NYers Say No To Spectra Pipeline, Homeowner Protest, Tree Sit & More

Note: People In Westchester and Cortland New York are aggressively protesting a Spectra Pipeline, the AIM Pipeline, being constructed across the county. The week began with a homeowner refusing to get out of the way of construction equipment on her property, was followed by a Tree Sit and more protests. The battle is just beginning to STOP SPECTRA!

Homeowner Stops Work On Spectra Pipeline Construction

Update from Kim Fraczek, Co-Director, Sane Energy Project:  The police refused to arrest her because she is standing on her own property. She has held them off since 9:20am, and it is 3pm now. She is still there. Heroic! Several police left the scene and left one officer.  Now, Spectra has just continued to operate their machinery too close to Nancy, and they are violating the law. We have sent video to our lawyer. (And we will need to raise legal funds. Help if you can: http://www.senrg.org/donate/)

Peekskill Resident Nancy Vann Refuses to Leave Her Own Property, Effectively Stopping Clearcutting for Dangerous Pipeline That Would Run 100ft From Indian Point

Cortlandt, NY – Local resident Nancy Vann stopped clearcutting through the Reynolds Hills area today by standing within 300 feet of where construction crews were scheduled to begin clearing trees to make way for the AIM pipeline, a high-pressure 42 inch-diameter gas pipeline being built without the permission of the community. She was joined by Peekskill Councilmember Kathleen Talbot, who stood nearby to show support. By standing within 300 feet of the clearcutting site, worker crews cannot proceed without violating their own safety guidelines.

Vann says that she is taking a stand for the safety of the whole region. “They claim to be concerned about my safety – but what about the safety of the 20 million people at risk from a pipeline accident at Indian Point? Or the thousands at risk from asthma and other health problems in this environmental justice community?”

Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) project would involve building a high-pressure 42-inch diameter pipeline within 100 feet of critical structures of Indian Point and would expose local communities to toxic emissions from compressor stations along the pipeline path. The pipeline is being built against the wishes of the community and local elected officials, and in the case of Reynolds Hills. Spectra Energy has used eminent domain to seize property for construction contrary to the will of landowners and homeowners. This has outraged residents and environmental and public safety advocates who point to Spectra’s abysmal safety record as proof that the company cannot be trusted to construct a pipeline safely. A coalition called Resist AIM has formed to stop the project from moving forward.

Years of trying to stop the project through standard regulatory channels has shown that the regulatory agencies involved – the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) – are unwilling to consider the full impacts of this project. On twitter, Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker has claimed that “federal agencies have failed to protect WC residents,” while State Senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Brad Hoylman have both called upon FERC to halt its plans to move forward with the pipeline.