No Jail For Essex County Activists Arrested At Pipeline Protest

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Sometimes a protest can be “illegal” but still be the right thing to do, a pair of Essex County environmental activists say.

Last week, Karlos Edmonds, an organizer with climate group Extinction Rebellion, and Ted Glick, president of 350NJ-Rockland and coordinator of Roseland Against the Compressor Station, were convicted in Roseland Municipal Court for failing to obey a police officer.

The pair were arrested at a nonviolent protest on May 22 at the Williams/Transco natural gas compressor station on Eagle Rock Avenue. Along with five others, Glick and Edmonds linked arms and temporarily blocked construction equipment from moving onto the site.

Glick and Edmonds were eventually arrested for their parts in the protest.

Along with other community members and elected officials, Glick and Edmonds have been decrying Williams/Transco's expansion of its Roseland compressor station, accusing the facility of being a ticking environmental time bomb. The energy giant has disputed their allegations, claiming that the expansion is safe and is needed to help provide New Jersey with more than half of its natural gas.

• See related article: Activists vs. Pipeline: 2 Arrests At Essex County Protest

After their arrests, Glick, 69, and Edmonds, 35, took their fight to court, pleading not guilty and risking up to 90 days in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted.

Edmonds and Glick were represented by labor and progressive lawyer Bennet Zurofsky, who donated his time in solidarity with their goal.

Dozens of supporters attended their late-night court hearing on July 10. But while the pair avoided incarceration, they also lost their case and were found guilty. Glick was fined $375; Edmonds was sentenced to 50 hours of community service.

Glick and Edmonds – both self-described “full-time climate activists” – wore their convictions like badges of honor in a statement to the media.

“The legal system in Roseland failed the people of Roseland,” Edmonds said after last week’s court decision. “What we did was a necessity because of the extreme threat to human existence, and existence for all life forms on earth, due to the burning of fossil fuels and the environmental pollution of our corporate-dominated economic and political system.”

Edmonds said that “it’s clear people must take action” and draw attention to the urgency of stopping the expansion of any new fossil fuel infrastructure.

“As our lawyer said during the trial, ‘legality is not morality,’” Edmonds added.

Glick said it was disappointing the presiding judge refused to consider their argument that the potential “health and safety” threat of the Roseland compressor station justified their efforts to halt construction.

“Down through history, from Henry David Thoreau protesting the war with Mexico in the 1840’s to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement risking their lives to end Jim Crow segregation in the South in the 1960’s, and many more, nonviolent civil disobedience has been used when the institutions of society have failed the test of justice,” Glick stated. “Such is our situation today.”

“The movement in New Jersey and nationally and, indeed, internationally will not rest, and will continue to take what actions are necessary, until the power of the fossil fuel industry over our government is broken and job-creating renewables and just, energy-efficient economies are our reality throughout the world,” Glick said.

ACTIVISTS VS. PIPELINE

Williams/Transco has been trying to beef up its current compressor station in Roseland for years as part of its Gateway Expansion Project, a larger effort to revamp the Transco interstate natural gas pipeline and provide additional service to New Jersey and New York.

According to Williams/Transco:

"Natural gas is a critical component of the mix of energy sources necessary to meet the region's growing energy needs, creating affordability for utility customers and ensuring reliability while renewables scale. This federally approved project is designed to have virtually zero impact on surrounding neighbors and the environment, with almost all of the work taking place within our existing fence line. Since the station horsepower upgrades feature electric-driven compressors, its operation will not significantly impact noise or air quality. The comprehensive environmental assessment conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission positively reflects our efforts to design this project in an environmentally responsible manner, ultimately concluding that the project's construction and operation would not significantly affect the environment."

• See related article: Pipeline Company Says No Plans For 2nd Compressor In Essex County

However, the compressor station expansion has seen staunch opposition from local residents, activists and political leaders, who have alleged there are numerous safety and environmental risks posed by the facility.

• See related article: Proposed Pipeline Station Blasted By Essex County Official

Activists have called on Governor Phil Murphy to stop construction at the Roseland station while the project is under legal appeal, and to declare an emergency moratorium on all 12 fossil fuel expansion projects currently proposed or moving forward in New Jersey.

After making its way through years of red tape and permit applications, Williams/Transco finally has the necessary approvals from federal and state authorities to move forward in Roseland, a company spokesperson told Patch in March.

Activists aren't giving up their fight against the expansion, however, and have filed appeals to halt the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

• See related article: Controversial Essex County Pipeline Station Gets Key Permits
• See related article: Essex County Activists Not Giving Up Fight Against Pipeline Company

According to grassroots advocacy group Roseland Against the Compressor Station, the Roseland facility is part of a pipeline that runs under several Essex County towns including West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Little Falls, Clifton, Bloomfield, Nutley, Belleville, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, Rutherford, East Rutherford, Carlstadt, Ridgefield and North Bergen, as well as the campus of Montclair State University.

The pipeline system connects the Northeastern markets with natural gas from the Marcellus Shale Formation, some of which is extracted using the controversial process known as "fracking."

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