First Day of Trial for Pipeline Foes Starts with Press Conference

The trial began Friday for the Montrose 9, activists arrested for disorderly conduct Nov. 9 for halting work on Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Pipeline AIM project by blocking access to their construction yard in Montrose, NY.

A spokesperson, Cortlandt resident Courtney Williams, said the defendants are using the “Necessity Defense,” claiming their actions were necessary to prevent harm to the public posed by the pipeline construction, in additional to exercising their First Amendment Rights, following closely on the heels of a decision in the Delta 5 case in Washington State.

AIM is the first of three projects announced by Spectra to expand the pipeline, which goes from New Jersey to New England. It includes replacing small, unconnected segments of current pipeline with larger-diameter pipe. It will be finished in November.

“The AIM Project is not designed for nor will the project be used to transport natural gas for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). The additional supplies will be used exclusively within southern New England,” Spectra says on its website.

Susan Rutman, a longtime Hastings-on-Hudson resident who was arrested as one of the Montrose 9, said in a prepared statement: “I live and work directly on the Hudson River in Westchester County. Looking at this beauty and thinking of the utter destruction planned for this pipeline route catapults me into the front line of this fight.”

SEE ALSO:

• Activists Arrested for Pipeline Blockade Go to Trial
• Letter to the Editor: Some Pipeline Activists Spread Misinformation

Added Williams, Vice President of SEnRG (Safe Energy Rights Group) a non-profit started to fight the legal battle against the pipeline, “Right now we have absolutely no legal or regulatory recourse. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has refused to do its job for months, while allowing Spectra to fast-track construction. We cannot proceed with our legal challenge to the pipeline until FERC acts.”

The trial, which was preceded by a press conference and attended by many supporters, continues Jan. 22, she said.

PHOTO/contributed