Last week, my news feed was full of stories about the derailment of a train near route 32 in Mansfield, just five miles from where I live. Nearby residents were told to shelter in place due to the dangers of deadly gas leaks. Hazmat teams spent days monitoring the air. Fortunately, no leaks were detected and everyone in the area breathed a sigh of relief.
But we should not breathe sighs of relief. We have a pipeline running through Mansfield that carries methane gas across our state. Methane is the correct term for what the industry calls “natural gas.” Methane gas is highly flammable, toxic, and 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at heating the planet over a 20 year period. Methane is extracted from below the ground via fracking and it leaks into our air at every step of the process, from fracking to its transport via pipelines like the one running through Mansfield. Then it is burned, either in homes, or in power plants for electricity, where it continues to release toxins into the air. Burning methane gas contributes to and worsens respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, including asthma and heart disease. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the health impacts.
We don’t hear much in the news about the negative health impacts of methane, or about its impact on the environment because the methane gas industry is very powerful. They are pushing to increase the use of methane and expand the pipelines that currently cross our state. Connecticut needs to do the opposite if it wants to reduce the climate-warming impacts of our energy choices and prioritize the health of Connecticut families and residents. We need to prioritize development of geothermal, solar, and wind energy. But Connecticut is currently not making the right choices.
The fossil fuel company, TC Energy, is proposing to double the size of a compressor station in Brookfield, Connecticut. The compressor station is located 1,900 only feet from Brookfield’s only middle school. Compressor stations release methane and other toxic air pollutants into the community, and pose a risk of explosion. In the environmental assessment submitted by TC Energy, the company stated that the added gas capacity is designed for ConEdison and National Grid in New York. That means that while the project would pollute Connecticut’s air, the added energy capacity is for New York, despite the state’s greenhouse gas reduction and building electrification laws.
Eversource proposed a new gas pipeline under the Connecticut River in Middletown to interconnect and expand their gas infrastructure. Eversource filed this proposal with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. This expansion would cost ratepayers and harm the ecosystem.
Norwich Public Utilities has stated their plan to pursue increased gas capacity from the expansion of the Enbridge AGT pipeline, the same pipeline flowing through Mansfield. If moved forward, this would increase pollution, climate change, and prices for utility customers.
As these multiple expansions threaten Connecticut, the Mansfield train derailment should serve as a reminder that fossil fuels are dangerous to our climate, our health, and to our communities and ecosystems. Renewables are a clean and cost effective solution.
CT Republicans want state to sue NY and ‘stop being pushed around.’ What the fight’s about.
While we cannot eliminate methane as an energy source, we can expand the use of renewable sources so that we avoid increasing our dependence on methane. This means investing in grid upgrades and new technologies. In a time when the message from Washington is to double down on fossil fuel use, Northeast governors are reneging on climate commitments. It takes political courage and vision to do what’s right for the environment and our health. As a Mansfield resident, I call on Connecticut to put our safety and climate first, and stand up against fossil fuel expansion.
We are being gaslit by the methane industry.
Susan Moynihan is a Mansfield resident and member of the No Pipeline Expansion Northeast Coalition.