Rensselaer County Legislature Hears From SNYFGP At Monthly Meeting
At the monthly Rensselaer County Legislature public comment meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2015, approximately 20 Rensselaer County citizens spoke concerning their opposition to the proposed NED high-pressure fracked gas pipeline being planned to traverse Albany, Rensselaer, and Schoharie Counties, on its way to the Massachusetts coast, by Texas-based energy giant, Kinder Morgan. The citizens are part of Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline (SNYFGP), an all-volunteer group of concerned Rensselaer County citizens opposed to the proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline.
[private]The message detailed how the NED Pipeline will have devastating consequences for many Rensselaer County residents, including emotional testimony from some of the many families with young children that live next to the proposed industrial compressor station, which would be one of the largest of its kind in the country. The potential public safety dangers are regularly occurring and real for a much larger area surrounding the pipeline and compressor station than the 150 foot distance Kinder Morgan has included in their scoping application, as indicated by a handout provided to the legislature. (PHMSA Accident Data attachment)
The first step that was requested of the Rensselaer County Legislators by the speakers was to send a letter to Governor Cuomo requesting that DEC and DOH fully investigate the health effects of natural gas pipelines prior to issuing new permits. A similar letter from Schoharie County, which may soon be followed by Albany County, was provided to the legislature. Speakers also encouraged the Legislature to pass a water/well protection law similar to that passed recently in Albany County, in their upcoming sessions.
Speakers were calling for the County Legislature to go beyond what they may normally believe to be their scope limits, since stopping this type of process is very rare, and will require extraordinary efforts from the citizens, and all levels of government. The speakers stressed how adding many small hurdles for Kinder Morgan will help, and are needed in order to have any hope of defeating this project.
For more information about Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline and its efforts, please visit http://stopnypipeline.org[/private]