LIPA still debating pipeline problems
Long Island Power Authority officials were working on “contract details” with Bortech, its contractor, on Tuesday according to Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr.
Exactly what that means is unclear as LIPA has been unresponsive to inquiries about where the project stands since work was halted August 24. This followed what the company described as a malfunction in the drilling rig. But on Friday, Supervisor Jim Dougherty said he was told the 4,000 foot pipeline stretching from Crescent Beach to Southold was 500 feet from its destination “when it snapped.”
At Tuesday’s Shelter Island Town Board work session, Mr. Dougherty said LIPA was in “heated, detailed discussion” with a new contractor to help Bortech of Milton, New York. That could be in line with word from LIPA last week that Bortech was to submit in writing its best plan for getting the project moving and that proposal would be examined by an outside contractor hired by LIPA to evaluate that plan.
Meanwhile, a spill of bentonite from the pipe into the harbor near the Southold side was the last straw for some residents there. They have been complaining about noise, dirt and inconvenience all summer long and now, when they thought the project was finally nearing completion, comes the work stoppage and bentonite cleanup.
Bentonite is a non-toxic clay material used in drilling mud for oil and gas wells and geotechnical projects like LIPA’s. Its purpose, according to LIPA officials who explained the process to Shelter Island students in May, is to pump the clay into the center of the piping so it would expand when wet and clean out silt and other substances that could otherwise become a threat to the electrical cables going thorough the casings. The original plan called for removing the bentonite and debris with a recycler at the Southold side and then filling the tubes with fresh water to keep the conduits from rising and rubbing against the casing.
Instead, the bentonite spilled out and now plans call for LIPA to “vacuum” it up, place it in cans and transport it out of the area, according to what neighbors were told last week by Nick Lizanich, LIPA vice president of transmission and distribution.
Internet reports of bentonite spills in other areas of the country generally show there is no danger from the substance except that it would make the water appear cloudy for a period of time. But some communities have expressed concern whether bentonite could harm aquatic life by coating stream beds or clogging fish gills.
LIPA authorities couldn’t be reached for comment about that.
Mr. Dougherty noted that some Southold residents were calling for Bortech to be replaced on the project, but said he wasn’t endorsing that request.
As to how the delays and now the extra bentonite cleanup will affect the cost of the project that was originally supposed to run $9 million, that’s still unclear, Mr. Lizanich told the Southold neighbors.
