NY State officials urge FERC to take extra safety precautions with Algonquin pipeline

New York State officials are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to take additional action to minimize risk and protect public safety involving the Algonquin natural gas pipelines located near the Indian Point nuclear facility in Westchester County.

The New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and the Departments of Public Service, Environmental Conservation, and Health sent a letter to FERC last week, which has siting authority over gas pipelines, sharing the results of an independent risk analysis that highlights their concerns.

“Our consultant’s assessment informs logical next steps that must be taken by FERC to reduce the risk profile of Algonquin’s natural gas pipelines in the vicinity of Indian Point, and has identified areas that require further review,” the agencies stated in the letter. “While the probability of pipeline incidents is low, the proximity to the Indian Point nuclear plant makes the potential consequences of such an event very significant. Additional scrutiny and monitoring to better understand and reduce risks associated with the Algonquin pipelines is warranted. FERC must engage in further action to mitigate and investigate potential risks.”

The agencies called upon FERC to not allow any additional natural gas capacity on the Algonquin pipeline. Given the high demand in the Northeast for additional natural gas capacity, And other factors, there is potential that pipeline owner Enbridge, Inc. may seek approval to send additional gas over the pipeline at higher pressures. This could pose a safety issue, they stated.

Also, they asked FERC to require regular testing of Enbridge’s ability to remotely close valves on the 42-inch, 30-inch, and 26-inch pipelines in the vicinity of Indian Point within three minutes of an event.

Further, they said FERC should work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to coordinate a review of Indian Point-owner Entergy Corp.’s decommissioning plan to determine potential impacts to the original Algonquin pipelines. Overall, the agencies recommend more regular communications between Enbridge and Entergy on incident prevention activities and emergency preparedness.

The agencies report added that the upcoming closure of Indian Point’s nuclear reactors and the removal of spent nuclear fuel to on-site dry cask storage would reduce the risks related to a potential pipeline incident.