There’s a phenomenon talked about in pipeline fighting circles – Zombie Pipelines. They’re projects that were withdrawn from consideration, shelved indefinitely, that were considered done and over with, but then they get a new chance at life. In this case, the Constitution Pipeline was one that pre-dated the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct (NED) proposal by about a year. No Fracked Gas in Mass and other NED fighting groups got some of our earliest tips from the folks at Stop the Pipeline, and Attorney Anne Marie Garti. It was planned to be a large, 30 inch diameter transmission line starting in Pennsylvania fracking territory, running up through eastern upstate NY to the Wright gas hub near Schenectady, NY, just west of Albany.
In 2016, Constitution was defeated when the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (NY-DEC, similar to Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Protection DEP), denied the 401 Water Quality Certificate (WQC) for the project. This state-issued permit is one of a few that come AFTER FERC’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. The defeat of Constitution was particularly bittersweet after Williams Co. started the tree clearing in Pennsylvania, including the Holleran Farm sugar maples, when all of those state’s permits were in place, sure that the NY one was just a matter of time. When the NY 401 WQC was denied, the case went to the courts and the state DEP prevailed.
However, on August 28th, FERC granted a petition for declaratory order in favor of Constitution Pipeline Co., LLC, on voluntary remand from the US Court of Appeals (essentially, FERC requested that the courts allow them to make a determination, and they agreed). In this way, FERC reversed the determination in the Declaratory Order, stating that the NY DEC waived its authority to deny the 401 Water Quality Certificate by issuing the denial too late.
Exactly where this will lead is not yet known. The Constitution Pipeline still needs the 404 Water Quality Certificate from the Army Corps of Engineers and a Notice to Proceed from FERC, but these are seldom large hurdles to clear. This pipeline would be a major transmission line carrying gas from the fracking fields of Pennsylvania to a major hub in NY’s capitol region. This is the same hub that Tennessee Gas’ existing 200-Line runs through before heading to Massachusetts (a pipeline with a few proposed expansions and connecting infrastructure projects). It’s also the one where the original, shorter version of the NED pipeline was slated to begin. Though we don’t have concrete evidence of these being connected, all of these elements combined with aggressive tree-clearing by National Grid and Eversource along the former proposed NED pipeline path and Peiridae’s announcement in its 4th quarter 2018 newsletter that preparation for construction for the Goldboro LNG export terminal in Nova Scotia had started and is still seeking more fracked gas sources all paint a foreboding picture.
We will keep you posted on any updates and alerts here.
In the meantime:
Message from Anne Marie Garti (lawyer and head of Stop The Pipeline – official opposition group to Constitution Pipeline) – 8/31/19
People who intervened in the docket (CP18-5) where Constitution requested a declaration of waiver can file a request for rehearing (to FERC) by 5 pm on 9/27/19. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) intervened and will be doing this. So will Stop the Pipeline (STP) and other groups.
Of course FERC will issue a tolling order 30 days later, keeping us out of the courts.
Right now, the most important thing is for parties to file requests rehearing before the end of September. Other actions can wait until after then.
We’re still adjusting to this news, and expect to develop a plan of action, but the fate of the pipeline may be decided by the courts. Trout Unlimited filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on Monday, August 26th, challenging the DC Circuit’s decision (Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC), which is the case on which FERC is relying to overturn NYSDEC’s decision.
What can you do in the meantime?
– Comment on the EPA’s proposed 401 water quality certification regulations.
– Work on political campaigns.Ideas welcome.
No Fracked Gas in Mass would like to also encourage people to put up pressure in their towns – whether currently under the shadow of fracked gas infrastructure expansion or not.
These can take many forms simultanously, including:
– Urge your Board of Health to send a letter to the Governor (over 100 municipalities in Massachusetts have done this so far – Here’s how!)
– Work with your town’s Planning Board or Zoning Board to oppose fracked gas infrastructure, especially in residential zones (having a total ban in all zones may make it more likely to be defeated in court cases – residential zones have the most direct health impacts.) See news of Longmeadow’s recently passed zoning by-law.
– Work with your Mayor or Select Board to publicly declare opposition to fracked gas infrastructure expansion (See statements by Holyoke and Northampton leaders. Also see how town-by-town adoption of resolutions against fracking in New York helped lead to the current state-wide ban.)
Though FERC can often override local initiatives like these with federal preemption, having them in place registers local opposition on official records and helps make the case in court that FERC is acting against the will of the people when approving these projects’ Notice to Proceed and help lend support to state-wide bans.
» Feel free to offer any other suggestions and ideas!
LOCAL OPPOSITION GROUPS
» Stop The Pipeline
» CASE – (Community Advocates for a Sustainable Environment)
» Compressor Free Franklin
— CFF Facebook Page