Activists from four states are planning a week”™s worth of events to protest the expansion of a natural gas pipeline that runs through the region.
The Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline, owned by Spectra Energy Partners LP, runs through New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Spectra wants to replace portions of the existing 26-inch diameter pipeline with 42-inch diameter pipes, including on part of the route that snakes near Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan.
New York and Connecticut groups will hold their rally Saturday at 11 a.m. outside of the Danbury Green Shopping Center, 113 Mill Plain Road in Danbury. The event will be one of several “actions” coordinated by opposition groups throughout the four states beginning Saturday and running through Dec. 19.
Nick Katkevich, of the Rhode Island-based group Fighting Against Natural Gas, said in a press release that the week was being referred to as a “Week of Respect and Resistance.” “It”™s also time for Spectra and our elected officials to respect our power and respect our desire to see a world powered by community-owned renewable energy,” he said.
Dec. 19 is the date the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to release its final environmental impact statement for the project ”“ a clean bill of health could clear the way to approval of the expansion and the construction of new compressor stations, which some environmentalists say could affect air quality.
Susan Van Dolsen, of the Westchester County-based group Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, or SAPE, said local groups have been organizing in their respective areas by speaking with legislators. “And now we are coming together to emphasize that this is one pipeline project, four states, one loud collective voice saying ”˜Stop the Spectra Algonquin pipeline expansion,”™” she said.
Spectra spokeswoman Marylee Hanley said in a phone message that the existing pipelines have operated “without incident” and were installed prior to the construction of Indian Point in the 1960s.
“The Algonquin pipeline system has been operating in the area for more than 60 years,” she said.
