March 28, 2024

VOTE “NO!” to OPPOSE THE COMPRESSOR STATION

Posted

ON APRIL 3rd, THERE WILL BE A NON-BINDING VOTE ON THE BALLOT. This is an important vote, as a town consensus opposing Spectra Energy’s compressor station would give us the full support of our local officials. Towns like ours stand squarely in-between Spectra Energy and their ultimate goal- which is to make huge profits exporting through LNG terminals in Canada. The deals have been cut, the permission to reverse the flow of gas has been given, and if we are to succeed in our battle to protect our town, we will need the backing of our state AND local government. Spectra is a Fortune 500 company with deep pockets, and they are VERY motivated to install their compressor station in our town. At first their messaging campaign focused on local businesses, lately they have been calling residents trying to instill fear over energy shortfalls and soaring electric costs. This is yet another example of Spectra misleading the public and distorting the facts
In response, let me direct you to the facts- In the past 15 years our dependency on natural gas has risen from 15% to 60%, and has anyone noticed their electric bills going down? Consider what effect a 35% increase in gas would have on our existing regional overdependency. Once exported, a surge in demand and higher gas prices overseas, will cause our domestic energy costs to soar. Now add the costs to consumers for lost gas from old pipelines which continue to leak unchecked. And this doesn’t even take into account that Spectra is still trying to find a way to get us to the foot the bill for their project! Does this sound like a scenario that will put money back into our pockets?
The fact is, we are not in danger of a regional energy shortfall, and if there was an ounce of truth to this, there are plenty of LNG terminals lying idle, that could easily store more than enough gas reserves if needed. Let’s fix the 20,000 gas leaks which would provide us with more gas reserves, save us money on our electric bills, and improve our air quality.
The facts are Spectra’s proposed compressor station will be noisy, drive down property values, threaten our well water, and bring health and safety risks to our community. The health impacts surrounding these facilities are documented as are the chemicals they emit. These are the facts. Please protect our community and “VOTE NO” to oppose the compressor station. I urge everyone to attend a special CARCS presentation at 7PM on 3/30 at The Grange. Elizabeth Mahony Assistant Attorney General and Dr. Susan Racine MD will address both the lack of need for, and the health impacts of Spectra’s proposed project.

Tracy Manzella
CARCS BAC
www.NoRehobothCompressor.com.

Comments

4 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • Thomas

    http://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/mrkt/snpsht/2017/03-02cdncrlnwhgh-eng.html

    Friday, March 10, 2017 Report this

  • Thomas

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2016/10/23/more-northeast-natural-gas-pipeline-capacity-brings-questions/#46102d2a1c94

    Friday, March 10, 2017 Report this

  • TManzella

    Thank you Tom for both articles. The first only substantiates the trend to move from gas imports out of Canada to exporting out of Canada which is what Access Northeast and Spectra's other projects are all about. The second article is especially good as it points out that the rush to export will certainly drive up our gas prices domestically as has been the case in Australia. It also points out how precarious exporting gas on the world market will be for these companies as there is a lot of competition out there. WHAT IS CERTAIN IS OUR PRICES WILL RISE DOMESTICALLY as it has in Australia. It has been good for the exporters and bad for domestic gas users. Spectra's whole line about the price of gas going down is complete hog wash. When I asked them directly at the Spectra/BOS meeting this question they evaded the question as much as possible, then when pressed they said..."if we had 2 polar vortex winters in a row we might notice a savings"... WHAT? Complete and total subterfuge! The Forbes article concludes with the caveat that as a result of these gas companies doing what they are doing renewable energy will increasingly look more and more attractive, as solar/ wind/ hydro will be the more affordable than gas ! Hopefully we will not buy in to all the hype about the pipeline is about lowering our energy costs which is Spectra's desperate attempt to line their pockets before the real truth gets out about their giant gas pipeline lie.

    Monday, March 13, 2017 Report this

  • Thomas

    "New England in particular has suffered and is easily the highest priced gas and power market in the country, with respective rates of 45% and 55% higher than the national average. Natural gas is promoted as a way to reduce New England's over reliance on heating oil and oil-based power generation, the latter averaging a whopping 16.2 GWh/day in Winter 2014 (here). When gas demand rises in New England, a lack of pipelines means pricer LNG imports from as far away as Yemen. Remember that residential heating gets priority over gas needed for utilities.

    The "Not in My Backyard" obstacle is very strong in the Northeast. One problem has been that the Northeast is a relatively new area of major gas production, so residents aren't used to the infrastructure required to produce more, unlike, say, Texans or Oklahomans. Moreover, the Northeast is generally more environmentally conscious (here) and has a higher population density, which makes it tougher to lay pipelines."-Forbes Oct '16

    I think my point was NE is in dire straights due to a lack of infrastructure. US Natural Gas supplies have increased to the point of becoming a net exporter, to Europe. Natural Gas cost in the US spiked in '14, today it is 50% less, yet NE remains as one region where costs remain high due to supply and demand.

    Going forward it will become a serious issue as demand increases, serious enough for our Governor to declare it a potential disaster. The gas feeds not only electric generators, but our homes. The rest of the US has electric rates that are about one half of ours. Perhaps that is the price we pay to live in Patriots Nation. But many, cannot afford the rates now, and further increases will be a true hardship.

    Europe imports most of their natural gas, most of it comes from our boogeyman friend, Putin. Russia has the world's 15 largest GNP, however it is mostly gas and oil. Perhaps why he makes the EU a little nervous, and the reason for a take over of Crimea which sits on the Black Sea.

    It is difficult for us to accept pipeline expansion simply because we have so little infrastructure now, and lack large tracks of open land. But I must caution you we have shut down two nuclear plants, and the greenies want the coal fired plants mothballed as well.

    If Brayton Point does indeed shut down, we will be in a world of hurt for energy.

    Friday, March 24, 2017 Report this

Share!
Truly local news delivered to every home in town