Pipeline Protesters Found Guilty of 2016 Trespass

CORTLANDT, NY — Three protesters who temporarily shut down construction of the AIM pipeline under the Hudson River by climbing into it were found guilty of trespass Jan. 8 by Cortlandt Town Justice Kimberly Ragazzo. She rejected their "climate necessity" defense but also rejected the prosecutor's sentencing request.

Instead, she granted Rebecca Berlin, David Publow, and Janet González unconditional release. On Oct. 10, 2016, the three crawled into a 42-inch diameter steel pipe set to be pulled under the Hudson River near the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Their protest stopped construction on the Spectra/Enbridge Algonquin pipeline expansion project for 18 hours.

The pipeline transports fracked gas from Pennsylvania through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Justice Ragazzo highlighted the strict, objective standard of New York’s necessity defense and focused her verdict on the narrow grounds that the defendants had not exhausted all legal remedies, specifically citing their failure to file as ‘intervenors’ with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“This was certainly not a complete victory, but we were able to fully and completely litigate the necessity defense," said David Dorfman, the defense lawyer and a professor at Elizabeth Haub Law School at Pace University. "The judge appeared to accredit our arguments and expert testimony regarding the harms caused by shale gas, methane emissions, and the dire risk of pipeline explosions, especially near Indian Point. Where we came up short is whether my three clients exhausted legal means to stop the pipeline before resorting to direct action. We disagree with the verdict and we will appeal. Perhaps as importantly, especially for my clients, they did not sustain criminal convictions and the sentence of an unconditional discharge is basically no sentence at all. No fines, no court costs, no community service. Nothing. That’s a great thing. And the fight continues.”

The Assistant District Attorney had requested a maximum fine and 300 hours of community service.

“It’s unfortunate that the judge, and most people, still don’t understand how the FERC system is designed to take power away from the people or how we are all part of collective action,” said Berlin, a Yorktown resident. “We are, however, encouraged by her words and her sentencing, both of which show that she understands the AIM Pipeline’s harms and the imminence of those threats.”

Photo by Erik McGregor

SEE ALSO:

• Scrutinize Pipeline Past Nuclear Plant: Long-Awaited State Report
  
• Algonquin Apologizes to Feds for Digging Up Cortlandt Wetland
  
• FERC Says Environmental Impacts of Pipeline Expansion Minimal
• Is Algonquin Expansion Part of System Upgrade: FERC