N.Y. gas pipeline halted
2016Marty Goodman 2016-03Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 3 →
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The Algonquin is a “natural” gas pipeline under construction about 45 miles north of New York City and a mere 1500 feet from the accident prone Indian Point nuclear-power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. Construction may be put on hold temporarily, pending a federal and state safety study urged by New York Governor Mario Cuomo (D) on Feb. 29.
Cuomo has bowed to pressure and protests from environmental organizations against the pipeline’s route, which cuts straight through pristine woods and wetlands, including public parkland—and even back yards in Peekskill. Many thousands of trees would be clear cut, and the pipeline would continue underneath the Hudson River. The immediate impact of the governor’s decision on pipeline construction is not known.
Gov. Cuomo, whose home is 10 miles from In dian Point, had called for a federal shutdown of the nuclear-power plant. But he had remained silent about the Algonquin pipeline until he re ceived some 30,000 signatures from angry Al gonquin opponents and the high profile arrest of protesters at the construction site.
The pipeline is owned by Spectra Energy, a Texas-based Fortune 500 corporation. Spec tra plans to pump natural (fracked) gas in 42-inch high-pressure pipes from Pennsylva nia, through New York and Connecticut, up to Massachusetts. Spectra currently uses 26-inch pipes. It has permits under “eminent domain” from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis sion (FERC).
Mark Dunlea, the chair of the New York Green Education Legal Fund, said of FERC, “They’re a horrible, horrible agency.” In 2011, FERC was found guilty of underestimating impacts on environmentally affected projects. Activ ists say that there is a convergence between Obama administration FERC officials and en ergy corporations, particularly in the case of Spectra and FERC.
Dubbed “The Montrose 9,” nine pipeline pro testers were arrested in November at Mon trose for blocking Spectra vehicles near Indian Point. Resist AIM (Algonquin Incremental Mar ket Expansion Project) organized the protests. On Feb. 28, some 40 Resist AIM and members of faith-based environmental groups rallied across the street from Gov. Cuomo’s home, call ing for the shutting down of Indian Point, stop ping Algonquin, and divesting from fossil fuels.
The methane in natural gas is 86 times more toxic than carbon dioxide over a 20-year pe riod. Nationally, the federal Pipeline and Haz ardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), recorded serious ruptures of pipelines occurred six times a week in 2015, three times more than in the 1950s and 1960s!
The proximity of the pipeline to Indian Point adds to the high anxiety felt by residents. Paul Blanch, a 45-year former nuclear engineer with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and at Indian Point, says a pipeline rupture could prevent the safe shutdown of the reactor, endangering 20 million New York ers. Last May, Indian Point, owned by Entergy, had a transformer knocked out in one of the reactors, spilling oil and fire retardant foam into the Hudson River. In February, Entergy admitted to “alarming levels of radioactivity” in water in three of its wells.
Resist AIM (www.resistaim.com) has conducted teach-ins and tours for activists of areas blighted by Spectra. On Feb. 28, some 40 Resist AIM and mem bers of faith based environmental groups rallied across the street from Gov. Cuomo’s home, calling for the shutting down of Indian Point, stopping the Algonquin pipeline and divesting from fossil fuels.
On Feb. 29, eleven people were arrested in Ver planck, where they blocked two entrances to the Al gonquin pipeline on the same day that Cuomo called on the Obama administration to halt Algonquin.
Although Cuomo has called for closing Indian Point, he has continued to support three remaining upstate nuclear plants. Citing losses, the Entergy Corp. says it plans to close its Fitzpatrick plant, but the governor has vowed to keep the plant open, us ing “every legal and regulatory avenue.”
(Above) Megan Halleran informs reporters about the seizure and destruction of her family’s maple farm in order to build the pipeline.
gin in the maple groves. In fact, the judge expanded the area to be logged, authorizing a 150-foot-wide “safety barrier” of cleared land. The government and pipeline construction firm “refused to see us as people, and brought guns to our home,” said Megan Holleran, referring to the U.S. marshals and compa ny strong-arms guarding the site.
All together, some 750,000 trees in the path of the pipeline are due to be felled—mainly in New York State. Most of the route goes through rugged moun tainous areas, which are already prone to erosion and flooding during rain storms, according to local residents.
Logging has been halted in New York by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman since the state has not yet granted environmental approval. Anti-pipeline activists have called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuo mo to refuse permits for the pipeline. Megan Hol leran took part in a news conference in Albany on March 2.
The pipeline would be owned and run by a consor tium of powerful oil and gas companies. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved construc tion of the Constitution Pipeline in December 2014 as the first unit of a vast network of new pipelines that are planned throughout the region. n We Are Seneca Lake (Left) 350.org founder Bill McKibben is arrested along with 56 residents of Schuyler County, N.Y., during a March 7 civil disobedience protest against proposed storage of fracked gas in the salt caverns at Senaca Lake.
The protesters, organized by We are Seneca Lake, formed a human blockade in the driveway of the gas storage and transport company, Crestwood Midstream.
McKibben thanked the protesters for “standing up,” pointing out that “people are understanding it’s not just carbon dioxide that we are fighting; it’s also methane,” and both greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming.
State. These twin pipelines would carry fracked Bakken and possibly heavy crude from Albany, N.Y., to Linden, N.J., and flammable refined products back to Albany. Activists demand that Cuomo stop Pilgrim Pipeline.
A mass movement is needed to stop the pipelines and all fossil-fuel production and to convert to 100% renewable energy now. Socialists say take the profit out of energy and save the planet! n SOCIALIST ACTION MARCH 2016 3