Hello Friends and Neighbors,

We need your help! Please become an intervenor on our docket (CP11-515) with FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). We need to show FERC that we are a community serious and outraged over the compressor station project. Becoming an intervenor will show FERC that the community is willing to go to the next step of the legal process. If you are not an intervenor you will have no say or challenge after the EA comment period is over. Regardless if you want to get involved or not, your intervention will help the rest of the community send a message. The directions below will guide you through the process. It literally will only take 5 minutes of your time. Thank you so much for your continued support and efforts!

Please follow the directions below to become an intervenor:

First you will need to eRegister. If you’ve done this already, you are halfway there…skip to the next paragraph. To do this, go to www.ferc.gov and click on documents and filings tab. From there, click on eRegister. A new window will pop up for you to create your profile. When you are finished doing this, click the NEXT button. Enter your info on the next screen. Enter contact info for the next page as well. You will need to wait for an email confirmation to proceed and actually make your registration active.

To become an intervenor, login to your FERC online account. Under the heading FERC Online Applications, click on the eFiling link. Under the question: How is your filing to be directed? Click on the word “General”. Under the question: What kind of filing are you making? Click on the word “Intervention”. Under the question: Filing Type (Fee) Click on the (doc-less) Motion to intervene.

On the next page, enter our docket number (CP 11-515) and click SEARCH. The docket number will appear below this. Click the blue plus sign to select this docket, and then click NEXT.

On the following page, write why you are intervening. This doesn’t need to be fancy or poetic, just basic. Click NEXT, then choose “as an individual” on the next page and click NEXT. Enter your email address on the next page and click on “add as Signer”, and then click NEXT. Click NEXT on the following page. On the last page, click SUBMIT. You will receive an email confirming the submission and then an email confirming its acceptance later. If you file after 5 PM, the second email may not come until the following day.

Congratulations! You are a FERC intervenor!

Millennium Pipeline is notorious for pitting community against community. Don’t let this happen to Greenville and Minisink! Now, more than ever, we need to join together to support the Alternative Plan.

Millennium’s plans for our area include two compression stations. Phase 1 is the proposed 12,260-horsepower natural gas compression station in Minisink in 2012. Phase 2 is another compression station nearby, most likely in Greenville, in 2013. Phase 3 is the replacement of the 7.2 miles of pipe known as the Neversink Segment and the addition of more compression in 2014. Iroquois Gas has also targeted Minisink and Greenville for more compression stations. Together, these natural gas companies intend to turn our entire area into an industrial compressor station hub similar to the town of Dish in Texas.

The Alternative Plan protects both Minisink and Greenville. If Millennium replaces the Neversink Segment with larger diameter pipe now, and re-builds the compression station that was previously at Wagoner, there will be no need to build compression stations in Minisink or in Greenville. Using only 5,100-hp at Wagoner, and increasing the pipe size from 24 inch to 30 inch, gives Millennium the same capacity as the larger Minisink station. This would also eliminate the Greenville compression station because Millennium could add compression at Wagoner.

Millennium wants FERC to see each phase of their huge expansion plan as a separate project. They stand to make more money if these projects are allowed to be segmented in this manner. They will also make a ton of money by providing natural gas to the new power plant in Wawayanda. If Millennium prevails, there will be nobody monitoring the cumulative impact that all these compression stations will have on air and noise pollution. The health of residents in both Minisink and Greenville will be in jeopardy!

Unfortunately, both towns will have to endure the temporary inconveniences caused by the pipe replacement. However, these inconveniences will be the same whether the pipe is replaced now or in 2014 as Millennium plans to do. Millennium wants you to believe that they don’t have enough room to replace the pipe. However, the fact is that they already have plenty of room. Millennium already mows and maintains 75 to 100 feet around the pipe now. Replacement of the pipe should require minimal brush clearing, not the massive destruction of trees as Millennium claims.

Millennium has also told untruths to the press about the cost of the Alternative Plan and the risk to endangered species. The Alternative Plan does not cost twice as much as the Minisink plan. In fact, the Alternative Plan will actually save $50 million because two new compression stations won’t need to be built in Minisink and Greenville.

Millennium told the Times Herald Record that four endangered species will be impacted by the Alternative Plan. Three of them aren’t of concern to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service because it is unlikely that they would be impacted. The fourth, the dwarf wedge mussel, was not found, dead or alive, in the Neversink Segment when Millennium conducted its own study in 2005. Now Millennium claims that the Alternative Plan will harm the dwarf wedge mussel. Obviously, this is a company that cannot be trusted.

Minisink and Greenville must be united to fight this natural gas monster! Please support the Alternative Plan! It is a win-win for both towns!

On December 22, 2011 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a 30-day scoping period for the reasonable alternative proposed by Minisink residents. This comment period aids in the full evaluation of all options on this project. The scoping period for the alternative plan ended Janurary 23, 2012! The FERC staff will soon publish an environmental assessment (EA) for the Minisink Compressor Station docket CP11-515 after evaluating all of the information submitted and reviewing analysis from FERC’s own scientific models. Below are some definitions to answer the question, “What is an EA?”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: EA (Environmental Assessment)

An EA is a screening document used to determine if an agency will need to prepare either an EIS or construct a FONSI. EAs are concise public documents that include: a brief discussion of the need for the proposal; of alternatives and a listing of agencies and person consulted.

Most agency procedures do not require public involvement prior to finalizing an EA document. Agencies advise that facilitating public comment be considered at the draft EA stage.

EAs need to be of sufficient length to ensure that the underlying decision about whether to prepare an EIS is legitimate, but should not attempt to be a substitute for an EIS.

Definition from Glossary on FERC Website:

Environmental Assessment
An Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluates the consequences of a proposed action on the environment and recommends measures to minimize any potentially adverse affects. An EA is prepared when the environmental scoping process has determined that the project would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

Our group photo is cancelled for this Saturday the 21st due to snow.  We will be rescheduling soon.

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The deadline for FERC comments is Monday Jan 23rd.  If you need help please email us at:  stopmcs@gmail.com  or use the CONTACT US section.

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The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets supports Minisink’s alternative!!

“Millennium’s proposed compressor station site in Minisink is located in an area that appears to be used for agricultural production. Construction of the compressor station at the proposed site would result in the permanent conversion of land to nonagricultural use. The alternative site appears to be in a nonagricultural area and would not result in the permanent loss of agricultural land. The Department recommends selection of the alternative site for the compressor station.”

Below is a link to a FERC comment posted 1/13/2012 on the docket CP11-515,  and is a good summary of the common sense Minisink alternative.

FERC Comment

Minisink is a conservative, down-to-earth, middle-class American town in Orange County, New York.  We are comprised of farmers, NYC firemen and police, nurses, teachers, plumbers, electricians, and various commuting professionals. Many new young families have moved into the town over the last ten years.  Most residents did not know what a compressor station was 2 months ago. Many members of the community have put in 100′s, if not 1000′s, of hours of research to sort fact from fiction, and have become very knowledgeable about natural gas compressor stations.

Minisink residents are extremely concerned about the proposed compressor station for a multitude of reasons.  Safety, health, and economic impacts are the primary concerns.  The site that has been chosen is surrounded by over 145 homes and residential lots within approximately a half mile.  Minisink is supported by a wonderful volunteer fire department. However, due to our small volunteer fire departments and lack of equipment, our area could not handle a large scale incident at a compressor station. The closest burn unit is in Westchester. We also do not have a local police department. Even a small evacuation of the area would be near impossible.  We do not have a reverse 911 system. We do not have fire hydrants. This begs the question, should industrial sites that have the potential for large scale explosions and devastation be placed in a residential area? Isn’t the best “fail safe” to put compressor station far from residences and families? 

Health impacts are an enormous concern. There have been NO cumulative long term health impact studies (HIS) completed on residents living in close proximity to compressor stations.  Formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds are some of the emissions estimated and listed on gas company’s Air Safety Application permits. Considering what has happened in Dish, Texas and Bradford County Pennsylvania, why is the industry still refusing to guarantee our safety and health under severe financial penalty, or at least willing to conduct a HIS? The gas company hired engineering firms to do air and noise sampling. There have been no independent base lines taken. The compressor station will run 24/7 365 days a year and there are other compressor stations being planned for the area. These additional compressor stations will only add to the cumulative impact. Our community has several sensitive receptors to air pollution. There are children within a half mile of the site that are severe asthmatics and the community has several 9-11 first responders with documented lung damage. Again, why take a risk when there are other alternatives? How much risk would you take? A tour was provided by Millennium Pipeline for residents of the community to see a compressor station. This station was constructed on an abandoned airport and not in the middle of a residential area.

Leaks were found on the Millennium pipeline in January 2011. These leaks were due to faulty welds and by installing segments of pipeline that had failed inspection. Considering the company’s safety record, should they be even considering installing a compressor station in a residential/agricultural area? The company has been forced to reduce pressure on the line as a safety precaution.

How much economic impact will there be to a community when adding a compressor station to a residential/agricultural area? There haven’t been any studies done to confirm an impact. However, common sense should dictate here.  Most families when looking for a home do not see a compressor station as a positive addition to a town. If you were looking for a home, would you buy one across the street from a compressor station? Would you buy a home 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile or a mile or more from a compressor station? Residents of Minisink are rightfully worried about the economic impact a compressor station/ or stations will have on our community.  Many people do not want to take the risk and trust a company’s “word for it,”  when gigantic profits for the company are at stake. Many people will not want to buy a home or continuing living in one close to a compressor station. The economic impact is loss of tax payers and loss of incoming future tax payers to a community. If residents want to move how can they when no one will buy their home? What benefit is there to the town for a compressor station? Millennium Pipeline’s own former president told residents, “there is no benefit to the town.”  So again we ask the question, should a compressor station be constructed in a residential/agricultural area when the town will see no benefit and consume all the risk? 

For many it is obvious the main concern for Millennium is profits. Throughout the FERC process Millennium has mentioned demand to shippers over and over again.  While the company is profiting, a community will be unsure of the cumulative health impacts, most likely lose equity in their homes, and live day to day without the certainty the compressor station has been constructed correctly or operated precisely and avoid an explosion.  This can all be resolved by placing a facility such as this in a industrial site or far from families homes. Where is the common sense?

There are alternatives that have been suggested and provided. Please review FERC docket CP11-515 for more information and read fully residents concerns! Please see “Filing a FERC eComment” for instructions to file and view e-Comments