View: Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand ignore pipeline threats

by Courtney Williams, LoHud Opinion In November, Sen. Charles Schumer spoke out to protect children from the dangers of laundry detergent. In July, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand issued a press release regarding the “severe risks” that microbeads in face wash pose to fragile ecosystems. But where do they stand on the Spectra Algonquin Pipeline Expansion? Neither senator has taken a…

DEC Public Hearing On AIM Project Draws Both Sides

by Allison Dunne for WAMC Northeast Public Radio The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation held a public hearing Thursday in Rockland County’s Stony Point concerning a proposed pipeline expansion project. More than 40 speakers offered comments in front of a full audience. (View full report here)

Feds: Pipeline expansion won’t hurt environment

by Ernie Garcia for LoHud The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s staff determined that the proposed pipeline expansion will create some adverse environmental effects, but measures taken by Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC will minimize them. The staff also decided that the project won’t hurt the Hudson River because of the way the company is drilling under…

Riverkeeper: Indian Point’s pipeline study inadequate

by Ernie Garcia for LoHud Riverkeeper has joined calls for an independent study to assess the risk to the Indian Point nuclear power plant from the Algonquin pipeline expansion. In a Jan. 16 letter the Ossining-based environmental group said a safety evaluation prepared by Entergy, the company that operates Indian Point, didn’t adequately account for the effects…

Algonquin pipeline factions spar in Brewster hearing

by Mike Spillane for LoHud BREWSTER – Whose side are you on, red or orange? Wednesday night those colors helped differentiate the two main factions in the debate over the proposed Algonquin pipeline expansion, an issue that brought residents from around the region to Brewster for a public hearing. (View full report here)

New gas pipelines can be avoided: Back-up fuel incentives are the way to go

by Katherine R. Eiseman for CommonWealth Magazine LAST WINTER’S NATURAL gas price spikes, and resultant electric rate hikes, continue to be used to justify the push for massive expansion of gas infrastructure. Yet a successful program to incentivize New England’s power generators to contract for back-up fuel for this winter undermines the argument for more pipelines.…

Is Algonquin Expansion Part of System Upgrade: FERC Asks Spectra

By Lanning Taliaferro (Patch Staff) The federal regulatory commission quotes Cortlandt’s consultant on the first of Spectra’s three gas pipeline expansion projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cited Cortlandt town’s consultant in a series of questions it sent on Jan. 16 to Spectra Energy, the company that is seeking approval of its Algonquin Incremental Market project…

Protect bats, wetlands on pipeline route: Report

by Ernie Garcia for LoHud Westchester County officials should ask for surveys of bats, wetlands and amphibians along the route of a natural gas pipeline proposed for expansion. Those were some of the suggestions made by representatives of the nonprofit Hudsonia institute, who delivered a report to Westchester County officials Wednesday on the biodiversity near the Algonquin pipeline right of…

Lawmakers to Discuss Independent Report on Impact of Proposed Gas Pipeline Expansion in Westchester Park

By Lanning Taliaferro (Patch Staff) The Westchester County Board of Legislators’ Labor, Parks, Planning & Housing Committee will meet at 9:15 a.m. Jan. 14 to receive and discuss a new, independent environmental assessment of potential impacts to Blue Mountain Reservation from the proposed expansion of the current Spectra gas pipeline easement. Dr. Erik Kiviat from the…

State hearings set for natural gas pipeline

By Mark Lungariello for Westfair Online Residents will have two chances this month to comment on a plan that would expand a natural gas pipeline running through the region, even as ultimate approval seems imminent. The state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold public hearings in Southeast and Brewster on Jan. 21 and 22, respectively,…

Pipeline expansion hearings set for Brewster, Stony Point

by Ernie Garcia, Poughkeepsie Journal The state Department of Environmental Conservation has set hearings on the Algonquin pipeline expansion in Brewster and Stony Point. The state agency set the Jan. 21 and 22 hearings to receive public comments on Spectra Energy’s permit applications for the expansion of a pipeline that transmits Appalachian-basin natural gas through…

OpEd: Spectra Energy: Trust Facts Not Promises

by Mike Benard for The Daily Voice Speaking from experience with Spectra Energy, property owners and communities can expect the company (NYSE: SE) will not do what it says it will in terms of transparency and accountability; and the company will develop amnesia when questioned about its actual track record relating to safety and federal fines. (View…