An Environmental Protection Committee (EPC) meeting at City Hall Chambers featured a slew of activists accusing Williams Pipeline supporters of feeding the public “false choices” of fracked gas and oil.
Convening the Apr. 15 hearing was Councilman and EPC Chair Costa Constantinides, who was joined by Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Both spoke in favor of passing a resolution aimed at preventing The Williams Companies from obtaining a water quality permit that would facilitate the expansion of the fossil fuel-carrying Transcontinental Gas Pipeline (Transco).
“I cannot believe that at a time that we are talking about a New Green Deal and discussing bold new legislation to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions of our buildings in New York City, that we are still being asked to support fracking and to expand fossil fuel pipelines,” said Johnson in relation to the construction of a compressor station in Raritan Bay, New Jersey that would connect to an offshore pipeline in Rockaway.
The elected officials proceeded to grill Con Edison representatives, including the company’s Vice President of Governmental Relations Kyle Kimball, as he justified the proposal of new underwater pipeline framework by claiming that the demand for natural gas has grown by 30 percent since 2011.
Kimball, moreover, stated that the New York-based energy provider is “looking to improve the efficiency of current infrastructure.” He noted The Williams Companies’ Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) would fill a need for natural gas in a tight market and actually keep prices down.
The Con Ed spokespeople on hand further recognized that “climate change is real,” but also affirmed that natural gas has a role to play in delivering energy to their customers. When asked by Constantinides about “incentives” offered to certain people, the reps acknowledged that they are trying to motivate a select group of developers to move off oil and buy into natural gas.
The Astoria, Queens-based legislator reminded the duo that he and many of his colleagues are trying to transition to renewables. In addition, he indicated that the utility’s business as-usual practices do not fall in line with New York State’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from 1990 levels and to ensure that 50-percent of electricity is derived from renewable sources (i.e. geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind energy, et. al.)
What’s more, Constantinides referenced how a gas pipeline’s 40-year span would also conflict with renewable energy goal in terms of the latter gaining dominance over fossil fuels. Increasing pipeline infrastructure, he and others argue, would, in essence, impede renewables from gaining market share.
While Williams Companies delegates didn’t speak publicly at the hearing, they provided testimony prior to the 10 a.m. meeting and reiterated much of what was communicated by Con Ed.
In a statement issued to The Wave by Christopher Stockton, the conglomerate’s media relations representative, Williams told members of the EPC that the NESE project’s enhancement of the Transco pipeline network is necessary since it is currently responsible for 50-percent of New York City’s natural gas supply.
“Although this existing system is largely out of sight and out of mind, it is vital to New York City’s energy portfolio and has safely and reliably served the city’s natural gas needs for nearly 70 years. Unfortunately, this system currently operates at maximum capacity, meaning it is not able to accommodate future natural gas demand growth.”
The document went on to say that due to increased efficiency in power generation and home heating and cooling, New York is presently experiencing its cleanest air quality in 50 years.
But the varied assortment of individuals opposing the NESE endeavor discredited those statements. They, in fact, rebuked past warnings by local utilities of limiting gas supply in areas of New York in the event of the pipeline not being approved, and shed light on corporate “bullying” tactics.
“The Williams NESE Pipeline is not a bridge fuel. It will bring us more climate change, more poison and a nosedive for our democracy,” charged Sane Energy Project (SEP) Director Kim Fraczek, who has consistently been on the forefront in the fight to promote renewable energy as a means to sustain all life on planet Earth.
“Williams Companies along in partnership with the deliverers of their product, Natural Grid and Con Edison, are currently running a false information campaign that is nothing more than a manufactured crisis to keep their unsustainable and inequitable business models in survival mode.”
Fraczek’s poignant remarks continued with her pointing out that corporate CEOs have little incentive in creating a path leading to renewable infrastructure in the near future since they “benefit from this pipeline” and “make millions per year” from their current business model.
Fellow SEP activist Lee Ziesche also fired away against Williams and its allies by zeroing in on the natural gas that is being distributed to households nationwide. The gas, she said, is nothing more than fossil fuels, which are a “finite resources that contribute to climate change.”
In fact, the SEP organizer and documentary filmmaker went even further and denounced the method employed in extracting the gas from the ground.
“The gas transported by the pipeline would be fracked from the Marcellus Shale in neighboring Pennsylvania. The method of fracking itself not only contaminates groundwater and pollutes the air; it leaks large amounts of methane.”
And though methane isn’t mentioned quite as often as carbon dioxide, it is reportedly 86-106 times more potent than CO2 for its first 20 years in the surrounding atmosphere.
Noelle Picone of Surfrider Foundation doubled down on Ziesche’s claims by citing a number of damning facts in relation to pipeline constriction. These included a projection reported by the Department of Environmental protection that estimates that the NESE initiative would release 99,781 tons of CO2—the equivalent of burning 50,000 tons of coal.
“Climate change has put New York City in such a vulnerable and precarious position, that a proposal exists to literally extend the island of Manhattan. This is the severity of the threat we are facing,” cautioned Picone.
“Given this, to not oppose this project, which will most certainly contribute toward the climate change, would not only be illogical, but irresponsible.”
Another notable anti-Williams notable testimonial was presented by Jackie Weisberg of local action group 350Brooklyn, who questioned the “safety” of the Williams Transco gas pipeline.
She highlighted several disasters occurring at compressor stations and offshore sites, such as:
A “massive” explosion of the pipeline in 2011 in Sweetwater, Alabama due to corrosion. The blast—heard 30 miles away— ignited a fire that burned 8 acres of pine forest.
A 2015 rupture of a Williams pipeline in Lycoming, Pennsylvania that released approximately 96,379,000 cubic feet of methane.
Potential consequences spurred by construction activities in the form of dredging up toxins, such arsenic, and lead, were tackled by a number of attendees, starting with Constantinides. He posited that “dangerous” sediments released back into the environment would invariably end up in the aquatic food chain and ultimately in the body of whoever consumes those products.
Annie Garneva, a Stop the Williams Pipeline Coalition member, weighed in on the matter as well by adding: “Williams itself has documented unsafe levels of toxic substances under the sea floor all along the proposed route. The release of toxins is particularly concerning when it comes to bottomfeeding marine life overall, and how this will impact the commercial and recreational purposes that this water is meant for by law.”
One form of marine life that could find itself negatively impacted, she explained, is the Atlantic sturgeon, which has been making a slow comeback over the past two decades. Three to 12 hours of seafloor trenching, according to Garneva, could inundate the sturgeon variety with plumes of sediments, expose them to high levels of toxins and reduce the amount of prey they live off.
Similarly, Rockaway Beach Civic Association Co-Vice President Bridget Klapinski shared her concerns with the major undertaking and how it could irreparably disrupt the presence of resident wildlife in coastal communities like Rockaway.
The simple joys of “watching ospreys returning to their nest in Jamaica Bay, hearing oystercatchers over the ocean or watching seals resting on the beach” could all be compromised by the impact of the increased turbidity, boat traffic and construction noise of heavy machinery, said Kaplinski.
“None of us are apart from this nature. We are dependent upon clean water and vital eco-systems— economically and countless other ways.”
Veering the argument toward the proposed fracked gas pipeline’s effect on low-income communities and neighborhoods of color was Patrick Houston of New York Communities for Change, as he observed how those populations are especially vulnerable to the “climate crisis.”
He recounted that 400 buildings in 33 NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority) were altered and/or damaged in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, with residents losing power, medicine, food, pets and wages for missed days at work.
While Williams is assured a return of robust return on their investment of about 14 percent, continued Houston, Rockaway is projected to be underwater by 2100 if the powers that be continue their “business as usual” operations.
Though the dedication of local environmental organizations has been influential in gaining the support of numerous local elected officials on both sides, the specter of President Donald Trump signing off executive orders to fast-track oil and gas pipeline projects can put a sizeable dent in their battle against climate change.
But judging from the ardor and relentlessness witnessed from those objecting the pipeline, this David-versus-Goliath skirmish seems to be light years away from its conclusion.
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