Over the weekend I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a video of deer hunters in Upstate New York who came across a leaking pipeline in the middle of the woods. The video shows a water puddle (they’ve had snow already so it was muddy and soggy) literally bubbling as the gas leaked from the pipeline that is buried under ground. These hunters continue to record as they find the pipeline marker with company identification on it and as they find 3 more bubbling leaks up and down the pipeline. They comment that they did call in the leak to the gas company and while they waited and recorded for 15 minutes, no one had shown up. This gas leaking into the atmosphere contains methane, a major contributor to climate change. This gas leaking in the water costs billions of dollars in revenue loss, which gas companies often pass along to rate payers. This gas leaking into the air irritates asthma and respiratory problems. Rates of leaks are hard to quantify but some reports say it could be around 100 billion cubic feet a year.
After seeing the video, I did some research online and found a news article with a link to the video. The local newspaper, The Olean Times Herald, interviewed the gas company and they admitted that they would not fix the leaking pipeline until January for several reasons; it was in a rural area, it was a “Type 3 leak” and it hadn’t gotten worse over the past year that they’ve been aware of and monitoring the leak. The article ends with the gas company’s spokesperson actually complaining that because of the amount of calls and complaints they’ve received since the video was posted, they decided to just fix it so people will just leave them alone.
There are countless YouTube videos of people just coming across leaking pipelines. There was one video of a man walking through the woods in beautiful, wild West Virginia and hears the hissing and humming of a leaking pipeline, just releasing gas into the air, he puts his hand over it and comments on the pressure and smell. Another video shows teenagers finding a bubbling mud hole, they also comment on the smell and are shocked they found something like this. How can any of this be safe? How is it safe to let this gas leak into the air, land and water? How is it safe to have explosive gas leaking when people could happen to light a campfire or cigarette and ignite the whole pipeline, therefore igniting an entire forest or neighborhood? How is it safe to have leaking explosive pipelines that could potentially be used as a terrorist target? How are companies allowed to not immediately fix leaks but instead can move forward with new projects until the leak gets worse? How are we supposed to trust Dominion?
We must continue to fight against the Atlantic Coast pipeline. We have a duty to protect our land and water for generations to come. We have a duty to stand up for land owner rights.
Please like our page and get involved if you can, there is power in numbers. We have the power if we choose to use it by standing up and using our voices and votes. Together, we will stop this pipeline.
Letter from Jennifer Lewis/Friends of Augusta
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