Aug 1, 2013 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – Testimony concluded Thursday on Emerald Coal Resources’ request for a court injunction seeking to force the Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. to protect its pipelines above an area the Emerald Mine plans to mine early next year.

Following two days of testimony, Judge William Nalitz ordered both parties to file briefs in support of their positions by Aug. 8, at which time arguments will be heard.

Emerald claims Texas Eastern has refused to commit to completing mitigation work to protect its pipelines above the mine’s “D” District, north of Waynesburg, in time for the mine to being mining there in the first quarter of 2014.

The coal company maintains it has legal rights to mine the coal without interference and had notified Texas Eastern of its intentions. The failure of Texas Eastern to complete the mitigation work prior to the first quarter of 2014 jeopardizes the viability of the mine, it said.

Texas Eastern claims it never refused to complete the mitigation work and had started the engineering design only to stop the process when it was informed by Emerald in late 2012 that the expected date mining would begin in the “D” District had been pushed back to May 2015.

Emerald revised its mining plan about a month later moving the start date for the “D” District to November 2013, and then to the first quarter of 2014.

Texas Eastern informed the mining company in March that it would continue the design process but could not have the lines mitigated until September 2014.

On Thursday, Emerald played the videotaped deposition of Thomas Wooden, vice president of operations for Texas Eastern, regarding actions the company took in regard to Emerald’s mining plans.

Wooden testified he first received a letter from Emerald in January 2011 about the company’s plan to mine the “D” District, which called for mining in the district to start in the second quarter of 2014.

Texas Eastern began making plans to mitigate the lines. It intended to do the work, according to Wooden’s testimony, with or without reimbursement for the costs from Emerald.

A Nov. 6, 2012 letter signed by Wooden to Emerald indicted the design plan was completed and provided a cost estimate for the mitigation work.

The letter also noted, however, that the latest map provided by Emerald indicated the start of mining in “D” District had been pushed back to May 2015 and as a result further work by Texas Eastern on the mitigation design had been discontinued.

The letter indicated Texas Eastern was prepared to proceed with the project for the 2015 start upon Emerald’s acceptance of an agreement to pay for the mitigation work, estimated at more the $21 million.

Wooden testified that a month later, in December 2012, he was informed Emerald had pushed up the date to start mining in the “D” District to November 2013. He received official confirmation of that in January.

Asked if steps were then taken to finish the mitigation work, Wooden said he was aware the project team reviewed the matter and he was told there was insufficient time to complete the mitigation work before the mine’s new start date. In a Feb. 7, 2013 letter, Wooden informed Emerald of that.

Engineer Robert Kenney, who with Dr. Alfred Pettinger had prepared a report for Emerald on mitigating the pipelines, testified the mitigation project proposed by Texas Eastern was more extensive than necessary.

A mitigation plan developed by Kenney and Pettinger called for removing the earth around the four pipelines and placing the lines on supports in the trenches. Texas Eastern’s plan had called for removing the lines from the trenches as well replacing the pipe.

Kenney estimated the costs of Emerald’s plan at between $4 million and $6 million; he estimated the costs of Texas Eastern’s plan at $13.7 million , even though Texas Eastern’s estimate put the cost at more than $21 million.

Kenney also maintained the project would not have to be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as Texas Eastern claimed, and would only need a permit for its soil and sedimentation control plan from the county conservation district.

The mitigation project, he testified, could be completed by Nov. 1.

In presenting its case, Texas Eastern called Larry Smore, an engineer who was the project leader on developing the pipeline company’s mitigation plan.

Smore testified that much work still needed to be completed on Texas Eastern’s mitigation plan. If work began today, he said, the project could not be completed by the first quarter of 2014.

Smore also testified removing the lines from the trenches would be the best approach in projects like Emeralds where there are more than three pipelines to mitigate. Leaving the pipelines in the trenches makes it difficult to maneuver equipment and is less safe for employees, he said.

Texas Eastern also called Burne Mosley, a retired FERC deputy director, to testify on the plan. Mosley said the mitigation project would have to go through the FERC prior-notice filing process, which if uncontested would take 75 to 80 days but if contested, up to 304 days.