Opposition expressed against gas pipeline project near Indian Pt.

Residents and officials gathered Monday at the Cortlandt Waterfront in Verplanck to voice opposition to a proposed gas pipeline expansion that runs next to Indian Point power plants.

Known as Project Maple, the proposal is expected to be put forward by Enbridge, a fossil fuel company seeking to expand its 1,100-mile-long Algonquin gas transmission pipeline that carries fracked gas from New Jersey to New York and Rhode. Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

State Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg (D-Ossining) and Cortlandt Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker appealed to Governor Hochul to prevent the plan from being implemented.

“It was here, a little over a year ago, that we were fighting to keep industrial wastes like radioactive nuclides from entering the Hudson River,” Levenberg said. “We will continue to fight to keep polluters out of the Hudson, a fight we have fought for many years to make the river clean.”

Standing on the bank of the Hudson River, about two miles south of Indian Point, Levenberg held up a letter signed by more than 70 local and state officials calling on Hochul to oppose Enbridge's pipeline expansion project by refusing any future permit applications for the project. . To date, Enbridge has not applied for any federal or state permits necessary to begin the Maple Project.

“The Maple Project is a potential future project, and no application for the Maple Project has been filed with our regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),” Enbridge spokesperson Max Bergeron said in an email addressed to Examiner Media. “We have ongoing discussions with potential project customers, such as natural gas utilities, to better define what this potential project could entail. As we advance a project, we hold public meetings, engage regularly with our neighbors, listen to feedback from various groups and individuals, and look for opportunities to give back and have a positive presence in the community. Pipeline projects are also subject to extensive public permitting processes that provide additional opportunities for interested individuals to have their voices heard. We are proud to serve our communities by responsibly providing the energy we all depend on.

This will be the third pipeline expansion project in the past 10 years, a pipeline that already carries gas beneath the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant that houses more than 2,000 tons of irradiated fuel rods, plus other radioactive waste.

The previous two projects were both approved, against calls from local activists, by FERC and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

“We need to exclude fossil fuels from our energy production,” Levenberg told about 20 supporters behind her who held banners and signs against the pipeline. “We must prevent the entry of pollutants like methane, which is a side effect of transporting gas through these pipelines, which means stopping the Maple project from starting and dedicating our resources to clean, renewable and sustainable energy to power the network. »

Levenberg was joined by members of the Food & Water Watch group and the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition. Other organizations actively opposing the Maple project include Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, United for Clean Energy, and the Safe Energy Rights Group.

Becker pointed out that local river towns have historically witnessed industrial pollutants burdening Hudson River communities, including the Indian Point Power Plant's dumping of radioactive tritium into the river about a year ago. He also reminded rally attendees of the upcoming Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line that will run 339 miles across the Hudson. River between the Canadian-American border to bring electricity to New York.

“And at the same time, we are the host of the Algonquin pipeline and now they want to expand it with this project,” Becker said. “Hydraulic fracturing is bad and it damages the environment by putting terrible chemicals into the ground at a time when we are trying to get rid of fossil fuels. On the one hand, the state is telling us to abandon gas stoves and use electric stoves and now they want to introduce more gas. Well, in what sense?

New York State's climate law requires that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by at least 85% by 2050. Currently, New York State leads the nation in banning fossil fuels in new buildings, which will come into force in 2026.

Santosh Nadabalan, lead organizer for Food & Water Watch, said many support groups are working to keep the Hudson River clean.

“The Hudson River supports a vast ecosystem and vibrant economy. We've stopped a ton of fossil fuel infrastructure projects in the last five years. We were able to achieve this by mobilizing a grassroots movement to urge our governor to do the right thing,” Nadabalan said.