North Salem High School evacuated after 'gas odor' detected

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - It depends on which way the wind blows, apparently.

North Salem’s Middle/High School campus on June Road had to be temporarily evacuated early on Monday, Nov. 10, after folks there complained about the strong odor of natural gas.

And it’s not the first time.

In 2019, the school was evacuated due to a gas leak that was traced to a faulty outdoor meter. The year before outdoor activities and sports had had to be curtailed when strong “blowdown emissions” were detected coming from a metering station on the Algonquin Pipeline in the neighboring town of Southeast.

Melissa Sherburne, a spokesperson for pipeline owners Enbridge told Halston Media Monday that the company was “aware of reports of a gas odor near June Road in North Salem.”

However, she said, its system was “operating normally” and it had “not identified any issues at Algonquin Transmission facilities.”

Furthermore, “Algonquin has not vented gas in the area on the morning of November 10.”

“Blowdowns” – or venting -- are a way of relieving pressure on the line. It typically happens in small amounts for operational, safety, and economic reasons

According to town Supervisor Warren Lucas, who prepared a chart to show the frequency of the blowdowns from this past July to Sept. 23, noted that the venting had been happening nearly weekly.

Enbridge is not mandated, he said, to notify him when they occur because the station in question isn’t in North Salem. Also, if under 10,000 cubic feet of gas is released, the company is not legally obligated to notify anyone.

Lucas said that on Sept. 30, a blowdown released 762,000 scf of natural gas. There have been several much smaller releases in November alone that were confirmed, the latest being on Nov. 8, a Saturday.

While the exact source of the odor detected Monday couldn’t be immediately pinned down, and the schools were back in action in about 20 minutes, it was a reminder of how concerning the situation can be.

Schools Superintendent Dr. Adam VanDerStuyf did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.

Lucas had asked that North Salem be put on the notification list, but the last time it got direct word was in July. That’s because the Enbridge substation is not located within its borders, it’s been told.

(The station is, however, about 3.6 miles away from the middle/high school. There is a closer vent, about 1.4 miles away, but that’s supposedly not being used due to past complaints from the district about odors.)

Because natural gas has no odor, a chemical such as mercaptan – which smells like sulfur or rotten eggs – is added for safety reasons. Mercaptan is heavier than air, so it hugs the ground. The gas itself dissipates naturally.

Whether folks smell it seems to depend on whether they’re downwind or not.

Southeast Supervisor Nick Durante has been dutifully passing along “blowdown” notifications when he gets them, Lucas said.

School Board Trustee Elizabeth Malvino reached out to Lucas on Monday to remind him that “it is extremely concerning that our town, which prides itself on preserving environmental beauty and health living, is subject to these toxic releases on a regular basis. Particularly the kids at both schools.”

“I understand that Algonquin is not mandated to tell you or the schools when these blowdowns occur, and the town of Southeast has been forthcoming, at times, as a courtesy.  This has been ongoing for years, though, and the topic gets reignited, then forgotten about, over and over.  Given the compressor station’s proximity to children, in particular, can this issue not be elevated to a higher government level?” she asked in an email.

Lucas assured her that things are still very much on his mind.

“I notify everyone when I find out. I have been on calls with the EPA, DEC and others.  I have been in touch with the EPA northeast regional director about this issue just last month,” he responded.

Lucas wrote to Enbridge consultant Christian DiPalmero on Monday to inform him about the school’s latest evacuation and also to note: “I do not know if you have a blowdown today, but I suspect so.”

He reiterated the town’s plea to be notified.

“My ask for many years is very simple.  Would you please put the town and the North Salem School District leaders on your notification list.  I know you don’t have to alert North Salem as you have no facilities in my town, but when the wind blows the right way the mercaptan smell is disrupting many lives, the school buildings being just 1.4 miles from your vents.  Supervisor (Nick) Durante has been kind enough to resend your notices to me when he has time.  For this month I did get the scheduled blowdowns for the 11/3 and 11/5 from Supervisor Durante but I got nothing for 11/10,” Lucas wrote, adding that he had received a lot of emails from parents on Monday morning.

He cc’d North Salem school and emergency services folks as well at the state DEC, the governor’s office, and the federal EPA.

“Rather than having me escalate this further, can you please permanently add us to the notification list,” Lucas said.

John Sheridan of Algonquin/Enbridge, thanked Lucas for his note, saying that several Enbridge personnel as well as DiPalermo were contacted by the Croton Falls Fire Department on Monday regarding the smell.

" It is my understanding that Enbridge did not release any gas today at any of its facilities in the area.," he wrote, adding that the last planned blowdown was Nov. 8 at the Southeast compressor station "which is more than 10 miles away from the school and notice was properly given to the Town of Southeast."

" While Enbridge has a valve closer to the school, several years ago in response to North Salem’s concern, the company decided to stop any planned releases at the valve in response and now only conducts planned blowdowns through the compressor station.," Sheridan said.

He also said that DiPalermo had called the town several weeks ago to "discuss how we could incorporate North Salem into the notice process for the Southeast compressor station."

Finally, Sheridan suggested they schedule a conference call so the issue could be addressed "as soon as practicable."