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Ariz. House Backs Bill Aiding Gas Storage Project

The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A bill advancing in the Arizona Legislature would help a Texas company's proposal to store natural gas in a stadium-sized underground cavern by loosening state regulatory protections for groundwater.

The House on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to the bill amid lengthy debate over whether the project planned in Pinal County in south-central Arizona by a Houston-based natural gas storage company, MultiFuels LP, could pose a risk to the environment.

The bill would exempt so-called injection wells from a state permitting process for aquifer protection. The project would use injection wells to pump extremely salty water back into the ground after the brine is removed from an underground cavern for gas storage created when a salt formation is dissolved.

Democrats said the bill was bad enough as originally introduced but was made worse when amended in committee to include injection wells for possible contaminants ranging from radioactive waste to municipal wastewater

The bill is overly broad and too risky to the environment, said Rep. Daniel Patterson of Tucson, one of several Democrats who unsuccessfully argued against the bill. "There is no good reason to pass a statewide exemption."

Said Rep. Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff: "We invite mischief here when we may not fully understand the intent of the applicant and not have the scientific background or the regulatory judgment to determine whether a project is worthy."

The sponsor, Republican Rep. Lucy Mason of Prescott, said the cavern would be sealed to protect the air and that the salt water used in construction would be injected back in the ground so deep it wouldn't threaten usable groundwater.

"This is not taking it down into pure drinking water," said Mason, who at several points during the floor session declined to respond to Democrats' pointed questions about the bill.

Rep. Frank Pratt of Casa Grande, a Republican whose district includes the project area, said the project is safe and that it would boost the state's economy. "We have to say 'yes' to some of these companies and stop placing barriers to their entry," Pratt said.

A MultiFuels lobbyist told a House committee in February that the natural gas storage provided by the project is important for Arizona because of the state's current limited storage capacity.

The cavern would be about the size of Arizona State University's football stadium, according to committee testimony by a MultiFuels executive.

According to committee testimony by state and company officials, the project would still be subject to federal Environmental Protection Agency regulatory processes if the bill become laws and lifts Arizona's permitting requirement.

The bill (HB2352) has backing from several major utilities — Arizona Public Service Co. and Southwest Gas Corp. — but has drawn opposition from the Sierra Club, an environmentalist group.

House passage on a formal vote would send it to the Senate.

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On the Net:

Arizona Legislature: http://www.azleg.gov