Pipeline Protesters Take to Kayaks on the Hudson River

CORTLANDT, NY — As Spectra Energy began its second attempt to pull the Algonquin pipeline under the Hudson River adjacent to Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Sept. 17, activists took to kayaks to protest the fracked-gas pipeline project.

Kayakers in New York also went ashore on property purchased by the town in an (unsuccessful) effort to stop the pipeline from being built, according to Cortlandt resident Courtney Williams.

Some kayakers capsized and had to be rescued by first responders, according to Kempter's Fire Wire.

Andrew Courtney of New York described the protesters' activities: “We are hitting the water today in solidarity with our indigenous sisters and brothers who gave us the Two Row Wampum Hudson long paddle two years ago and whose name for this river was ‘A river that flows two ways.’ We stand with our activist kayakers in Seattle and most recently on the Missouri River in collaboration with the Standing Rock protectors actions in North Dakota."

The activity they were protesting, called a pullback, has been a difficult one for the Algonquin Pipeline expansion project. In an earlier attempt, the drill stem disconnected from the pipe Spectra Energy's contractors were trying to pull through the bore hole under the Hudson River. Workers were concerned that if the pipe was not moved immediately it could get permanently stuck or the bore hole could be lost — so they went to work on it without getting permissions from their FERC monitor or anyone else, hammering away with such abandon that 18 nearby households had to be relocated for the duration.

SEE:

• Algonquin Apologizes to Feds for Digging Up Cortlandt Wetland
• Noise Nightmare as Algonquin Pipeline Woes Lead to 24-hour Work

Pipeline opponents are calling on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to use their influence to stop the pipeline once and for all, and are calling on them to attend the next FERC meeting on Sept. 22 in Washington, DC.

Spectra Energy’s plan to enlarge the pipeline includes three projects so far.

The AIM Project involves the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of 37.4 miles of pipeline and related facilities in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Most of the pipeline installation will replace existing pipeline with larger diameter pipeline.
Atlantic Bridge includes replacement of another 10.9 miles of existing pipeline with new larger diameter pipe.
Access Northeast includes the expansion of approximately 125 miles of the existing Algonquin pipeline system, plus new lines and facilities, including a new Liquified Natural Gas Storage Facility in Acushnet, Massachusetts.

RELATED:

• FERC Says Environmental Impacts of Pipeline Expansion Minimal
• Peaceful Resistance Training Offered to Opponents of Pipeline Expansion
• Is Algonquin Expansion Part of System Upgrade: FERC

Photos:

Activists set out on kayak protest/ Erik McGregor

WCPD M2 and M3 on scene off of Steamboat Dock with 3 persons in the water. Group is part of a larger protest of Spectra Pipeline/ Kevin Patrick‎ via Kempter's Fire Wire