Above Photo: From WCAX.org.
MONTPELIER, Vt. – The fight over the Vermont Gas pipeline continues.
Saturday crowds of people filled the streets in Montpelier to protest the project while the company stands behind its plans.
Avery Pittman is a Vermont Gas customer who has taken part in many protests against the company’s natural gas pipeline.
“This project clearly does not make any sense for where we are right now, and as a rate payer in Burlington, I was not excited that I was gonna be having to pay for it,” said Pittman.
The pipeline is already undergoing construction from Colchester to Williston in order to bring Vermont Gas service to people in Addison County, but protesters like Pittman want the construction to end.
“They don’t have to keep building this project, and we expect that they will just stop and not continue moving forward with it,” said Pittman.
On Saturday, Pittman joined more than a hundred protesters to parade through the streets of Montpelier and bring their concerns to the statehouse. Activists say the natural gas to be used in the pipeline is a product of fracking out of state, a method used for drilling that protesters say is a threat to the environment.
“This is a crisis. There’s a fracking ban in Vermont. We’re not gonna allow fracking gas to come into Vermont, or to be fracked in Vermont, and we need to put a stop to it,” said Henry Harris, with activist group Rising Tide.
Vermont Gas officials say that the pipeline is necessary to bring affordable heat to more Vermonters.
“Every day we get calls, we get emails from folks saying ‘When are you coming to my town? When are you coming to my community? When can you come to my house?’ This is what we’re doing. We’re trying to bring this clean energy source to more Vermonters, so they can start saving some money on their heating bills and reducing their carbon footprint,” said Beth Parent, with Vermont Gas.
Protesters argue that not only is the pipeline bad for the environment in Vermont, but they say it makes the state more dependent on fossil fuels as a source for energy.
Vermont Gas officials say the company is continuing its construction with plans to be finished next year and that the natural gas is a much cleaner energy source.
“We share the same goals of a cleaner environment, and that’s why natural gas is so important. It should be part of the clean energy future. It’s cleaner, and it’s also more affordable for folks who are trying to save money when they’re trying to heat their homes,” said Parent.
Right now the Public Service Board is deciding whether to reconsider approval of the pipeline project.
Protesters are planning to camp out on State Street through the weekend.