Articles, Books, Studies and Reports related to Natural Gas Pipelines

CLF_Briefing_NESCO_Documents_Release_June2014.pdf (420 KB) the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) briefing on NESCO and the "tariff" that could be charged to electricity consumers to pay for the NED pipeline.

The New Hampshire Climate Action Plan: A Plan for New Hampshire's Energy, Environmental and Economic Development Future March 2009, 6.7 MB, 82 pages
Commissioned by The Honorable John Lynch Governor
Prepared by the New Hampshire Climate Change Policy Task Force
Thomas S. Burack, Chair, Commissioner, N.H. Department of Environmental Services
from the Executive Summary:
The Energy and Climate Challenge Over the course of a year, through a process that engaged over 125 stakeholders and received input from over 200 citizens, the 29 members of Governor John Lynch's Climate Change Policy Task Force developed this Climate Action Plan which is aimed at achieving the greatest feasible reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while also providing the greatest possible long-term economic benefits to the citizens of New Hampshire. The most significant reductions in both emissions and costs will come from substantially increasing energy efficiency in all sectors of our economy, continuing to increase sources of renewable energy, and designing our communities to reduce our reliance on automobiles for transportation. In essence, a response to climate change and our economic future are inextricably tied to how we produce our energy and how much energy we use. Future economic growth in New Hampshire as well as mitigation of, and adaptation to, a changing climate will depend on how quickly we transition to a new way of living that is based on a far more diversified energy mix, more efficient use of energy, and development of our communities in ways that strengthen neighborhoods and urban centers, preserve rural areas, and retain New Hampshire's quality of life.

2014 New Hampshire State Energy Strategy (868 KB, 82 pages) by the New Hampshire Office of Energy & Planning, September 2014. "...This Strategy aims to be a resource for decision-makers facing choices about the future of New Hampshire's energy policies and programs..."

A Natural Resources Assessment of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's Proposed Northeast Energy Direct Project's Pipeline Route Within Massachusetts, 2015. from Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The authors created this assessment by utilizing a compilation of twenty available inventories of natural resources and environmental resources in Massachusetts, from state and UMass Amherst sources. These inventories were mapped against the mainline route of the proposed pipeline and then the proportion of affected resources was compared to the availability of the particular resource countywide and statewide. This method resulted in identification of key resources most likely to be impacted by the pipeline. Volume One covers the mainline of the pipeline. Volume Two (forthcoming) will cover the spurs.
pipeline_natural_resources_assessment_mainline_april_2015.pdf (10.4 MB)

New York State Department of Health : Public Health Review of High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing for Shale Gas Development   December 17, 2014 (PDF 1.5 MB, 184 pages). This is the report by New York State's Department of Health which persuaded NY to ban fracking within the state.

Burden of Proof, The Case Against the Proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) Fracked Gas Pipeline, by Michael Feldstein and Kathy Kessler with support from Berkshire Environmental Action Team and No Fracked Gas in Mass. BurdenOfProof.pdf (1.6 MB, 27 pages)

"A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas" by Robert W. Howarth, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University Howarth_2014_ESE_methane_emissions.pdf (14 pages 441 KB)
Abstract: "In April 2011, we published the first peer-reviewed analysis of the greenhouse gas footprint (GHG) of shale gas, concluding that the climate impact of shale gas may be worse than that of other fossil fuels such as coal and oil because of methane emissions..."

Post Carbon Institute Drilling Deeper by David Hughes
Abstract:
Drilling Deeper reviews the twelve shale plays that account for 82% of the tight oil production and 88% of the shale gas production in the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reference case forecasts through 2040. It utilizes all available production data for the plays analyzed, and assesses historical production, well- and field-decline rates, available drilling locations, and well-quality trends for each play, as well as counties within plays. Projections of future production rates are then made based on forecast drilling rates (and, by implication, capital expenditures). Tight oil (shale oil) and shale gas production is found to be unsustainable in the medium- and longer-term at the rates forecast by the EIA, which are extremely optimistic.
Shale gas production from the top seven plays will also likely peak before 2020. Barring major new discoveries on the scale of the Marcellus, production will be far below the EIA's forecast by 2040. Shale gas production from the top seven plays will underperform the EIA's reference case forecast by 39% from 2014 to 2040, and more of this production will be front-loaded than the EIA estimates. ...

The entire book can be downloaded, 315 pages, 25 MB.

The above mentioned "Drilling Deeper" book is wonderfully detailled and informative, but at 315 pages you may find it too much like "trying to drink from a hydrant". An alternative is a 47 minute interview of David Hughes by Chris Martenson of PeakProsperity, in which Hughes summarizes his book's key points as they relate to shale oil and shale gas. You can listen to the interview here. A transcript is also included.

The slides from Bob Dillberger's presentation at the January 6, 2015, Mason Selectmen's hearing on the pipeline can be downloaded here PipelineSlidesFromSelectmenPublicHearing_01062015.pdf, 2 MB

Milford NH & Federal Hill Pipeline Concerns Presented by Residents of Milford, NH, January 19, 2015 Milford NH & Federal Hill Pipeline Concerns.pdf (3.5 MB, from Milford.nh.gov)
if that link breaks I have saved a local copy of that excellent publication: Milford_NH_Federal_Hill_Pipeline_Concerns.pdf (3.5 MB)

NED_bullet.pdf (228 KB) a " NED PIPELINE Q&A" composed by a community pipeline info team in Fitzwilliam, NH, February 27, 2015.

National Academy of Sciences publications about natural gas

SI_Report_Kinder-Morgan_2014-12-04.pdf (2 MB) A December 2014 report from the Sightline Institute titled "The Facts about Kinder Morgan" discussing issues with Kinder Morgan business practices.

Conservation Law Foundation blog, Jan 14, 2015 by Christophe Courchesne, "As Cold Sets In, the New England Winter Energy "Crisis" Fizzles" blog
"Despite months of talk about energy shortages and ever-higher prices, wholesale prices for electricity and natural gas are running well below last year, and power plants are getting the fuel they need to run, even in very cold weather."

"Green Economic Recovery Program, Impact on New York" (PDF 322 KB) "Part of a National Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy" from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. A study of the positive effects of NOT building a pipeline and increasing our dependence on natural gas. Cited by John Serio in FERC comment 20150323-0057.

Natural_Gas_Leaks_Forbes.pdf (276 KB) Forbes, April 21, 2015: "Natural Gas Leaks: A $30 Billion Opportunity and Global Warming Menace"

RHG_Untapped_Potential_April_2015.pdf (456 KB) Rhodium Group, April 2015: "Untapped Potential Reducing Global Methane Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Systems"


Source for Evacuation Zone widths: Pipeline Emergency Response Guidelines © 2007 by Pipeline Association for Public Awareness, Rev. 0 Pipeline_ER_Guidelines.pdf (440 KB)


Formula for calculating fire hazard zone in a pipeline failure:
Source: A Model for Sizing High Consequence Areas Associated with Natural Gas Pipelines c-ferstudy.pdf (15 page PDF, 236 KB)
Prepared for:
GAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Contract No. 8174, October 2000
Objective:
To develop a simple and defendable approach to sizing the ground area potentially affected by the failure of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline.
Technical Perspective:
The rupture of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline can lead to outcomes that can pose a significant threat to people and property in the immediate vicinity of the failure location. The dominant hazard is thermal radiation from a sustained fire and an estimate of the ground area affected by a credible worst-case event can be obtained from a model that characterizes the heat intensity associated with rupture failure of the pipe where the escaping gas is assumed to feed a fire that ignites very soon after line failure.
from section 2.1:
Note that in the context of this study, an HCA is defined as the area within which the extent of property damage and the chance of serious or fatal injury would be expected to be significant in the event of a rupture failure.
Results:
For methane with an HCA threshold heat intensity of 5,000 Btu/hr ft2, the hazard area equation is given by:
   R = 0.685 x squareroot(P x D^2)
    
where R is the hazard area radius (ft), D is the line diameter (in), and P is the maximum operating pressure (psi).
so, in Mason the width of the HCA zone on each side of the pipeline would be:
  for 36" pipeline at 1500 PSI, R = 0.685 x squareroot(1500 x 36^2) = 995 feet = 1,990' total width of HCA zone
  for 12" pipeline at 1500 PSI, R = 0.685 x squareroot(1500 x 12^2) = 318 feet =    636' total width of HCA zone