakota-access-road-blockade" target="_blank">previously reported</a>, the lawsuit "also alleged that, beyond impeding access to sacred grounds for the self-proclaimed 'Water Protectors'—the term also used by [plaintiffs' attorneys] Smith-Drelich and Harcourt in their complaint—the blockade imposed by government and law enforcement did not impact those who lived in the area or employees of Energy Transfer."</p><p>Separately, Sophia Wilansky, who was <a href="https://nypost.com/2017/11/18/pipeline-protestor-recalls-horror-of-nearly-losing-her-arm-in-clash-with-police/" target="_blank">shot three times by rubber bullets</a> and suffered severe arm and hand injuries from what she alleges was a police "flashbang" grenade <a href="https://www.insidesources.com/one-year-after-violent-backwater-bridge-clashes-scars-remain-in-standing-rock/" target="_blank">at Backwater Bridge</a> on Nov. 20, 2016, <a href="https://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/dapl-protester-sues-law-enforcement-over-injury-at-backwater-bridge-protest/1609505092" target="_blank">filed</a> a lawsuit against Morton County law enforcement and other agencies this month. And more than 700 criminal cases brought against the pipeline opponents known as water protectors have been processed, with NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/29/671701019/2-years-after-standing-rock-protests-north-dakota-oil-business-is-booming" target="_blank">reporting</a> that "[m]any have had their charges reduced or dismissed."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk2NTUxOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzA4MjU0NH0.Gjt0eJm4tqg3Q9_CMU6i_MaxIktahH3dcT2dr_AKwOk/img.png?width=980" id="4c74e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f8638d8d305fb4c41884de9b4078baee" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">"Happi" American Horse from the Sicangu Nation locked himself to equipment at a Dakota Access pipeline construction site on Aug. 31, 2016.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="http://desireekane.com/" target="_blank">Desiree Kane</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">CC BY 3.0</a></small></p>
<p>In November, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe challenged the adequacy of the Army Corps of Engineers' environmental review of <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL</span>, <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-renews-legal-challenge-against-dapl" target="_blank">arguing</a> that the Corps' assessment of the risks, particularly the risk of an oil spill in Lake Oahe, which is on Sioux land, fell short of required standards and disregarded technical information provided by the Tribe to the Corps.<br></p><p>In July, federal judge Billy Roy Wilson partially dismissed a racketeering lawsuit that was initially filed in August 2017 by ETP against nonprofits <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> and BankTrack, as well as the environmental movement EarthFirst! (as represented by the publishers of a magazine of a similar name).</p><p>"While the complaint vaguely attempts to connect BankTrack to acts of 'radical eco-terrorist,' an international drug distribution and money laundering enterprise, and violations of the Patriot Act, BankTrack's actual conduct in this case was allegedly writing a few letters to financial institutions and posting links to the letters on its website," Wilson <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-tosses-dakota-access-rico-claims-against-protester/" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a July ruling dismissing claims against BankTrack.</p><p>In August, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/dakota-access-developer-amends-1b-racketeering-lawsuit" target="_blank">after a ruling</a> that EarthFirst! is an environmental movement too amorphous to be named to a lawsuit and that suing the magazine would be "futile and possibly frivolous," ETP added five individual defendants to its lawsuit, including a Greenpeace staffer.</p><p>ETP is also involved in the construction of other controversial pipeline projects, like the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/conflict-cajun-country-bayou-bridge-pipeline-louisiana-standing-rock" target="_blank">Bayou Bridge pipeline</a> in Louisiana and the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/08/01/ellen-gerhart-pennsylvania-arrested-sunoco-mariner-east-pipeline-dispute" target="_blank">Mariner East projects</a> in Pennsylvania.</p><p>A proposed new Bakken pipeline, dubbed the Liberty Pipeline, was recently <a href="https://investor.phillips66.com/financial-information/news-releases/news-release-details/2018/Phillips-66-and-Bridger-Pipeline-LLC-Announce-Open-Season-for-Rockies-and-Bakken-Crude-Oil-Pipeline-System-Phillips-66-Announces-Open-Season-for-Cushing-Crude-Oil-Pipeline-System/default.aspx" target="_blank">announced</a> by Phillips 66 and Bridger Pipeline LLC. That pipeline would move 350,000 barrels a day of fracked oil from the Bakken shale to Corpus Christi, Texas, near major export terminals.</p><p>The authors of the new report had advice for companies contemplating building new pipeline projects or investing in them.</p><p>"These losses show how important it is for companies to fully account for environmental, social, and governance risks before projects get going," Meaney said in a statement accompanying the report. "Social risks are clearly overlooked in the market."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="46fa3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="P1169J1576663790"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1069380841359450113" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#EnergyTransfer's Troubled Pipeline Projects Amass 800+ Violations https://t.co/4dRWiI7JdV @PeopleNotPipes @nokxlpledge</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1069380841359450113">1543795235.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/03/dakota-access-pipeline-concerns-cost-energy-transfer-investors-billions" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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Workers clean up a spill by Rover Pipeline affecting wetlands in Stark County, Ohio. Ohio EPA
A damning new report has highlighted the spotty incident record of Energy Transfer, which owns tens of thousands of miles of pipelines across America, including the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.
The Texas-based energy company and its subsidiary Sunoco have amassed more than 800 federal and state permit violations and millions of dollars in fines while building its two newest natural gas pipelines, the Rover and Mariner East 2, respectively, Reuters reporters Scott DiSavino and Stephanie Kelly revealed Wednesday.
<p>
To compare, Reuters analyzed four similar pipeline projects and found they averaged 19 violations each during construction.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9ee24" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AQM11E1576662624"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1067758574913372163" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">For a breakdown of Energy Transfer Rover’s 681 federal violations, see: https://t.co/kVGDgUG0MI.</div> — Stephanie Kelly (@Stephanie Kelly)<a href="https://twitter.com/StephanieKellyM/statuses/1067758574913372163">1543408456.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Rover and Mariner violations include spills of drilling fluid; sinkholes in backyards; and improper disposal of hazardous waste and other trash, with fines topping at $15 million, according to Reuters.
</p><p>
Rover started construction in March 2017, while Mariner started in February 2017. The two troubled pipelines were slated for completion last year, but construction has slowed due to state and federal regulators halting the work after permit violations.
</p><p>
The $4.2 billion Rover pipeline is a 713-mile interstate project designed to transport up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/">fracked</a> gas. Its <a href="https://www.roverpipelinefacts.com/the-route.html" target="_blank">proposed route</a> includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Canada. In one of its most high-profile spills, the pipeline project released <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-transfer-rover-pipeline-spill-2368385484.html" target="_self">2 million gallons</a> of drilling fluids into Ohio wetlands last April. It followed with another <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/rover-pipeline-spill-2526282302.html">150,000 gallons</a> of drilling fluid at the same site in January.
</p><p>
"Ohio's negative experience with Rover has fundamentally changed how we will permit pipeline projects," James Lee, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, told Reuters.
</p><p>
The $2.5 billion Mariner East 2 is a 350-mile pipeline project designed to carry 275,000 barrels a day of butane, propane and other liquid fossil fuels from Ohio and West Virginia, across Pennsylvania to the Atlantic coast. Last year, horizontal directional drilling triggered
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sunoco-pipeline-spill-2495544214.html">three releases of drilling fluid</a> around the same site in East Goshen, Pennsylvania in the span of three days.
</p><p>
In September, a 24-inch natural gas line owned by Energy Transfer and Sunoco
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-transfer-pipeline-explodes-pennsylvania-2604024050.html" target="_blank">exploded in Beaver County, Pennsylvania</a> a week after it was activated. The explosion prompted calls from environmentalists and lawmakers to halt the Mariner pipeline, which is currently under construction in the state.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="fc67a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LYB11F1576662625"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1039604636875927553" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Energy Transfer Pipeline Explodes in Pennsylvania #WarOnOurFuture via @EcoWatch https://t.co/U2N0xnGuM1</div> — The YEARS Project (@The YEARS Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/statuses/1039604636875927553">1536696035.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
After that blast,
<a href="https://waterkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Waterkeeper Alliance</a> called out Energy Transfer's (formerly known as Energy Transfer Partners) history of pipeline incidents.
</p><p>
"Waterkeeper Alliance and Greenpeace
<a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=zesM7UiBYfL6b16dB9U3xdHG97RAbtv51ekvkNXrt3q8qCtSuMdGX-2BVZ1xtL-2B1DOyB2LF2i-2FqCkCh1JDHcurxBj0bZvyOpbZK6LaTWw01ydlESyf8mk3mv3X86Iaqrh7fklPWwS2DwiphY1uBBTCSTxMSyqXc3WrHlDfl8s8I9-2F5VLpeiPphvSuNMZSgjAIfUNcU9Q6gZTIw7W8jwZ8DoyDebCaODvVg2hGYPyCgnREnGzFFYU49acjDqFW0xisvBbRqW8r0PSK7vFYyExZUZQ-3D-3D_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJEz53jBI3ufoO4oAQytoHQqnA6xLY1TvnOyxVKLlcZdOlw0b6py5mcYx9ZDVGIDnj9GWs8p-2F5G1tiaIrmr08aa05FS-2FahEHR5eai4pVwIRCYBDnulOhxu-2F7ki0hdGzmZrwxm6JMlRjHT6AETl9yFowDs4K4ZtzsXMVK34KdBB0dOPuumusVnZIvELQLAbGL05dVGSdWuCzCARc03NwvQQOYI03HKzvL5uYORmTzKvuOvIQj0wFJ7epMN1m728Wb5p" target="_blank">meticulously documented</a> more than 500 spills and millions of dollars in fines and property damage by Energy Transfer Partners in a <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=zesM7UiBYfL6b16dB9U3xdHG97RAbtv51ekvkNXrt3q8qCtSuMdGX-2BVZ1xtL-2B1DOyB2LF2i-2FqCkCh1JDHcurxBj0bZvyOpbZK6LaTWw01ydlESyf8mk3mv3X86Iaqrh7fklPWwS2DwiphY1uBBTCSTxMSyqXc3WrHlDfl8s8I9-2F5VLpeiPphvSuNMZSgjAIfUNcU9Q6gZTIw7W8jwZ8DoyDebCaODvVg2hGYPyCgnRGDtZXF0yGD9o5gmDcOEjQtJr5S3uVBC42uf-2FW44zrfjQ-3D-3D_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJEz53jBI3ufoO4oAQytoHQqnA6xLY1TvnOyxVKLlcZdOlw0b6py5mcYx9ZDVGIDnj9GWs8p-2F5G1tiaIrmr08aa05FS-2FahEHR5eai4pVwIRCZ1KfP0kOwGPVCe1TiJ4mbN0bh7HlasWYBVc1k-2FQEyJeqvzETulzfA4f5xF9aAfDbEVm6h7jzvUq84jxs5pZ8He-2BVUzIVkG32-2Fhv05KDemM1KUd1RRfnciW4K2YfgcWwdkHF0Jh2K3IV0VeTTKylO57" target="_blank">report</a> released earlier this year," Waterkeeper Alliance staff attorney Larissa Liebmann said in a statement received by EcoWatch.
</p><p>
Their April report found that Energy Transfer, its subsidiaries including Sunoco, and joint ventures reported 527 hazardous liquids pipeline incidents to federal regulators from 2002 to 2017, or once every 11 days on average for 16 years.
</p><p>
In response to the Reuters report, Energy Transfer spokeswoman Alexis Daniel said the company is committed to safe construction and operation and at times went "above and beyond" regulations for the Rover and Mariner projects.
</p>
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PG&E received a maximum sentence for the 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion. Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
A striking report has revealed that 90 percent of the 137 interstate pipeline fires or explosions since 2010 have drawn no financial penalties for the companies responsible.
The article from E&E News reporter Mike Soraghan underscores the federal Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) weak authority over the fossil fuel industry for these disasters.
<p>
The government levied a mere $5.4 million in fines for the 13 pipeline explosion and fire cases in the last eight years, the analysis found.
</p><p>
"That's less than one day of profits for one major pipeline company,
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/transcanada" target="_self">TransCanada</a>. It's $2 million less than what [TransCanada CEO Russ Girling] made last year," Soraghan explained in a <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeSoraghan/status/1063401798176788480" target="_blank">tweet</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="86d0b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="TNSC001576662637"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1063401798176788480" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">137 fires and explosions on interstate pipelines since start of 2010. $5.4 million in fines levied by feds at… https://t.co/o4zuqObVlV</div> — Mike Soraghan (@Mike Soraghan)<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeSoraghan/statuses/1063401798176788480">1542369720.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
One of the country's largest natural gas pipeline accidents—the 2010 San Bruno, California pipeline explosion that resulted in eight deaths—fell under state jurisdiction rather than PHMSA. California authorities imposed a record $1.6 billion fine against Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).
</p><p>
Although serious pipeline incidents are relatively rare—at least when you consider how much natural gas is transported every day by the country's
<a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=natural_gas_pipelines" target="_blank">3 million miles</a> of mainline and other pipelines—it's little solace to the people who have suffered from pipeline accidents.
</p><p>
Citing PHMSA data, the
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/an-old-problem-aging-pipelines-lead-to-deadly-explosions/2018/09/14/42c709b2-b865-11e8-ae4f-2c1439c96d79_story.html" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported that more than 300 people have died and 1,200 have been injured due to natural gas pipeline incidents in the last 20 years—and the nation's aging gas distribution network further increases these risks.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="23477" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5S59DN1576662637"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1025124144889966592" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">7 Hospitalized After #Pipeline Explosions in #Texas https://t.co/5sq000oE4N @PipelineandGas @keystonexI @PriceofOil</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1025124144889966592">1533243616.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
But new gas pipelines explode, too. TransCanada's Leach XPress project, which was placed in-service on Jan. 1, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/transcanada-pipeline-explodes-west-virginia-2576042392.html">exploded in Marshall County, West Virginia</a> in June. A 24-inch natural gas line, owned by Texas-based <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/energy-transfer-partners" target="_self">Energy Transfer Partners</a> and its subsidiary <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sunoco" target="_self">Sunoco</a>, exploded in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-transfer-pipeline-explodes-pennsylvania-2604024050.html">Beaver County, Pennsylvania</a> in September a week after it was activated.
</p><p>
<span></span>These risks have prompted calls from environmentalists and concerned citizens to halt new fracked gas projects such as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/atlantic-coast-pipeline">Atlantic Coast Pipeline</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mountain-valley-pipeline">Mountain Valley Pipeline</a>, which have both lost key permits in recent weeks.
</p><p>
<span></span>"Those who disregard the public's widespread opposition to fracked gas pipelines seemingly always point to how safe they are and closely watched they'll be. Nothing could be further from the truth," the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/home" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>'s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign director Kelly Martin said in an <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/11/icymi-90-all-gas-pipeline-blasts-draw-no-fines" target="_blank">online statement</a> in response to the E&E News article.
</p><p>
"We know we can't expect corporate polluters to look out for our health, but we should be able to count on our enforcement agencies to protect us. Stories like these show exactly why we should never build another fracked gas pipeline, especially when clean, renewable energy sources are abundant and affordable," Martin concluded.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="b8da9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="P4BFI11576662637"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1040634048077606912" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Pipeline in Hurricane Florence’s Potential Path Poses Added Danger https://t.co/73UAxfFiQS</div> — The YEARS Project (@The YEARS Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/statuses/1040634048077606912">1536941465.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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A pipeline exploded in Beaver County, Pennsylvania at approximately 5 a.m. Monday morning, causing a large fire and prompting the evacuation of dozens of homes in the area.
The 24-inch natural gas line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco, was buried three feet deep and activated only a week ago on Sept. 3.
<p style="">
<span></span>The valves to the pipeline were shut off and the fire extinguished itself by 7 a.m., the company said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/WPXIMikeHolden/status/1039155929500012545" target="_blank">statement</a> via WPXI's Mike Holden:
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c97ef" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3NPXL61576662594"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1039155929500012545" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Statement from Energy Transfer of Texas. https://t.co/iJ4zZnV5Kk</div> — Mike Holden (@Mike Holden)<a href="https://twitter.com/WPXIMikeHolden/statuses/1039155929500012545">1536589054.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
"All of the appropriate regulatory notifications have been made. An initial site assessment reveals evidence of a landslide in the vicinity of the pipeline. The line has been safely isolated and depressurized until a thorough investigation can be completed." Sunoco spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger said Monday in a statement to the
<a href="https://ecowatchroar-secure.rebelmouse.com/core/dashboard/editor/Lisa%20Dillinger,%20Sunoco%20spokeswoman,%20released%20the%20following%20statement,%20Monday:%20%E2%80%9CAll%20of%20the%20appropriate%20regulatory%20notifications%20have%20been%20made.%20An%20initial%20site%20assessment%20reveals%20evidence%20of%20a%20landslide%20in%20the%20vicinity%20of%20the%20pipeline.%20The%20line%20has%20been%20safely%20isolated%20and%20depressurized%20until%20a%20thorough%20investigation%20can%20be%20completed.%E2%80%9D" target="_self">Daily Local</a>.
</p><p style="">
<span></span>No injuries were reported, but one home, two garages and several vehicles were destroyed by fires, according to the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/gas-explosion-rocks-western-pennsylvania-community-57721654" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>. Interstate 376 was closed and the Central Valley school district also canceled classes.
</p><p style="">
"I saw the ball of flames above the trees and it was easily 150 to 200 feet up in the air. It was serious," resident Chuck Belczyk told
<a href="https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/09/10/center-township-gas-line-explosion-fire/" target="_blank">KDKA</a>.
</p><p>
An investigation into the incident is now underway. A landslide that happened near the pipeline could be a possible trigger. Nearly 5 inches of rain fell between Friday night and Monday morning,
<a href="https://triblive.com/local/regional/14064921-74/early-morning-pipeline-blast-forces-evacuations-in-beaver-county" target="_blank">Trib Live</a> noted, citing National Weather Service data.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2ab1b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="H34D421576662594"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1039122864694341632" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">More incredible video of the gas line explosion in Beaver County this morning in Center Township. https://t.co/DYC11CM435</div> — Rick Dayton (@Rick Dayton)<a href="https://twitter.com/rickdayton/statuses/1039122864694341632">1536581171.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
The explosion has prompted calls from environmentalists and lawmakers to halt the Sunoco's
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mariner-east-2-pipeline-construction-2522380926.html">Mariner East pipeline</a>, which is currently under construction in Pennsylvania.
</p><p>
"I am calling for an immediate halt to all pipeline construction activities," State Rep. Chris Quinn (R-168) said in an
<a href="http://www.pahousegopnews.com/Broadcast/ViewBroadcast.ashx?ID=23770" target="_blank">online statement</a>. "This pipeline should not be built until the real and legitimate safety and environmental concerns raised by myself and local residents have been fully addressed."
</p><p>
State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-19)
<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorDinniman/status/1039228594420113413" target="_blank">tweeted</a> that these kinds of pipelines should not be so close to schools, residential neighborhoods and community centers.
</p><p style="">
"With every week we have more and more evidence why highly volatile natural gas liquid pipelines should not be in high-consequence areas and how Sunoco and Energy Transfer Partners have an abysmal track record when it comes to public safety," Dinniman continued. "The explosion in Beaver County is a chilling reminder of just how powerful and dangerous these pipelines can be."
</p><p>
Energy Transfer Partners, which owns more than 83,000 miles of natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined products pipelines, is the parent company behind the controversial
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/energy-transfer-partners-bakken-oil-pipeline-through-iowa" target="_blank">Dakota Access</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bayou-bridge-pipeline" target="_blank">Bayou Bridge</a> pipelines.
</p><p>
<span></span><a href="https://waterkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Waterkeeper Alliance</a> noted that the energy firm has had a history of pipeline accidents.
</p><p>
"Waterkeeper Alliance and Greenpeace <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=zesM7UiBYfL6b16dB9U3xdHG97RAbtv51ekvkNXrt3q8qCtSuMdGX-2BVZ1xtL-2B1DOyB2LF2i-2FqCkCh1JDHcurxBj0bZvyOpbZK6LaTWw01ydlESyf8mk3mv3X86Iaqrh7fklPWwS2DwiphY1uBBTCSTxMSyqXc3WrHlDfl8s8I9-2F5VLpeiPphvSuNMZSgjAIfUNcU9Q6gZTIw7W8jwZ8DoyDebCaODvVg2hGYPyCgnREnGzFFYU49acjDqFW0xisvBbRqW8r0PSK7vFYyExZUZQ-3D-3D_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJEz53jBI3ufoO4oAQytoHQqnA6xLY1TvnOyxVKLlcZdOlw0b6py5mcYx9ZDVGIDnj9GWs8p-2F5G1tiaIrmr08aa05FS-2FahEHR5eai4pVwIRCYBDnulOhxu-2F7ki0hdGzmZrwxm6JMlRjHT6AETl9yFowDs4K4ZtzsXMVK34KdBB0dOPuumusVnZIvELQLAbGL05dVGSdWuCzCARc03NwvQQOYI03HKzvL5uYORmTzKvuOvIQj0wFJ7epMN1m728Wb5p" target="_blank">meticulously documented</a> more than 500 spills and millions of dollars in fines and property damage by Energy Transfer Partners in a <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=zesM7UiBYfL6b16dB9U3xdHG97RAbtv51ekvkNXrt3q8qCtSuMdGX-2BVZ1xtL-2B1DOyB2LF2i-2FqCkCh1JDHcurxBj0bZvyOpbZK6LaTWw01ydlESyf8mk3mv3X86Iaqrh7fklPWwS2DwiphY1uBBTCSTxMSyqXc3WrHlDfl8s8I9-2F5VLpeiPphvSuNMZSgjAIfUNcU9Q6gZTIw7W8jwZ8DoyDebCaODvVg2hGYPyCgnRGDtZXF0yGD9o5gmDcOEjQtJr5S3uVBC42uf-2FW44zrfjQ-3D-3D_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJEz53jBI3ufoO4oAQytoHQqnA6xLY1TvnOyxVKLlcZdOlw0b6py5mcYx9ZDVGIDnj9GWs8p-2F5G1tiaIrmr08aa05FS-2FahEHR5eai4pVwIRCZ1KfP0kOwGPVCe1TiJ4mbN0bh7HlasWYBVc1k-2FQEyJeqvzETulzfA4f5xF9aAfDbEVm6h7jzvUq84jxs5pZ8He-2BVUzIVkG32-2Fhv05KDemM1KUd1RRfnciW4K2YfgcWwdkHF0Jh2K3IV0VeTTKylO57" target="_blank">report</a> released earlier this year," Waterkeeper Alliance staff attorney Larissa Liebmann said in a statement received by EcoWatch.
</p><p>
<span></span>Their April report found that Energy Transfer Partners, its subsidiaries including Sunoco, and joint ventures reported 527 hazardous liquids pipeline incidents to federal regulators from 2002 to 2017, or once every 11 days on average for 16 years.
</p><p>
Monday's explosion, Liebmann continued, "proves that ETP is still putting lives at risk and cannot be trusted to operate pipelines safely, and is a grim reminder of our nation's need to quickly transition to clean and safe forms of energy like solar and wind."
</p><p>
<span></span>Sam Rubin of <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" target="_blank">Food & Water Watch</a> commented to the Daily Local that the explosion "is a terrifying reminder that pipelines fail."
</p><p>
"Communities across the state face similar risks if the Mariner East 2 pipeline becomes operational," Rubin added. "Governor Tom Wolf has utterly failed to protect public safety so far, but there is still time to avoid catastrophe by stopping Sunoco's Mariner pipeline right now."
</p>
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Before Royal Wedding Sermon, Rev. Curry Stood With Standing Rock Pipeline Opponents
21 May 2018
Energy
Bishop Michael Curry, who delivered a passionate wedding sermon to royal newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday, also gave a powerful message about two years ago to Dakota Access Pipeline protesters at Standing Rock, North Dakota.
On Sept. 24, 2016 at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, the reverend offered the Episcopal Church's solidarity with the water protectors, noting that, "Water is a gift of the Creator. We must protect it. We must conserve it. We must care for it."
<p>
"If we are God's children and this Earth is God's creation, then let us not tear one another asunder and let us not tear this Earth asunder," he said in an impassioned speech.</p><p>Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota and Lakota Sioux writer, and Levi Rickert, the publisher and editor of <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/speaker-at-royal-wedding-sent-letter-in-support-of-people-of-standing-rocks-opposition-to-the-dakota-access-pipeline/" target="_blank">Native News Online</a>, separately made the observation over the weekend. </p><div id="74ce7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="DOLR171576663792"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="998368870451896321" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bishop Curry gave a sermon at the #RoyalWedding. Here he is at Standing Rock in September 2016 standing in solidari… https://t.co/fqTIC48SOI</div> — R u t h H o p k i n s (@R u t h H o p k i n s)<a href="https://twitter.com/RuthH_Hopkins/statuses/998368870451896321">1526864662.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Curry, the first African-American presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, also drew similarities between the Standing Rock movement to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, during which African Americans faced beatings from "angry mobs" during the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.<br></p><p>
"Selma was a turning point in the struggle for civil and human rights in this country," Curry said. "And I want to suggest now that Standing Rock may be the new Selma."
</p><p>
Protests over Energy Transfer Partners' contentious oil pipeline was occasionally marked by terrible violence, with law enforcement using teargas, rubber bullets and even <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/water-cannons-dakota-access-pipeline-2103036614.html" target="_blank">water cannons</a> on the demonstrators.
</p><p>During his visit to the reservation, Curry also spent an hour listening to people's hopes for the protest and for the church's role in supporting the pipeline opponents, the church <a href="https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/video/presiding-bishop-michael-curry-speaks-pipeline-opponents" target="_blank">said</a>.</p><p>
<span></span>Despite months of protests, the Dakota Access Pipeline began transporting crude oil last spring not long after President Trump's reversed an Obama-era decision that halted the project. The system has already caused <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dapl-leaks-2418962379.html">several spills</a>.
</p><p>
Environmental stewardship is a <a href="https://www.episcopalchurch.org/stewardship-creation" target="_blank">core value</a> the American Episcopal Church. In June, Rev. Curry reinforced the church's commitment to the goals of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> after President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the global climate accord.
</p><p>
"The United States has been a global leader in caring for God's creation through efforts over the years on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change">climate change</a>. President Trump's announcement changes the U.S.'s leadership role in the international sphere," Curry said in a <a href="https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/ecojustice/presiding-bishop-presidents-action-and-paris-climate-accord" target="_blank">statement</a> then.
</p><p>
"Despite this announcement, many U.S. businesses, states, cities, regions, nongovernmental organizations and faith bodies like the Episcopal Church can continue to take bold action to address the climate crisis. The phrase, 'We're still in,' became a statement of commitment for many of us who regardless of this decision by our President are still committed to the principles of the Paris agreement."
</p><p>
<span></span>In his royal wedding sermon over the weekend, Curry referenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and preached about the power of love changing the world. Similarly, at Standing Rock two years ago, the bishop also quoted MLK's famous words from Alabama's Birmingham jail.
</p><p>
"The truth of the matter is, we are all interconnected, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny," Curry said.
</p><p>
Environmental causes appear to be important to the new royal couple. Markle wore an evening dress designed by eco-friendly designer <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fashion-industry-waste-2513231406.html" target="_blank">Stella McCartney</a> and Prince Harry, whose family is very <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/prince-harrys-moving-photos-from-africa-trip-show-brutal-reality-of-po-1882128405.html" target="_blank">dedicated</a> to a range of conservation issues, drove a converted electric Jaguar for their wedding reception.
</p><p>
The couple also requested that in lieu of gifts, well-wishers donate to seven charities, including two environmental groups: Surfers Against Sewage and The Wilderness Foundation UK, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/meghan-second-dress-stella-mccartney-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.
</p>
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"This is what the raw crude oil looked like when firefighters arrived earlier in the 16900 block of N Pennsylvania." Oklahoma City Fire Department / Twitter
Raw crude oil spewed from a ruptured Sunoco pipeline in Oklahoma on Thursday.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department and hazmat crews responded to the situation after receiving reports of a "yellow liquid" shooting into the air near an oil and gas well site in Edmond, a suburb outside of Oklahoma City.
<p>
Officials briefly closed off a section of road on Pennsylvania Avenue and denied access to some homes in the neighborhood north of the release. The neighborhood was not evacuated.
</p><p>
"This is all taken care of now," the fire department <a href="https://twitter.com/OKCFD/status/994709614519308288" target="_blank">tweeted</a> later that afternoon. Cleanup efforts are underway.
</p><p>
<a href="http://kfor.com/2018/05/10/residents-near-crude-pipeline-release-frustrated-after-homes-coated-in-oily-film/" target="_blank">News 4</a> reported that the leak from Sunoco's pipeline occurred in the area of a natural gas booster plant operated by Colorado-based DCP Midstream.
</p><p>
<span></span>The release occurred in a well-populated area, with many houses surrounding the facility. Some residents expressed dismay after their property was coated in oil. One <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeschueler/status/994708531671691264" target="_blank">tweeted</a> to DCP Midstream, "a massive leak at your facility in Edmond, OK, just coated my entire house and my neighborhood with crude. What are you going to do to clean it up?!?"</p><p>
A DCP spokesperson told News 4 it has no control over the Sunoco pipeline but is assisting with cleanup.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="fbe0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="D0B1M91576683818"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="994708531671691264" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Hey @DCPMidstreamLP, a massive leak at your facility in Edmond, OK, just coated my entire house and my neighborhood… https://t.co/hBrRrAMzak</div> — Mike Schueler (@Mike Schueler)<a href="https://twitter.com/mikeschueler/statuses/994708531671691264">1525991969.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
An Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman told News 4 about 5-10 barrels of crude oil was released from the pipeline. The commission has also launched an investigation into the incident.
</p><p>
Sunoco confirmed to the news station that it did have a release of crude.
</p><p>
Sunoco is a subsidiary of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/energy-transfer-partners">Energy Transfer Partners</a>, which <a href="http://www.energytransfer.com/company_overview.aspx" target="_blank">owns</a> about 71,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids, refined products and crude oil pipelines across the country, including the contentious <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access pipeline</a>.
</p><p>
"The section of the line has been isolated and the area contained," Energy Transfer spokesperson Vicki Granado told News 4. "We are in the process of bringing the appropriate resources onsite to fully remediate the area and make repairs. Once that is complete the line will be returned to service."
</p><p>In recent years, the city of Edmond and much of central Oklahoma has been rattled by a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oklahoma-earthquakes-2468650582.html" target="_self">swarm of earthquakes</a> that experts say are related to wastewater deposits from oil and gas production. In 2016, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oklahoma-residents-sue-12-reckless-fracking-companies-for-earthquake-d-1882149721.html" target="_self">more than a dozen</a> Edmond and Oklahoma City residents filed a <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/295158264/Edmond-earthquake-suit" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> against energy companies, claiming their operations contributed to a string of earthquakes. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9e6f4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IDDXZD1576683818"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="994778573809553408" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@OKCFD How will we know when/how our neighborhood (SikverHawk) will be cleaned up? We are covered, photo of my wind… https://t.co/Qq6trTO5IK</div> — Kirsten Schueler (@Kirsten Schueler)<a href="https://twitter.com/kirstenschueler/statuses/994778573809553408">1526008668.0</a></blockquote></div>
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A Louisiana judge recently ruled that the state regulators violated guidelines when it issued Energy Transfer Partners' controversial Bayou Bridge pipeline a coastal use permit.
The permit was issued for the last 18-mile stretch of the fracked oil pipeline that would have run through the riverside town of St. James Parish, where dozens of refineries and industrial facilities are already fueling a public health crisis in the mostly African-American community.
<p>
<span></span>The proposed 162-mile Bayou Bridge pipeline would connect the contentious <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a> to the Gulf of Mexico.
</p><p>
As noted by the <a href="http://bridgethegulfproject.org/blog/2018/louisiana-judge-rules-bayou-bridge-pipelines-coastal-use-permit-illegal" target="_blank">Bridge the Gulf Project</a>, the judge ruled that the permit granted by the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was illegal because it did not take into consideration the impacts the project would have on the town.
</p><p>
In his April 30 decision, made public on Monday, 23rd Judicial District Court Judge Alvin Turner Jr. held, "Once constructed, this pipeline has the potential to impact some of Louisiana's most coveted and ecologically sensitive areas such as the Atchafalaya Basin, as well as other wetlands through Louisiana."
</p><p>
He also wrote, "the permit application does not include an emergency response plan nor does it address potential spills that may occur after construction once the pipeline is operational."
</p><p>
Among other decisions, the court ordered DNR to require the pipeline builders "to develop effective environmental protection and emergency or contingency plans relative to evacuations in the event of a spill or other disaster."
</p><p>
The plaintiffs include St. James residents, H.E.L.P. association, the <a href="http://healthygulf.org/" target="_blank">Gulf Restoration Network</a>, the <a href="http://www.basinkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Atchafalaya Basinkeeper</a> and <a href="http://www.boldlouisiana.org/" target="_blank">Bold Louisiana</a>. They were represented by the <a href="http://www.tulane.edu/~telc/" target="_blank">Tulane Environmental Law Clinic</a>.
</p><p>
"Here in St. James, we are in desperate need for an evacuation plan that will allow us to get out fast when something spills or explodes," said Genevieve Butler, resident of St. James and petitioner in the lawsuit, in a statement received by EcoWatch.
</p><p>
<span></span>"More facilities keep coming, and each one puts us at more risk, but none of them want to do anything about our situation. Well, now Bayou Bridge has to step up. I hope all the others see this ruling as a sign that they have to give our community the protection we deserve."
</p><p>
Pastor Harry Joseph of Mt. Triumph Baptist Church and another petitioner added, "It seems like the state agency didn't think too much about the people who live here when it was giving Bayou Bridge this permit, and neither did Bayou Bridge. So we went to court, to somebody who we felt would listen to us, and he did."
</p><p>
In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LeauEstLaVie/photos/a.313633419067891.1073741828.308016852962881/457690357995529/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook post</a>, pipeline opponents <a href="http://nobbp.org/about/leau-est-la-vie-camp/" target="_blank">L'eau Est La Vie Camp</a> heralded the ruling for "setting the stage for the suspension of a key permit that is needed to construct the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in St. James and other areas in eastern Louisiana."
</p><p>
<span></span>Patrick Courreges, a spokesman for DNR, told the <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2018/05/state_bayou_bridge_pipeline_pe.html" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a> the agency's staff believed it was following the rules correctly under state law.
</p><p>
"The court has ruled otherwise," he noted. It is unclear if the DNR will appeal the decision.
</p><p>
Energy Transfer Partners spokeswoman Vicki Granado told the newspaper, "We do not typically comment on pending or current litigation. We would like to reiterate, however, that we will continue to follow all of the stipulations of our permits, as we have always done."
</p><p>
The energy company has reported <a href="Company%20Behind%20DAPL%20Reported%2069%20Accidents,%20Polluting%20Rivers%20in%204%20States%20in%20Last%20Two%20Years">hundreds of thousands of gallons of spills</a> from pipelines between 2015 and 2016, according to a <a href="http://www.labucketbrigade.org/sites/default/files/ETP%202015%202016%20Accidents%20Full%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the <a href="http://labucketbrigade.org/" target="_blank">Louisiana Bucket Brigade</a> and <a href="http://disastermap.net/" target="_blank">DisasterMap.net</a>. Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco have filed 69 accidents in two years to the National Response Center, the federal contact point for oil spills and industrial accidents.
</p><p>
That's 2.8 accidents every month, the analysis said, adding that "these are just the accidents that are reported."
</p>
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U.S. Bank Raises $2 Billion in Oil and Gas Pipeline Finance Despite Pledging to Stop
12 April 2018
Business
Since revising its environmental policy last year, U.S. Bank financed more than $2 billion to companies building oil and gas pipelines, including an estimated $480 million to Energy Transfer Partners, new analysis released Thursday by Oil Change International concludes.
<p>U.S. Bank CEO Andrew Cecere won praise from indigenous rights and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> advocates in April 2017 when he announced to shareholders that U.S. Bank would "not finance the construction of oil and gas pipelines." Days later, U.S. Bank issued a revised environmental policy significantly narrower in scope than what Cecere described, limited to only project financing which had never been a significant line of business for the bank.</p><p>New research conducted by Oil Change International shows that since Cecere's promise, U.S. Bank financing activity with oil and gas pipeline builders has continued apace. The analysis comes days ahead of the U.S. Bank annual shareholder meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico where pipeline opponents plan to question executives about Cecere's empty promise.</p><p>"U.S. Bank says trust and ethics are its core values, but its actions seem to show the opposite" said Brant Olson, U.S. program director for Oil Change International. "Adopting a meaningless policy to create the impression of care for the environment paints a troubling picture of U.S. Bank's priorities."</p><p>The analysis released Thursday finds that since announcing its commitment in April 2017:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>U.S. Bank has participated in dozens of deals with pipeline companies, worth more than $40 billion, with U.S. Bank's estimated financial commitment totaling more than $2 billion.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>U.S. Bank has served as a bookrunner or manager, meaning it was a lead financial institution, on numerous pipeline deals totaling more than $17 billion, of which U.S. Bank raised more than $930 million.</li></ul><p>Of particular interest is financing for pipelines being built by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/energy-transfer-partners">Energy Transfer Partners</a> (ETP), a company notorious for its controversial role in building the controversial <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a>. In addition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners is seeking to build numerous oil and gas pipelines throughout the U.S. which have been met with massive resistance as well as numerous construction mishaps, violations and mandated work stoppages.</p><p>Oil Change International's analysis finds that U.S. Bank continues to finance ETP projects as follows:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>U.S. Bank raised an estimated $480 million for ETP in transactions worth $7.25 billion since April 2017.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>U.S. Bank underwrote two bond issues together worth $2.25 billion for Sunoco (a subsidiary of ETP), with U.S. Bank directly responsible for more than $280 million.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>U.S. Bank was a lender on two revolving credit facilities for ETP, responsible for an estimated $200 million of $5 billion in total credit.</li></ul><p>The analysis, "<a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/04/12/empty-promise/" target="_blank">Empty Promise: U.S. Bank Continues Pipeline Finance</a>" was published by Oil Change International in partnership with Indigenous Environmental Network, Earthworks, Greenpeace, MN 350, and Rainforest Action Network.</p>
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</p><div id="07bbc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1EFV2S1576663443"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="872140917792276480" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">16 Top Groups #Divest from 'Pipeline Banks' https://t.co/oXNBOXWAPk @SierraClub @350 @divestinvestorg @CREDOMobile @HonorTheEarth @IENearth</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/872140917792276480">1496769573.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/04/12/release-us-bank-raises-2-billion-in-oil-and-gas-pipeline-finance-since-pledge-to-stop-pipeline-financing/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.<br></em></p>
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Atchafalaya Basin. Chrismiceli / Wikimedia Commons
Federal District Court Judge Shelly Dick on Friday halted the construction of the controversial Bayou Bridge pipeline across the Atchafalaya Basin. The decision grants a preliminary injunction to prevent ongoing irreparable harm to this ecological treasure while a lawsuit, filed Jan. 11, is being heard.
<p>Judge Dick found that <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/bayou-bridge-fight-heads-to-federal-court" target="_blank">the lawsuit</a> filed by several groups—<a href="http://basinkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Atchafalaya Basinkeeper</a>, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/889513357863302/events/" target="_blank">Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association (West)</a>, <a href="http://www.healthygulf.org/" target="_blank">Gulf Restoration Network</a>, <a href="https://waterkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Waterkeeper Alliance</a> and <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, represented by lawyers with Earthjustice—raises serious concerns and that the 162-mile pipeline would irreparably harm the Atchafalaya Basin.</p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzMzMzQzMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTc0NzQ5NH0.fTJnm-1cXEtdNX_9CI_Q7BW2R5V4wen2zW9NWYS0ldQ/img.png?width=980" id="0397f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d108a8964e6b0d90ceb21d791a74081a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">The Atchafalaya Basin is located in southern Louisiana. The proposed Bayou Bridge pipeline would connect the Dakota Access Pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico.</small></p>
<p>The groups recently presented live testimony during a hearing showing that the ancient cypress and tupelo trees slated to be turned into mulch while the pipeline right-of-way is being cleared would never return, including evidence that these old-growth trees are the Noah's Ark of the swamp—providing habitat for migratory birds, bears, bats and numerous other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>.<br></p><p>In addition, the groups showed that pipeline construction would further degrade nearby fishing grounds that local commercial crawfishers rely on for their livelihood. </p><p>"The court's ruling recognizes the serious threat this pipeline poses to the Atchafalaya Basin, one of our country's ecological and cultural crown jewels," said Jan Hasselman, attorney from Earthjustice representing plaintiffs in this matter. "For now, at least, the Atchafalaya is safe from this company's incompetence and greed."</p><p>Jody Meche, a third-generation commercial crawfisher and president of the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West, testified about how the Bayou Bridge pipeline would make existing problems worse—problems created by the irresponsible behavior of oil and gas companies during construction to previous <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipelines</a> in the basin.</p><p>These problems include hypoxic water conditions that kill crawfish, eliminating harvests in areas of the Basin, the safety of local communities and the survival of Cajun culture.<br></p><p>"We fight the fight for years, telling our story, raising public awareness about the issues we have in the Atchafalaya Basin," Meche said. "It felt great to finally be able to tell my story in a courtroom."</p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzMzMzQ1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTc5MjkyNX0.8LyJNuG4Yuktl5h5wwT_kpn8JlKEkeV1DBQQf3iFDlg/img.jpg?width=980" id="23e7d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="20626fb7e31ecb3dc8da3bb64d93cc22" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Crawfisherman Jody Meche drives through Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin on his way to check his traps. <a href="https://earthjustice.org/blog/2018-january/flirting-with-disaster-bayou-bridge-pipeline" target="_blank">Read a Q&A with Meche.</a></small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Emily Kasik</small></p>
<p>"After years of witnessing the systematic destruction of the Basin with impunity by these companies, while our government turns a blind eye, it felt good to finally tell our story to a person with the power to make a difference," said Dean Wilson, executive director of Atchafalaya Basinkeeper.</p><p>The groups also raised concerns about the fact that construction of the pipeline would decrease natural flood protection in the basin, which acts as the major floodway project that protects millions of people in coastal Louisiana and the Mississippi River valley from Mississippi flood waters.</p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzMzMzQ5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODI2ODAwNn0.qPhyJ3abl88cgJH-F53OIO4oIvcjYw5i3U88E0QfOyk/img.jpg?width=980" id="aae9d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ed704c17aac847a5e066f5a2e2ac5f8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">A community meeting in Napoleonville, Louisiana, on the Bayou Bridge pipeline on Feb. 8, 2017, where residents voiced opposition to the project.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Emily Kasik</small></p>
<p>The Bayou Bridge pipeline project proposes to connect the controversial <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a>, which transports volatile and explosive Bakken crude oil from North Dakota to refineries in St. James Parish and export terminals, forming the southern leg of the Bakken Pipeline. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/energy-transfer-partners">Energy Transfer Partners</a> (ETP), which owns the Dakota Access Pipeline and is a joint owner in the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline, has one of the worst safety and compliance records in the industry.<br></p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzMzMzQ1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzY1MjExNX0.coEwdnfgD5nkOJ-e7TA_EzAapG7OruDr6zwU2W0BlJY/img.jpg?width=980" id="bb1ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e130366e1f9bc22c05f600c87b77f8f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Oil and gas infrastructure in the basin, where hundreds of pipelines have been built.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Emily Kasik</small></p>
<p>Federal data shows that Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco Inc. have been responsible for hundreds of significant pipeline incidents across the country in the last decade.<br></p><p>Last week, Sunoco was fined a record $12.6 million by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for violations incurred during the construction of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline.</p><p>The court ordered BBP to halt construction, citing the need to prevent further irreparable harm until the matter can be tried on the merits. The judge said the court would provide a more detailed opinion at a later date.</p><p>"The Bayou Bridge pipeline would pose an unacceptable risk to the wetlands, water, and communities along its route, and should never be built. It is a relief that the court has granted this injunction so we can make our case against this dirty, dangerous pipeline, and we will continue to fight until it is stopped for good," said Julie Rosenzweig, Sierra Club Delta Chapter director.</p>
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