The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is hosting a series of three “public listening sessions” to gather information from stakeholders with an interest in federal policy concerning natural gas issues. The first session, held in a roundtable format, occurred on May 14 and addressed Infrastructure, Transportation, Research and Innovation. The remaining two sessions are scheduled for May 21 (to address Domestic Supply and Exports), and May 23 (to address Shale Development—Environmental Protection and Best Practices). A complete list of witnesses, which include natural gas producers, distributors, utilities, environmental groups, regulators, consumers and exporters can be found on the U. S. Senate Comiittee on Energy & Natural Resources website.
An energy company’s proposal to expand its use caverns left behind from a century of salt mining in New York’s Finger Lakes Region for the storage of natural gas has drawn the ire of several community members that oppose the plans. The company would expand its use of depleted salt caverns in the vicinity of Seneca Lake, one of several narrow lakes in west-central Upstate New York, for the storage of liquid propane and natural gas.
For more than a century, companies have been mining salt beside Seneca Lake by drilling approximately 2,000 feet into a salt formation and injecting water to dissolve the salt. Previous owners used the remaining Seneca Lake caverns to store natural gas for decades. Opponents of the proposal said that an accident at two proposed brine ponds may jeopardize Seneca Lake, which provides drinking water to 100,000 people. Critics of the proposal also pointed to a 2004 explosion at a Texas salt storage facility and a 2012 salt mine collapse in Louisiana.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute on Politics has reportedly assembled a group of natural gas industry representatives, public interest organizations, and regulators under the name “Shale Gas Roundtable.” Members of the Roundtable have been quietly meeting for over a year to develop recommendations addressing various aspects of shale development. One of the Roundtable’s chief goals is to prompt a long-term study of shale gas development and its effect on the environment. The Roundtable expects to publicly release its recommendations in June.