The quest to expand addiction to fracked gas on Aquidneck Island is back on
Enbridge, a Canadian fracked gas pipeline corporation, announced a plan to expand nearly two miles of pipeline in Little Compton, Portsmouth, and under the Sakonnet River...
On January 30, Enbridge, a Canadian fracked gas pipeline corporation, announced a plan to expand nearly two miles of pipeline in Little Compton, Portsmouth, and under the Sakonnet River. According to filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Enbridge is seeking this two-mile expansion under its existing federal authorization, curtailing the need to seek a new comprehensive permit from FERC. The project comes at a nearly $40 million price tag and would involve seven months of construction, with work happening twelve hours a day, six days a week.
The plan to more than double the size of the pipeline carrying fracked gas to Portsmouth goes back to at least January 2019 when then-Governor Gina Raimondo declared a state of emergency on Aquidneck Island in response to “calls from customers on Aquidneck Island receiving low-pressure on their gas system and some concerns with the gas.” For reasons not clearly understood at the time, gas customers in Portsmouth were not receiving adequate amounts of gas. People went without heat for weeks.
In October 2019 the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (DPUC) issued a report, written by Ronald Gerwatowski, outlining the nature of the failures that led to the problems in Portsmouth and outlining a series of fixes that Enbrdige and National Grid needed to implement to avoid a repeat of the issue. Included in that report was a recommendation that National Grid and Enbridge install an additional 12-inch fracked gas pipeline to supplement the existing 6-inch pipeline.
The only problem? Nowhere in the report is there any indication that the existing gas pipeline's size or capacity had anything to do with the problems experienced in January on the island. National Grid stated in the report that they had no capacity issues.
Rhode Island State Senator Dawn Euer (Democrat, District 13, Newport, Jamestown) recognized what was happening. Enbridge and National Grid were using the near disaster on Aquidneck Island to push for a new, unneeded pipeline, paid for by ratepayers. In this way, they could expand the fossil fuel imprint on the island, and keep customers addicted to fossil fuels for decades to come.
In her press release responding to the DPUC report, Senator Euer wrote, “…it’s important that this outage is not used to push for additional interstate pipelines. We need to also reflect on the bigger policy questions: Should we be doubling down on gas infrastructure? Or should we use this opportunity to push forward on renewable technologies that are more cost-effective and don’t contribute to climate change?”
In October of the following year, the entire General Assembly delegation from Aquidneck Island issued a press release opposing fossil fuel expansion.
Under questioning from this reporter, Governor Raimondo claimed that she had no idea why the report suggested installing a new fracked gas pipeline. Governor Raimondo later promoted Ronald Gerwatowski to head Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) [as well as the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB)], a position he still holds. Gerwatowski never responded to requests from this reporter to discuss the pipeline.
The issue resurfaced in 2020 when State Senator Louis DiPalma (Democrat, District 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton) began his long-delayed Commission to study and evaluate Rhode Island’s electrical and fracked gas transmission and distribution infrastructure. No one representing a forward-thinking, fossil fuel-free future was on the commission, but advocates from fossil fuel companies and nuclear energy were included. The issue of a new pipeline was to be part of the commission’s discourse, but the commission fizzled (perhaps due to the scrutiny brought to it by the independent press) and never issued a report.
“Enbridge wants to use a dangerous horizontal drilling technique to bore a mile-long hole across the Sakonnet River to double the size of the pipeline,” said Nick Katkevich, Northeast Field Organizer for the Sierra Club in a press release. “Throughout the process, they would dump wastewater into the river. This project is not only unnecessary, but it is also hazardous.”
Enbridge’s latest plan to expand the pipeline is part of a larger scheme to divide a massive fracked gas expansion plan into a series of smaller projects throughout New England. In Rhode Island, Enbridge is also working to expand the compressor station in Burrillville. The compressor station burns fracked gas to create pressure along the “Algonquin” pipeline that stretches from New Jersey to Massachusetts. For years, residents who live near the compressor station have complained about the noise, smells, and pollution coming from the facility. In a filing announced by the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Enbridge is seeking to renew the operating permit for the facility. This permit renewal application comes on the heels of Enbridge announcing “Project Maple” in September, a major proposal to expand their pipeline system throughout the Northeast.
Community organizers and activists argue that the slew of activity surrounding Enbridge’s pipeline system should be reviewed cumulatively, not as a series of smaller, unrelated projects.
“Enbridge is attempting to segment their broader ‘Project Maple’ expansion into smaller projects to skirt regulatory hurdles and quell public opposition,” said Kathy Martley of Burrillville BASE, a group of Burrillville residents who have been actively resisting fossil fuel infrastructure in the town since 2014. “The impacts of Enbridge’s plans must be reviewed collectively. From the Burrillville to the Sakonnet River - it’s all connected.”
On February 13 Burrillville BASE asked DEM for a 45-day extension to the public comment period for the compressor station permit renewal, and for the agency to hold an in-person public hearing in Burrillville. Meanwhile, FERC has set a deadline of April 8th for interested parties to file protests against the plan to expand the pipeline under the Sakonnet River.
Details of the “Project Maple” proposal remain murky, but organizers speculate it will involve expanding compressor stations, installing new pipelines, and adding fracked gas storage facilities across the Northeast.
“With the tide slowly turning against the fossil fuel industry in the Northeast, Enbridge is trying desperately to expand its footprint in the region,” said Nick Katkevich. “But we will stop Project Maple, defend the Sakonnet River, and ultimately, shut down the toxic compressor station in Burrillville.”
Senator Euer's committee rubbet stamped Gerwatowki's appointment to the PUC. It surprised me, given the number of liberals, some with endorsements from environmental organizations , on that committee.
At the time Uprise RI provided ample information about Raimondo's nominations that clearly indicated that exactly this type of thing would happen, but Democrats will Democrat, I guess, and rubber stamp what is asked of them by higher ups in the party.
Just like all the legislators agree, either with or without a vote, to hold things for further study although this is how legislation favored by the majority of the people in the state never gets passed and the state remains an oligarchy rather than a democracy.
I'm glad that Senator Euer is pushing back, but this was avoidable.
It would seem to me there are plenty of community members well-skilled and prepared to knock down this anti-planet fossil fuel cartel bullshit.