In Alton, Nova Scotia, AltaGas has been building salt caverns for the storage of compressed natural gas. It received all environmental approvals and construction started in 2008. Besides the three caverns it includes two pipelines twelve kilometers long that transport the brine used to flush out the caverns to storage ponds beside the Shubenacadie River estuary which later gets distributed into the river. It’s estimated to save natural gas users in Nova Scotia around 17 million per year. However there is cost to the environment that comes with these great savings.
Through a canal system it’s setup so that the brine is released with the tidal flow from the Cobequid Bay. Although the brine is a salt solution, the Nova Scotia Striped Bass Association feels these releases could have a negative impact on the fish during spawning season. Numerous groups are questioning if this will be a safe operation including other fishermen, the Mi’kmaq people, and other non-native citizens. Before anyone could attest to the safety of the project, the number of caverns had increased so that currently they have approval for a total of eighteen.
It isn’t just the Shubenacadie River that will be affected. It also includes the Stewiacke River, the Cobequid Bay, Minas Basin and Bay of Fundy. A Facebook group created the summer of 2014, ‘Concerns About The Alton Natural Gas Storage Project’ have setup a petition to send Environment Minister Randy Delorey the message that people are opposed to it. So far it has garnered over 800 signatures.
Alton Natural Gas isn’t blind to the opposition so they have used their money and people to try to embed themselves into the community as being a good neighbour. They have made contributions to local groups such as:
- Brookfield Fire Department
- Brookfield Junior B Elks Hockey Club and Truro Atom AA Bearcats
- NSLC Adopt-a-Stream
- Stewiacke Fire Department
- South Colchester Minor Hockey Association
You can see this in a brochure they sent out last March. They say, “At Alton Natural Gas Storage we strive to be responsible corporate citizens by giving back to the local community. We measure our success by the social value we create and the legacy we leave. We see great value in continuing to strengthen our existing relationships and in building new ones.”
The Department of Fisheries did an environmental assessment of the Alton area in 2007. It is 102 pages and available as a pdf that you can download here. Anyone who has an interest in this can have a look at it. You will see, there is a lot more at risk than a few fish. Although the Atlantic salmon and striped bass are two of the biggest concerns. The salmon have been in a huge decline the last few years so now they are protected by the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and since the river is one of the main spawning grounds for striped bass, protecting them has great priority too.
Then there was another environmental assessment done for the Alton Natural Gas Pipeline Project that was prepared for Alton Gas by Stantec Consulting Ltd. Some people felt that having the company hire their own report writers, wouldn’t result in a fair assessment. In the Spring of 2015, the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq announced that Conestoga-Rovers & Associates will carry out a third party review of the Alton Natural Gas project. There will be no operation permits granted until they are done with the review. The Minister has authorized an extension for the commencement of work effective May 21, 2015, and expiring May 21, 2017. You can also learn more about this one the government website here.
Even without the review it’s apparent that there are environmental concerns. Instead of releasing the salt mixture into the river where it could have an impact on the fish and surrounding environment, it could be processed and sold. Doug Neil, a member of the “Stop Alton Gas” facebook group stated:
Of the three salt caverns planned in phase one of the Alton gas storage facility there will be 1.5 million tons of salt brought to the surface… the salt can be processed into Sodium Chloride, and other co-products like soda ash or caustic soda, road salt brine and other salts for industrial use … it would cost about $100million to process the brine but the wholesale value of selling the produced products has potential to be $150 million… this salt could create some opportunity for boxing the salt and selling it … but the province and AltonGas want to throw it all away to build a $130 million phase of the caverns… ironically wasteful and negligent risk to the river estuary and the Bay ecosystem — the spawning grounds of endangered fish species like Salmon, Stripped bass, and Sturgeon.
He also said there was a proposal submitted to AltaGas by a company who wants to process the salt — at no cost to AltaGas. Even though it would mean a substantial profit for the gas company, it’s unclear if they have any intention of pursuing this proposal.
A New York website, gasfreeseneca.com was started by a group of concerned citizens and business owners who have joined together to stop a proposed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industrial storage facility and a methane expansion facility, with plans to store methane, propane, and butane in unlined, depleted salt caverns. A report featured on their website written by Dr. Rob Mackenzie, MD, FACHE titled Independent High-Level Quantitative Risk Analysis of Schuyler County Liquid Petroleum Gas Storage Proposal outlines additional problems with stored gas, and forty of these in the report are salt caverns. It says:
Despite this supervision, between 1972 and 2012 there have been at least 20 serious or extremely serious incidents in salt cavern storage facilities located in the United States. With the average number of salt cavern storage facilities in operation through most of the last two decades close to the US incidence between 1972 and 2012 is more than 65 percent (compared to 40 percent worldwide), and the frequency more than 1.6% per year. Causes of failure have included corroded casings, equipment failure, brine erosion leading to breach, leakage into other geologic formations, and human error. Worldwide, the percentage of incidents involving casualties at salt cavern facilities as a percentage of the number of facilities operational in 2005 was 13.6 percent, compared to 0.63% for gas and oil fields, and 2.5% for aquifers.
Ten of the salt cavern incidents were accompanied by large fires and/or explosions. Six involved loss of life or serious injury. In eight cases evacuation of between 30 and 2000 residents was required. Extremely serious or catastrophic property loss occurred in thirteen of the 18 cases. In one incident involving the current permit applicant’s other New York State salt cavern facility in 2008, a drilling rig hired to perform work on an existing inactive salt cavern storage well caused release of gas which ignited at the surface, resulting in injuries to four persons.
The likelihood of a serious or extremely serious event over twenty-five years is more than 40 percent. Per ISO methodology this is at least a medium likelihood, with the potential for at least serious consequences, and, as discussed below, likely extremely serious consequences. It thus constitutes an unacceptable risk.
On Thursday, June 18th, 2015 at Indian Lake in Ontario, they experienced a rare occurrence when methane leaked to the surface and started bubbling up through the surface at the golf course. The article says “The cause of the leak is under investigation and is assumed to be naturally occurring gas venting to the surface. If that’s the case, it would be a rare incident since natural gas is usually found in pockets deep into the ground. Watch the 30 second video people to see it. (Note: if you’re reading this post in your email, you won’t be able to see the video. You will need to click through to the article on the website)
It is possible for a salt cavern to leak like this and the gas is forced up through a fissure . From the description of another video it says, “On January 17, 2001, 143 million cubic feet (4,000,000 m3) of compressed natural gas leaked from the nearby Yaggy storage field. It sank underground, then rose to the surface through old brine, or salt wells making around 15 gas blowholes. An explosion in the downtown area at 10:45 a.m. destroyed 2 businesses and damaged 26 others. An explosion the next day in a mobile-home park took the lives of two people. The Kansas National Guard was called in to help evacuate parts of the city because of the gas leaks, and a team of specialists looked over all the city for leaks after the event. These events were broadcast on nationally televised news stations across the country.” You can watch the video below: (Note: if you’re reading this post in your email, you won’t be able to see the video. You will need to click through to the article on the website)
These environmental concerns need to be addressed. The Honourable Michel Samson is the Minister of Energy in Nova Scotia, and it’s felt that he needs to meet with concerned citizens in Alton. There are other issues to address besides faulty equipment and dead fish. Many of the trucks servicing the gas company are creating a lot of extra traffic, noise and dust which is deteriorating road conditions and devaluing the property of home owners. As cited in The Chronicle Herald, Dec 1st, 2014:
Anja Willems, a Realtor who lives on Brentwood Road, talked about the persistent noise and the value of properties.
“I feel that I live in an industrial zone,” said Willems, who estimates her house is about a kilometre from the drilling rig. “It’s gotten to where I resent going home.”
As a Realtor, Willems said it is difficult to guess how much property values will fall because of the nearby storage facility and the potential for explosions and fires. Willems said Realtors have a responsibility to tell potential buyers about what’s next door.
Colin and Valerie Hawks who live nearby were quoted in another article saying, “We’ve had three real estate agents tell us now that our properties aren’t worth diddly-squat.” The same article says, “The Hawks and some like-minded neighbours are exploring the possibility of having the provincial hydrocarbon storage legislation amended to allow for a two-kilometre setback of gas storage facilities from residences. A two-kilometre setback would mean that the three wells already drilled could not be used as cavern sites. Current law dictates that cavern facilities only be 200 metres away, and that’s simply not good enough.
Throwing your money around to a few local groups doesn’t make AltaGas a good neighbour. The lack of support from governing bodies doesn’t make you a good government either. The day you go fishing for a bass and realize there isn’t any to catch, might make you think you’re a little late in offering support. If you want to help, join Stop Alton Gas on Facebook. It will be a good start.