A resident-led group is looking to derail the planned expansion of a pipeline that will pump natural gas through the Hudson Valley region.
Spectra Energy Partners L.P. plans to increase the capacity of its Algonquin pipeline to ease an energy bottleneck in the New England region, but the larger amounts of flammable gas that would move through Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties has some residents protesting the plan.
A group called Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, or SAPE, has started an online petition that has so far gathered more than 19,000 signatures opposing the project, called the Algonquin Incremental Market. It is aiming for at least 20,000 signatures to send to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, which will ultimately decide the proposal”™s fate.
On SAPE”™s website, the group says it opposes the expansion, “because it may exacerbate climate change, endanger our safety and quality of life, contaminate water, air and soil, cause harm to domestic animals and wildlife, and threaten farmland and property values.”
Concerns include potential impacts on property values, environmental concerns and fears the expansion would pose an increased safety risk due to its proximity to the Indian Point nuclear energy center in Buchanan. The pipeline near Indian Point would have a 42-inch diameter, 200 percent larger than the current pipe, and it would pass near regional fault lines as well. An explosion at a compressor station or in the pipeline itself could be disastrous, the group said.
Group members also complain of noise and air quality in the neighborhoods near the compressor stations. The quality-of-life issues could combine to drive down home values in the Hudson Valley, SAPE said.
The group is not only appealing to FERC, but also looking to build local government resistance to expansion of the pipeline. Its members have addressed Westchester, Putnam and Rockland county governments to put a moratorium on expansion or additional construction associated with the plan. The Putnam County Legislature approved a resolution in May asking that further environmental studies be conducted and insurance be provided before approval of the plan.
Group member Suzannah Glidden said in a news release about the Putnam legislature”™s decision, “As a resident living near the Southeast compressor station and already affected by its emissions and blow downs when the wind blows from that direction, I”™m particularly relieved to see these measures heralded by a legislature that puts first its mandate to keep our health and safety protected.”
The existing Algonquin pipeline runs 1,127 miles and carries 2.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. It takes gas mined out of the Marcellus Shale through lower Westchester and up into Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The company participated in a pre-filing process beginning last year and formally submitted its application to FERC in February of this year.
The proposed project would build 20.1 miles of new pipeline in Connecticut and New York, including a 0.7 mile crossing of the Hudson River in Rockland County. New compressor units would be installed at existing compressor stations in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Spectra anticipates having the new infrastructure in place by spring 2016, according to its website.
The expansion and several other projects can improve the reliability of 60 percent of power generators in New England, while keeping the price of natural gas steady to an increased availability of the commodity, the company said.
Bill Yardley, Spectra”™s president of U.S. Transmission and Storage, said in a July press release Spectra had a “unique solution” for reliable energy in New England. “Our pipelines are in the right place at the right time to supply the region”™s electric plants with affordable, clean, domestic natural gas,” he said.
Calls to Spectra seeking comment on the opposition were not immediately returned.
