Letter to the Editor: Rally Against Pipeline Expansion in Peekskill

Over a hundred local residents gathered in Pugsley Park on Saturday, Oct 25 to protest the Algonquin natural gas pipeline expansion proposed for Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam counties. Hosted by Reynolds Hills, Concerned Peekskill Residents (CPR), Keep Yorktown Safe (KYS), and Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE), the rally drew homeowners, activists, and politicians from both parties to voice their common concerns that the new pipeline is too dangerous to run past neighborhoods and schools in our area.

Texas-based Spectra Energy owns the pipeline. The proposed AIM project expands the existing 26” gas line to 42”, increasing both capacity and hazards. A new pipeline trench will be dug through Verplanck, just 450 ft. from the Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School and 1500 ft. from Indian Point. A pigging station where toxic residue is flushed from the pipe will be built on Bleakley Ave. in Buchanan. From there, the work will continue into the southern edge of Peekskill, then up through Blue Mountain Reservation in Cortlandt and into Yorktown. Other pigging stations are planned for Stony Street in Yorktown and near the intersection of Stephanie Lane and Lovell Street in Mahopac/Somers. Work is scheduled to begin in early 2015. Residents will face two years of heavy construction, up to 6 days a week, from 7 AM to sunset.

Spectra is already planning a second project, Atlantic Bridge, for areas of Yorktown and Somers. Both projects will include expansion of air polluting compressor stations in Stony Point and Southeast. Susan Van Dolsen, of SAPE, said that this was a clear example of illegal segmentation, breaking up big projects into smaller proposals to lessen their perceived impact.

Elected officials from Peekskill, Cortlandt, Yorktown, and North Salem rallied to speak out against the project. Assemblywoman Sandy Galef also spoke at length, and county legislators Catherine Borgia and Jane Shimsky sent statements against the pipeline. Democratic state senate candidate Justin Wagner expressed his concerns to a receptive crowd, and Republican congressional candidate Chris Day voiced his complaints about Spectra not being forthcoming about the project.

Peekskill resident Courtney Williams described how she confronted Spectra representatives at a village meeting in Buchanan. She said the project manager seemed unaware or unwilling to talk about the toxic emissions of the proposed pigging stations, even though there was ample third party scientific evidence that they produce radon byproducts, polonium, and other pollutants.

“I believe Spectra is lying to us,” she said.

The AIM project is still under review by FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatoy Commission) and citizens concerned about the project should take immediate action. Contact your local officials and find out where they stand both before and after the election. Contact Governor Cuomo, Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Lowey to express your concerns and urge them to demand FERC require independent health and risk assessments before making a decision on the project.

Find out more about the project and how to fight it at www.sape2016.org.

Erik Lindberg