On June 13, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation released a new report-- Environmental and Social Costs of Natural Gas Pipeline Development in the Delaware River Basin-- that attempts to quantify some of the most significant impacts and costs of natural gas pipeline projects in the watershed.
The report was developed by The Cadmus Group LLC, an independent technical consultancy based in Massachusetts. It focus was on the proposed PennEast, and existing Mariner East 2, and Mariner East 2X pipelines
Quantifiable impacts and costs included the loss of ecosystem services from land-cover changes in the pipeline right of way, greenhouse gas emissions that would result from construction and long-term operation of the PennEast pipeline and from the long-term operation of the two Mariner East pipelines, lost recreation days resulting from pipeline construction, and lost investment in lands protected through public acquisition or conservation easements that will be cleared to build the pipelines.
Important costs that could not be monetized or estimated include water quality degradation and treatment or procurement of new sources, stream quality and aquatic habitat degradation, loss of property value, and such construction disruptions as noise, vibrations, and aesthetics.
Among the key findings are:
-- Land Disruption: Mariner East 2 and PennEast would disrupt about 2,200 acres of land in the DRB for pipeline construction and long-term operation. These costs would result in a present-value loss of ecosystem services (such as climate regulation and water purification) in the DRB of about $11 million for Mariner East 2 and $43 million for PennEast.
-- Spills & NOVs: As of February 2019, there were about 240 inadvertent returns of drilling fluid to land and water along the Mariner East 2 route, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had issued 94 notices of permit violations.
-- Reduced Property Values: Recent studies suggest that transmission pipelines reduce property values in the short term. Pipeline construction has been demonstrated to have detrimental effects on the quality or value of the property as a result of contaminated wells, alterations to the land, and proximity to the pipelines and operating equipment. Proximity to pipelines may also affect insurance rates or availability.
-- Value Of Farmland: The economic value of farmland disturbed by the PennEast and Mariner East 2 pipelines totals approximately $4 million, based on average farm real estate values in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
-- Impact To Protected Lands: Overall, one quarter of the land the PennEast pipeline is proposed to pass through in the DRB is protected in fee or preserved under conservation easements. Total costs of the acres of preserved land that would be cleared for the temporary and permanent right of way for PennEast is approximately $4 million.
-- Lost Recreation Value: Mariner East 2 and PennEast could cost recreation goers approximately $2.8 million in lost recreation enjoyment as the pipelines are constructed.
-- Job Creation: The report also includes an analysis of job creation. Even using a relatively high jobs factor, the new report says that all forms of renewable energy – such as wind and solar -- or energy conserving options evaluated would be expected to create more jobs than PennEast – from 2,744 to 13,719 additional jobs for the same level of investment.
-- Drinking Water Threats: One million people consume water from public water systems that could be at risk of contamination or degradation due to the PennEast pipeline, and another 85,000 due to the Mariner East 2 pipeline. PennEast would also risk contamination to 792 domestic wells, with another 785 at risk from Mariner East 2.
-- Greenhouse Gas Emissions I: The total cost of greenhouse gas emissions for construction and operation of the PennEast pipeline, using the average social cost of carbon, would range from about $470 million to $1.4 billion over the life of the pipeline. This does not include the cost of downstream emissions, which PennEast estimates to be 21.3 million metric tons per year.
-- Greenhouse Gas Emissions II: The cost of unhealthy greenhouse gas emissions associated with operation of Mariner East 2 at one pump station and operations at a Marcus Hook facility will be approximately $260 million to $800 million. These estimates do not include emissions associated with construction or long-term operation of many other pump stations.
"No one has ever put all these numbers in one place," said Tom Gilbert, New Jersey Conservation Foundation campaign director for energy, climate, and natural resources, "and doing so tells a powerful story of the magnitude of harm our region faces from pipelines."
"This new report lays to rest any argument that PennEast would benefit the people of New Jersey or Pennsylvania," said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. "As we've learned from the horrific impacts of Mariner East, the costs to our land, water, health, and economy far outweigh the corporate profit from these pipeline projects."
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