KINGSTON – A last-minute resolution of the Kingston Common Council, approved Tuesday night, placed the city in opposition to the New York State Thruway Authority serving as co-lead agency, alongside the Department of Environmental Conservation, for environmental review of the Pilgrim Pipeline project.
The two state agencies have agreed to share the responsibility of environmental review of the project. Developers submitted their permit application in November.
“I’m really proud of the common council for stepping up at a very late date,” said Third Ward Alderman Brad Will, noting the short deadline window for response. “Kudos to Kingston, we really stepped up.”
The rationale offered by bureaucrats for sharing the review process, is that the Thruway can best handle issues of law and policy, while the DEC’s bailiwick covers complex environmental decisions. Watchdog groups such as Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson argue that the two agencies might become deadlocked.
Tuesday’s resolution in Kingston marked an otherwise uneventful monthly meeting for the common council. Other business conducted wrapped up routine pending matters held over from last year. Aldermen concluded their agenda inside 15 minutes, with very little discussion, and only a handful of public spectators.
Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings LLC proposes a 178 mile twin pipeline, each two feet wide, to run down the length of the Thruway, carrying crude oil south and refined petroleum north, between Albany and Linden, NJ. Construction, if approved, would take one season to complete, at a cost of $1 billion. Plans call for the conduit to be buried beneath the frost line, out of sight.
Developers claim the pipeline would reduce rail and truck traffic, while offering safer delivery of essential fuel to the northeast region. Opponents counter that the potential benefits are exaggerated, including safety, noting that 80 percent of all oils spills come from pipelines. Critics also add that the time has come to transition away from fossil fuels.
For more info, see http://pilgrimpipeline.com and http://stoppilgrimpipeline.com
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