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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/681354
16 JUNE 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com concerned about. This is the first comprehensive review of the energy policy in about eight years. This bill generally covers the easing of permitting for pipeline expansion. Basically, it puts some time frames on local jurisdictions for responding to applications–as a streamlining process. I think the Congress is looking at ways to ease pipeline expansion, but even with that easing there are still economic and environmental reviews that need to take place. And I think that we'll see that some of these are just not viable regardless of the timeframe. We believe that there needs to be ample review of any of these proposals with due process in place that allows for state govern- ments and local governments to have their say. Just moving something through because the government may not respond in 90 days is a difficult thing in our eyes. These are very compli- cated projects where they move through a number of different communities and I think that ample time needs to be provided. FON: That brings us around to the recent decision with the Constitution Pipeline. Trunzo: If you look at what happened with New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation rejected Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the Constitution pipeline. It had pretty much received almost all of its federal approval through FERC, etc., and this was one of the last items they needed to move forward. And in a nutshell, the pipeline was going to cross 250 streams and some old-growth forest areas and even though the DEC requested them to provide a lot of information they never responded to those inquiries. Did the state hold onto it for close to a year before they rendered an opinion? Yes. Is that too long of a time frame? I don't know. These are complicated projects so there is a lot of review that has to go into them. FON: Resistance to these pipeline projects, in many cases, seems to be driven at the local, grassroots level. Trunzo: Grassroots, local opposition has been a big factor in many of these projects. Interestingly, when you look at what went on in Vermont with the Gaz Metro pipeline that was interesting because it had tremendous local opposition but ulti- mately got approved by the state public utility commission and even with tremendous cost overruns. [Editor's note: Gaz Metro, based in Quebec, Canada, distributes natural gas and electricity in Canada and the U.S.] But I think there was tremendous sup- port among state officials there to move that project forward. At this point there are a couple of eminent domain cases left to be negotiated, and then that might be free and clear to go. But that was the antithesis of what happens in other places. FON: What are some of the major pipeline concerns that remain on the table today? Trunzo: There are obviously a number of pipeline projects in the queue, if you will. But the other major one right now for New England would be the Access Northeast that comes out of Connecticut through Massachusetts and up into Maine. My understanding is that it is being funded by the companies them- selves, and since a lot of it's going along the current right-of-way I'm not sure it has all of the same environmental issues. FON: Once a company gets the main line in place, how easy is it to expand natural gas service to the residential customer? Trunzo: That is really the big question—the cost of running the pipe from the main through localities, and then from those branches to homes. Thousands of dollars per foot and there are a number of concerns. If somebody does want to hook up to natural gas, who pays for those hookups? Not just the extensions off the main, but the line to the home itself. And that's where natural gas conversions get into a lot of money either for the utility trying to service the home or for the homeowner who may want to use natural gas. The econom- ics of conversions to natural gas and who pays for it is a huge issue. FON: At the grassroots level, is it easy to get the message out to exist- ing natural gas utility or electrical customers that they might, in some cases, be the ones paying for their neighbors' conversion costs? Trunzo: There is a lot of education that needs to be done on how these projects are being paid for, whether that is through tariffs being filed with the public utility commissions in the various states, or through legislation that approves the ability to use state resources for these types of expansions. There is a big cost [that would be] added to the electric ratepayer bill [meaning] everyone pays whether it is for power production or the expansion of residential conversions. It goes back to where we started—we are a free market economy. And it seems as if there is a move afoot to have these companies avoid operating in that realm while the home heating dealer operates in that realm every year. NEFI has maintained that position in the Quadrennial Energy Review comments we made several years ago, and we were quite pleased when the Massachusetts attorney general sort of echoed what we've been saying in the independent study she commissioned. FON: NEFI has fought some big battles over the years, including a fight against energy commodity speculation. What helps you succeed in these struggles? Trunzo: I would say we've been very effective in that regard. And I believe that stems from several things. First, we have the issues on our side. We're not a big financial powerhouse, but when we can marshal our forces and bring the issue [and our] arguments to the forefront people tend to listen. The ability of the New England delegation to represent the interest of the home heating industry has been very strong. We also have great relations in our affiliation with the Petroleum Marketers Association of America. We work extremely closely with them and that state federation across the country brings a lot of clout. And you really need that on some of these issues. l F O N IN THE PIPELINE