May 15, 2020
Grassroots activists defeat controversial Williams fracked gas pipeline in New York Harbor
Decision ends three-year fight, barring litigation; New Yorkers celebrate decision as essential for protecting public health and the planet during crisis New York, NY - The New York Department of Environmental Conservation today denied a needed water quality permit for the controversial Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline, effectively putting an end to the epic fight against the widely opposed project. The pipeline was slated to carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania through New York Harbor and out to the Rockaways.
The Stop the Williams Pipeline Coalition issued the following statement:
“Governor Cuomo and the DEC have shown strength in stopping the Williams Pipeline and refusing to let one major crisis distract from another. The decision proves that Albany gets the bigger picture that connects public with planetary wellbeing and will not be swayed by corporate propaganda that puts profits above the best interests of the people. But let’s be clear: this victory is mainly because of grassroots activism and the unflagging determination of New Yorkers; Cuomo still needs to do much more. If he really wants to be a leader during a crisis while reaching the goals of his own climate law, he’ll stop with the austerity politics and seize on this opportunity to institute a green recovery, which must include banning all new fossil fuel infrastructure across the state for good.”
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Why we oppose this pipeline:
It would extend New Yorkers’ dependence on fossil fuel and so contribute to the worsening of climate change.
Construction of this pipeline would threaten human health. The seabed that would be dug up for this pipeline contains unsafe levels of toxic substances like arsenic, PCB’s, and dioxin.
In addition to churning up toxics into the sea water, the unrelenting construction, with its noise and water turbidity, will harm marine life.
Williams and its subsidiary Transco have a poor safety record. A leak or rupture of this pipeline would threaten shore communities, both human and non-human.
At an estimated cost of just under a billion dollars, yet delivering to an area that just got a new delivery pipeline in 2015, it is both unnecessary and expensive, especially since Empire Wind, the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind farm is coming to New York.
This underwater part of this pipeline would be laid for 23 miles along the south coast of Staten Island, past Coney Island, and ending 4 miles south of the Rockaways. Construction would require excavating a trench across the entirety of the route to bury the pipe. Williams says it plans to work on the offshore portion of this pipeline 24 hours/day, 7 days/week for over a year.
Please see the one-stop-shop campaign website we built:
www.stopthewilliamspipeline.org
Our allied groups organizing against the pipeline.
350BK | Surfrider NYC Chapter | Food & Water Watch NY | Rockaway Beach Civic Association