The expansion of a natural gas pipeline through the region would have a “dramatic and negative impact” on county parkland in the town of Cortlandt, Westchester County lawmakers say.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, can rule this month on a proposal from Texas-based Spectra Energy Partners to expand the capacity of its Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline by replacing 26-inch diameter pipes with 42-inch pipes.
But members of a county Board of Legislators subcommittee are asking FERC to hold off on giving the green light on the expansion over concerns of its impact to the Blue Mountain Reservation in Cortlandt.
“Our county parks staff has not had adequate time to review, nor have they been presented with any technical drawings or surveys, regarding the scope of work presented by Spectra Energy in its recent meeting in order to properly assess how the proposed construct will impact Blue Mountain Reservation,” members of the board”™s Labor, Parks, Planning and Housing Committee said in a Nov. 13 letter to FERC.
The letter came the day following two meetings held by the committee discussing the pipeline expansion, specifically its expansion in Blue Mountain. The entire pipeline runs 1,127 miles and its path goes through Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
Jim Muskay, Spectra”™s regional director for the project, presented an overview at the Nov. 12 committee meeting, saying that work at Blue Mountain would affect roughly 1.25 miles of a 26-inch pipe and a 30-inch pipe installed in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively.
The work would include removal of mature trees and expanded construction access on the park”™s right of way. Construction would be phased in a two-part excavation and re-excavation process that would remove the old pipe, then install the new, larger pipes.
Legislator Peter Harckham, a Democrat and chairman of the board subcommittee, said that the two meetings aimed to answer questions. “The process has, indeed, generated even more concerns about the unfortunate results that may be caused by the project and how much county parkland will possibly be harmed during the course of construction,” he said.
Spectra had met with representatives from the office of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, in January and discussed the plans for Blue Mountain. According to Harckham, a letter of memorandum about that meeting was forwarded to FERC but not to county legislators until November. He also said that county parks officials did not meet with representatives until Spectra or walk the property from several weeks ago.
In the letter, addressed to FERC secretary Kimberly Bose, legislators said that testimony from Spectra representatives and others showed that a draft environmental impact statement filed by the company “contains significant inaccuracies and false information regarding the project impacts within Blue Mountain Reservation.”
The full Board of Legislators had formally voted in August to ask for stricter review of the overall expansion plan. In that vote, lawmakers asked state and federal agencies to require independent health assessments, safety reviews and environmental analyses on the company”™s dime.
In the U.S., someone is either injured or killed in a natural-gas-related accident every nine days, according to Harckham. The board”™s calls come after heated backlash from some residents and the formation of a grassroots organization called Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, which collected 20,000 signatures on an anti-expansion petition.
John Ravitz, executive vice president of The Business Council of Westchester, said in a recent interview that the council supported the expansion because it could create jobs and reduce energy costs.
“Obviously the demand for natural gas is growing, so we want to have projects that make sense,” he said. “Just saying ”˜no”™ doesn”™t get you there.”
