Beaver County residents raised concerns at an Ambridge Water Authority meeting Tuesday about potential environmental threats that planned Shell pipelines pose to the community’s reservoir and called on officials to commit to protecting the water supply.
Bob Schmetzer of South Heights, who has been working with the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Committee to track environmental changes in the area, said Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipeline — a 95-mile pipeline that would transport ethane to the proposed ethylene cracker plant in Potter — threatens the area’s water supply.
“Is there a big metal plate between the pipeline that crosses the Ambridge waterline, or is there some other protection?” he asked water authority board members. “What type of protection do you have between the impact of an explosion between any of those gas lines and your water line?”
Mr. Schmetzer and other residents asked the authority to adopt a Source Water Protection Plan, which would track threats to the water supply and help ensure that it is safely set back from potential hazards.
“This body needs to pick up the Source Water Protection Plan,” said the Rev. Jim Hamilton, 71, of Ambridge. “It’s not going to solve everything, but we need to let people know that you’re trying to protect their water.”
The authority conducted a Source Water Protection Assessment in 2002, in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. But Mr. Schmetzer said the plan was “improper” since it is based off of Ohio River drainage. The Ambridge Reservoir, an earthen dam that supplies water to more than 75,000 people in Beaver County, is 15 miles inland from the river, he said.
Jim Miller, an authority board member, said there are emergency plans in place in Beaver County and that toxin levels in the water are tested every quarter.
“As far as working with any committee for a Source Water Protection Plan, the authority has not opted to move forward with any of that,” he said.
Rosemarie Stewart, 46 of Bell Acres, said the plan would help residents keep track of the pipeline and be informed of any hazards or spills that might occur. She added that the Ambridge Water Authority does not control the entire watershed, meaning private landowners must commit to protecting their water supply.
Some speakers' concerns stretched beyond the pipeline itself, putting perceived water quality threats in the context of other natural gas-related activities spreading through the area.
Mr. Schmetzer, for example, took on the hydraulic fracturing process, which unlocks the natural gas, of which ethane is a component.
“No one knows what’s going to happen when the explosions are set off,” said Mr. Schmetzer said, referring to fracking. “God forbid that the dam would breach and take out human lives down Raccoon Valley … that would be a national catastrophe.”
Marcia Lehman, 67, of Harmony, raised concerns that “volatile compounds” from the cracker plant would pollute the air and end up settling on the Ambridge Reservoir, endangering the lives of those who depend on it for water.
“I want Shell to do everything they can to establish best practice,” she said.
Virginia Sanchez, an official of the Shell Pipeline Co., said in an email that the company “recognizes concerns as it relates to protection of local drinking water” and is committed to working in a “safe and environmentally responsible way” in constructing the Falcon Ethane Pipeline System.
She added that the pipeline does not cross the Ambridge Reservoir, and that the current plan is to drill the line about 60 feet below Service Creek, which is not in a drinking water inlet. The pipeline’s route is nearly complete and construction will begin in 2019.
The Falcon Pipeline, which runs through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, would bring 1,000 jobs to the area, Ms. Sanchez said.
“We need jobs here so badly, but I’m against any type of job that makes people sick and would make us Cancer Alley,” said Ms. Lehman after the meeting.
This story was updated on July 19 to better explain the hydraulic fracturing process.
First Published: July 19, 2017, 3:09 a.m.
