Spectra

‘Montrose 9’ Found Guilty, Necessity Defense Denied

January 8, 2017 Resist AIM, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Oil and Gas, Pipeline, Spectra

By Resist AIM. Cortlandt, NY — On Friday morning - in front of a packed courtroom of over 100 New York residents, activists, sympathizers and supporters opposed to Spectra’s “AIM” Pipeline - Cortlandt Town Court Judge Daniel McCarthy issued sentences for nine New York residents (known as the “Montrose 9”) that were arrested for blocking access to a Spectra Energy construction yard in November 2015. Each of the nine of the defendants were fined and sentenced to community service. The defendants had pled the “Necessity Defense,” arguing that their activity was justified because it was done to stop a danger more harmful than the violation of the law, and only after all other legal and regulatory options had been exhausted. The danger they oppose is Spectra’s “AIM” Pipeline, a high-pressure 42-inch gas pipeline that runs within 105 feet of critical Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant safety facilities.

Verdict In Montrose 9 Necessity Defense Trial: Guilty!

December 3, 2016 Resist Spectra, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Criminal Justice, Oil and Gas, Pipelines, Spectra

By Resist Spectra. Cortlandt, NY — Four months after conclusion of the trial, today Judge Daniel McCarthy found the “Montrose 9” guilty of disorderly conduct for blocking traf c in Cortlandt Town Court. The “Montrose 9,” local residents and environmental advocates who were arrested for blocking access to a ware yard in Montrose to halt construction of Spectra Energy’s AIM pipeline on November 9, 2015, claimed that their actions were necessary to prevent a greater harm. At the Press Conference after Judge McCarthy's verdict, Defense Counsel, Martin Stolar, a prominent social justice attorney, said “I am extremely disappointed with respect to the necessity defense, which seems so obviously true. We will take it up on appeal. They (the defendants) are heroes, not criminals.”

FERC Corruption With Spectra Energy Exposed

November 5, 2016 Itai Vardi, www.desmogblog.com Educate! FERC, Spectra

By Itai Vardi for Desmog - Phil Suter, the spouse of Maggie Suter, a high-ranking official at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) who led the review for two gas pipeline projects by Spectra Energy, is a paid consultant for Spectra on a related pipeline project. Experts on ethics in government regulatory bodies told DeSmog this case raises serious red flags, amounting to what appears to be a conflict of interest.

Protesters Inside Pipeline Stop Spectra For 16 Hours

October 11, 2016 Resist Spectra Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! AIM Pipeline, Pipelines, Spectra

By Staff for Resist Spectra. At about 7 AM on October 10th, Indigenous People's Day, four water protectors crawled inside lengths of pipeline along the Hudson River to stop Spectra Energy from dragging its 42-inch diameter, high pressure, fracked-methane gas pipeline under the Hudson River alongside the aging and failing Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. The protectors stayed inside the pipeline for more 16 hours. They continued to sustain the occupation until after 11:00 PM when they were threatened by police with the use of tactical force to be removed and promised only minimal charges for the protest if they voluntarily left. Two support people were also arrested on site and charged with criminal trespass; a third support person was arrested on public property merely on suspicion of illegal activity by association

Enbridge Spreads Tentacles To Acquire Spectra, Creating ‘Pipeline Enemy #1’

September 8, 2016 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Educate! Fracking, Pipelines, Spectra

By Deirdre Fulton for Common Dreams - Two pipeline corporations have announced plans to merge, raising the hackles of climate activists who say the deal "would be bad news for energy consumers and terrible news for the clean energy revolution on which the future of our planet depends." Canadian pipeline behemoth Enbridge said Tuesday that it plans to buy Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. for stock worth $28 billion, creating what CBC News calls "a North American energy infrastructure giant."

Contractors Hired By FERC To Review New Spectra Energy Pipeline…

May 28, 2016 Itai Vardi, www.desmogblog.com Educate! FERC, Pipelines, Spectra

By Itai Vardi for Desmog - A contractor hired last year by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to review a proposed gas pipeline by Spectra Energy, had already been working for the company on a related project, a DeSmog investigation has found. Such an alleged conflict of interest suggests that the contractor had a financial stake in approving the project it was hired to review.

Activists Lock Down On Pipeline Path, Need Support

May 25, 2016 Resist AIM, www.popularresistance.org Resist! AIM Pipeline, Climate Change, Oil and Gas, Spectra

By Tina Volz-Bongar for Resist AIM. Peekskill, NY - Just four days after 21 people were arrested for peacefully blockading the entrance to a Spectra Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Pipeline work site, two people courageously locked themselves into a renewable-energy powered, 20-ft recycled shipping-container home at the work site, directly on the pipeline route. They plan to stay inside the container blockade for as long as possible. The AIM Pipeline is a 42-inch, high pressure, fracked gas pipeline, which if completed will run through residential communities and within 105 feet of critical Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant safety facilities. The fully self-contained home is a strong symbol of both resilience and resistance: It is intended to halt construction of the dangerous AIM Pipeline and to represent the safe alternative living situation we need to move towards to fight climate change and to halt our dependence on fossil fuel, which drives the buildout of dangerous infrastructure like the AIM Pipeline.

Blocking Access To Halt Construction Of Spectra’s AIM Gas Pipeline

March 24, 2016 Courtney Williams, www.resistaim.wordpress.com Resist! AIM Pipeline, Protests, Spectra

By Courtney Williams for Resist AIM - Buchanan, NY - Today at 6:30 AM, thirty people took action to stop the AIM pipeline from being built in Westchester by blocking access to two of Spectra Energy's construction areas for a total of three hours. Spectra Energy's Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) project would involve drilling underneath the Hudson River in Verplanck, NY, immediately south of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. The group of thirty defenders began by standing at both entrances to a Bleakley Avenue construction site preventing access to the proposed site of a new pigging station...

Protesters Want Flowers, Not Power Plants

December 6, 2015 Steve Ahlquist, www.rifuture.org Resist! Climate Change, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Spectra

By Steve Ahlquist for RIFuture.org. Burrillville, RI - Five women were arrested on Spectra Energy property in Burrillville this afternoon, during a protest in which they attempted to plant tulips where Spectra wants to expand pipelines and near where Invenergy wants to build a new methane gas power plant. Police said that three other protesters were arrested after they made it onto on the construction site via the woods behind the the new compressor station, bringing the total number of known arrests to eight. Among those arrested was Mary Pendergast from the Sisters of Mercy in Pawtucket. in a statement she said, “By taking action today, I’m following the directive of Pope Francis to put our lives on the line for care of the earth.”

Climate Action: Support Burrillville In Spectra Fight

November 29, 2015 FANG, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Energy, Oil and Gas, Spectra

By Fighting Against Natural Gas (FANG). Burrillville, RI - On December 4-5th we'll be gathering in Burrillville, RI with BASE (Burrillville Against Spectra Expansion) to reflect on two years of resistance and to take action once again. Invenergy, a Chicago based corporation, recently filed their application to build a $700 million fracked-gas power plant in Burrillville. Invenergy has been going through the community telling residents that if they want to move away from the proposed toxic plant, they'll happily purchase and then bulldoze their homes. Now is the time to come together and support the folks leading the resistance on the frontlines in Burrillville and send a message to Invenergy and Spectra (who's pipeline would be expanded again to help feed the power plant) that we will fight their fracked-gas projects every step of the way until they are cancelled.

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

November 20, 2015 Resist! AIM Pipeline, Pipelines, Spectra

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. Her protests were joinedby others with blockade's, tree-sits and more.

75th Birthday Party Disrupts Pipeline Construction

August 20, 2015 Capitalism vs Climate, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Oil and Gas, Pipeline, Spectra

By Capitalism vs Climate. NORTH WINDHAM, CT - In celebration of his 75th birthday today, Middletown resident Vic Lancia locked himself to two giant “birthday cakes”—actually concrete-filled barrels decorated with candles and frosting— on the sole road leading up to a site where Spectra Energy stores construction equipment and materials for use across Connecticut. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reports posted at capitalismvsclimate.org confirm what local residents have seen: Spectra trucks regularly using the facility to expand fracking infrastructure. By blocking Spectra workers from accessing the site, Vic aimed to disrupt Spectra's ongoing construction of it's "AIM Project", a billion dollar fracked-gas pipeline expansion affecting communities across the State.

Northeast Anti-Fracking Coalition Derails Gas Forum

June 17, 2015 Kelly Canavan, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Cove Point, Dominion, Fracking, Gas, Pipelines, Spectra

By Kelly Canavan for Popular Resistance. Boston, MA - Activists from Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington DC, and Maine disrupted the twentieth annual LDC Gas Forum two days in a row in protest of the Algonquin Incremental Market Expansion, the Cove Point LNG Export Terminal, the Vermont Gas Pipeline, and to demand the cancellation of all new gas infrastructure projects. One woman was arrested. Protesters are increasingly united across state lines, and across projects, and showing that they are not going to settle for causing a ruckus in only their own backyards. The annual Forum, attended by nearly 600 people, is designed to bring together large energy corporations with local gas distributors. On Monday morning Jay Gustaferro of Gloucester interrupted the conference's opening ceremony and took over the mic. Gustaferro addressed hundreds of gas industry professionals, urging them to take issues such as climate change and water contamination seriously. “I wanted to call out some of the myths that they are hoping to spin at this conference, and call out their hypocrisy and criminality.”

Demonstrators Bring Pipeline Fight To Governor’s Home

June 7, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Oil and Gas, Pipelines, Spectra

By Staff. Swampscott, MA - In April, pipeline fighters delivered an ultimatum to Spectra Energy's office: "You have 40 days to stop the AIM (Algonquin Incremental Market) expansion or we will increase our resistance." The AIM expansion project involves expanding pipelines, compressors and metering stations from New York through Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The forty days is up and Spectra has not backed down, so the people working to stop Spectra and their allies have organized a week of actions. They started with a march on Saturday, June 6 to Governor Charlie Baker's house in Swampscott, MA. About 60 people participated in the march. Some carried the 50-foot "United States of Fracking" banner that was created during the Stop the FERCus week of actions in Washington, DC at the end of May.

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