CNY lawmakers oppose Hochul’s pipeline plan, cite water quality risks
Some central New York lawmakers spoke out against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s implementation of Northeast Supply Enhancement and Construction Pipelines in the state. They say Hochul “caved” to Trump, and the pipes will increase electrical bills and threaten water quality. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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Central New York lawmakers spoke out against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s implementation of Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline and the Constitution Pipeline across the state at a Tuesday press conference.
The state hasn’t held any public hearings, but allowed for a “short” public comment period in July. Renee Vogelsang, New York director at Frack Action, State Senator Rachel May and Assemblymember Anna Kelles urged Hochul to reject the “fracked gas” pipelines implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Fossil fuel donors, big hydrocarbon has a lot of stake in making us believe that fracked gas is cheap and clean and safe, and they are wrong,” May said at the conference. “That message that they keep trying to push, the propaganda that they keep putting out about it, is endangering our health and our waterways and our future.”
The 37-mile pipeline — the NESE pipeline — would span from New Jersey to a pipeline south of the Rockaways, adding to ones running from Texas to Long Island, the New York Focus reported.
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation already rejected the NESE pipeline three times in 2018, 2019 and 2020 because it would harm water quality in the New York Bay.
Trump’s promise of fossil fuel dominance in a January executive order unleashed a “new age” of American energy, aimed at expanding oil, gas and coal. In October, his administration cut $7.6 billion in clean energy grants in 16 states.
Ten days after talks between Hochul and President Trump in May, the Williams Energy Company reapplied for NESE and Constitution Pipeline approval.
During the press conference, Vogelsang mentioned a recent comment from Trump that Hochul “caved” to him. Vogelsang said pipelines would cost New Yorkers a collective $3 billion on their energy bills and threaten water quality while posing health risks to communities.
“If they build these pipelines, people will be on the hook for 200 million a year,” Kelles said. “Every single year until we ratepayers pay back the cost of this infrastructure while the companies that own the pipelines take home all the profit.”
May and Kelles are two of 50 state legislators who signed a letter urging Hochul to reject the pipelines because of the overwhelming threat to the state and its citizens, according to a release.
Last month, state regulators endorsed the proposal to construct the NESE pipeline after consulting faulty data and the large number of lawmakers opposing the pipeline.
The DEC’s decision on the NESE pipeline will come in the following weeks, according to the release.
