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Where the natural-gas leaks are

By adamg on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 7:52am

The Conservation Law Foundation is mapping natural-gas leaks in Massachusetts.

Neighborhoods: 
Boston
Free tagging: 
Natural gas
CLF


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Comments

By merlinmurph on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 8:26am.

I heard a report on NPR the other day (may have even been the same guy), and he said they averaged 4 gas leaks per mile. I'm staying away from any smokers I see....

By Chris Rich on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 9:20am.

When CLF does stuff like this, it's usually prep for a hell law suit. Their action related to Big Dig mitigation for Expressway traffic resulted in restoration of significant parts of the Old Colony passenger rail system.

It's overdue, another aspect of masshole shabbiness where money is spent on new glitz while short changing the upkeep of old critical infrastructure stuff.

By Markk02474 on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 7:25pm.

The Green line extension is costing Mass residents over $1.5 Billion alone, courtesy of CLF. Somerville residents along the new line have had some property tax bills double or triple from the value added to their property from increasing popularity of some areas and expected new transit stations. You are paying for the GLX and the increase in private property values.

More recently, electric customers will pay millions more dollars thanks to the extra (unprecedented) demands put on the Salem power plant wanting to convert from coal to natural gas. The most stringent carbon dioxide emissions ever in this country.

As for the natural gas leaks, small ones don't pose a safety threat of blowing up a house or apartment building or neighborhood. Its not even cost-effective for gas companies to fix isolated small leaks. CLF's interest is the sum of all leaks as defined by the difference between how much gas went into pipes and how much was metered and sold coming out.

The MWRA has significant quantities of water leaking out of its pipes, yet CLF isn't making a point about how much that is costing consumers.

By Scratchie on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 5:33pm.

OMG THEIR PROPERTY VALUES WENT UP????!!!!! THOSE MONSTERS!!!!!!! HOW DARE THEY!!!?!?!?!?!?!!!!111eleven

By Bob Leponge on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 5:53pm.

Let's see, I think your logic goes like this:

Stupid frail, weak canaries that are kept in cages in coal mines keep dying. Every time that happens, the coal mining company has to spend all kinds of money to upgrade the ventilating equipment in the mine.

Therefore, "Canaries cost coal mining companies millions" would be accurate, no?

By Chris Rich on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 6:13pm.

We just went through a long patch when the effort was minimal.

Now there is catching up to do and of course it's ridiculous they are still using old legacy crap.

I just had two meters swapped out in a part of my building. The law requires they be replaced every 7 years but one had been overlooked since 1997.

Stupid plowing in winter messes the old stuff up sometimes too. The deli assholes nearby panicked in the big snow winter a few years ago and hit the streets with huge payloaders run by yahoos. I could feel their big front buckets whack the street, which was frozen to make the shock more potent.

Oddly enough, by spring, there was a gas leak problem.

They also have to periodically inspect the pipes and I know they'll want to replace at least one section in my building.

It's really just part of their operating cost. They have just been weaseling it for a decade or so.

By anon on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 10:35am.

I was looking at the map, and they show a bunch of leaks in my immediate neighborhood, but I know national grid came through last summer (and the summer before last) and replaced all the gas lines.

By John_on_Central on Sun, 03/23/2014 - 3:35pm.

It says right at the top this data is through 2011... That said the level 3 leak at Watertown square I think is closer to a level 1 now, you can really smell it while waiting for the 59/71 bus... Some of the leaks along Washington Street in Newton were also still there this past summer, but they have been doing a lot of gas work on the street and I think most of them are fixed now...