This page was last updated on May 8, 2014.
Greathouse is a hero; Joan Verner; Beaver County Times; May 5, 2014.
Previous letters from Ms. Verner include “A senseless war like Vietnam” and “On the eve of destruction.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Penny Greathouse is my hero [sic]. She stopped the Bluegrass Pipeline Project.”
[RWC] I don’t know why Ms. Lerner chose Ms. Greathouse. The BPP [for natural gas liquids (NGL) to processing plants on the Gulf Coast] actually rerouted the proposed pipeline around her property and other landowners also refused to sell an easement to the BPP.
Since Ms. Greathouse is a woman, wouldn’t she be a heroine?
“Whether it is green grass or blue grass, it took Peggy to stand up for blue grass instead of greenbacks. Our country needs more people who are concerned about our country’s environment, and not the green in their bank accounts.”
[RWC] From what I read, the pipeline builders couldn’t get enough firm shippers to justify the project at this time. In any case, there’s more bad news for Ms. Verner. The ATEX Express pipeline, from Washington County to Texas and a competitor of the Bluegrass Pipeline, opened earlier this year.
As for “blue grass instead of greenbacks” and “concern about our country’s environment,” Ms. Greathouse runs a 700-acre cattle farm – presumably for profit – and aren’t we always told raising animals for human consumption is bad for the environment? Aren’t cattle especially bad because of all the methane – a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide – cattle release into the atmosphere?
Finally, here’s what Ms. Verner failed to mention. There will be increasing demand for Marcellus- and Utica-formation natural gas and the accompanying NGL. If there is insufficient pipeline capacity for NGL to the Gulf Coast, it will be transported by barge, railcar, and trucks to processing plants. All of these alternatives are less safe, less environment-friendly, and more costly. Another reaction will be to build smaller processing plants – think smaller versions of the proposed Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County – closer to the production wells. Is this what Ms. Verner is cheering?
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