Letter to the Editor: Presentation in Somers on 2nd Pipeline Project

To the Editor:

Residents met in Somers on Thursday night to hear Spectra Energy present their proposal for the Atlantic Bridge gas pipeline project to the Somers Town Board. Still in the early planning stages, Atlantic Bridge continues the controversial expansion of the Algonquin pipeline currently planned for Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam counties. Both the board and the public voiced their concerns over the proposal to replace sections of the old 26” pipe in Yorktown and Somers with a larger 42” pipeline.

Residents of Heritage Hills were alarmed that the project, originally proposed in their area in 2013 as part of the AIM project and then withdrawn, had suddenly returned.

Residents of the Preserve at Somers, another housing development, were also concerned about the extensive construction through their neighborhood - work that would include the clear-cutting of trees in peoples’ backyards and of forested areas that define the character of the development. Others had questions about potential changes to the pipeline’s right of way, and whether they were at risk of losing their property to eminent domain. More than 65 homes in the area will be directly effected by the construction, which crosses roads and wetlands.

While the company representatives could not provide many details, work is scheduled to start in the spring of 2017. Construction at each location along the pipeline is expected to last 2-3 months, 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. Town supervisor Rick Morrissey made it clear that this would run afoul of local noise ordinances.

Of particular concern to all was the placement of a new pigging station near Lovell St. Pigging stations are industrial pipe-cleaning facilities where debris and hazardous waste is periodically scraped from the pipe’s interior. Spectra representatives said a few gallons of material, which includes radioactive lead and polonium, is typically removed from the pipe each year.

The Somers board had many questions, and routinely stopped the presentation to request more information or get clarification on a variety topics. What was the justification for the expansion? What was the approval process going forward? Had green energy alternatives or alternate routes been considered? Would Spectra need permits from the town to complete the work? The company stated flatly that the federal Natural Gas Act exempts them from local permitting.

Spectra admitted that the Atlantic Bridge project would likely not go forward until the AIM project, currently under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, was approved and underway. The board was encouraged by several members of the public to contact state representatives and officials at the DEP, DEC, and US Army Corps of Engineers to demand a closer look at both projects.

Erik Lindberg