Energy In Depth's Shawn responds to the Columbus Dispatch article making unfounded claims about Ohio pipeline development:

"As many of us in eastern Ohio have seen, there has been a tremendous amount of pipeline work happening in this portion of the state.  The pipelines are necessary due to the liquids-rich gas that the Utica Shale/Point Pleasant provides– liquids that include valuable products like butane, propane, ethane and pentane. These components are what make the Utica Shale so exciting, since they sell at a rate much higher than dry natural gas.  

In order to release these liquids from their gaseous state, the liquids must be processed at natural gas processing plants like the M3 project in Kensington and Scio, or the MarkWest plants in Cadiz and Noble County.  In order to deliver the “NGLs” to these facilities, companies in eastern Ohio have been putting in long hours to make sure the matrix of pipelines is able to handle the influx of liquids rich gas.  

In a recent Columbus Dispatch article, the reporter raised a few questions as to the safety and potential spills involved in these projects.  Of course, safety and the environment are two of the most important priorities within the oil and gas industry, and operators here in Ohio have gone to such great lengths to minimize impacts (remember, in the dozens of Utica wells in Ohio, there has not been a single environmental violation to date).

Moreover, the incidents to which the reporter referred were not what one would typically think of as “spills.” But before we get to that, it’s useful to provide a little background on pipeline construction.

In order to bore a pipeline under roads and waterways (which is actually the most environmentally friendly way to site a pipeline), a company must essentially use a directional drill rig.  As with all drill rigs, the operator must use drilling mud and drilling fluid to keep the bore moving along.  The drilling mud consists of 95 percent water and 5 percent bentonite clay.  The drilling mud helps wash away cuttings from the bore and eases the movement of the cutting head through the borehole.  Bentonite clay specifically forms a casing on the borehole walls, which prevents the drilling fluid from seeping out.  This is typically called a “filter cake,” making it the preferred drilling mud of operators.

In a few instances, however, this mud and water have made their way into a culvert or stream.  Unfortunately, when this happens, it can settle on top of aquatic life.  These spills are tightly regulated by the U.S. EPA — under the Clean Water Act, as per their Section 404 permits — and are remediated on the off chance that they do occur.  If a company fails to comply, it is also subject to stiff fines.  Thankfully, these spills are rare, do not consist of anything toxic, and do not threaten our drinking water supplies.

It should also be noted that this type of directional drilling is not unique to natural gas pipelines.  Utilities like water, sewer, electric, cable and telephone lines all use this type of practice to route themselves under roads, waterways and railroads. 

Pipelines in general — as with virtually any project — have a temporary construction phase.  Easements are excavated and the pipelines are laid.  Sections of pipeline may only take days to lay depending on the length of pipeline.  Once the pipeline is laid underground, the land is reclaimed and seeded — returning the ground to its natural state.  So when one argues that the pipelines are altering the countryside, these claims are by definition only looking at a snapshot in time — and they certainly aren’t including the fact that the reclamation and restoration is part of the process."

READ THE REST: http://www.eidohio.org/critics-concerns-over-pipelines-are-largely-...