Stop Construction of the AIM Pipeline!
Dear Senator Schumer, We need your bold action to immediately stop construction of the AIM Pipeline. Spectra Energy is imminently planning to make the AIM Pipeline operational. The company is not being deterred by its failure to pull nearly 5000 feet of 42-inch diameter pipeline under the Hudson River. Spectra is deviating from their original FERC-approved plan, and now plans to connect the new 42-inch sections on either side of the river to old pipelines running under the Hudson that are only 24 and 30 inches diameter. All gas infrastructure projects are dangerous, and AIM is especially dangerous because it runs only 105 feet from critical Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant safety infrastructure, and 400 feet from an elementary school. Transferring gas from a 42-inch pipeline to 24 and 30-inch pipelines is especially hazardous because the operation will likely involve releasing tremendous amounts of gas into the atmosphere on an ongoing basis. This significantly altered plan may pose other associated dangers, but since no entity has fully reviewed its potential impacts on the environment, the river, or public health and safety, we do not know. The number of pipeline incidents is on the increase with newer pipelines. According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), there were roughly six pipeline incidents every week in the United States in 2015. Spectra’s AIM Pipeline poses a serious threat to public health and safety, not only to those who live in the immediate area, but to all New Yorkers. Disaster preparedness and public health experts warn that any plans to address a developing problem with the pipeline or to safely evacuate at risk populations in this area will always be entirely inadequate. There is no safe way for the AIM Pipeline to operate. We appreciate that you have filed your opposition to this project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). But FERC still has not halted construction, and this project must be stopped immediately to protect New Yorkers. We need you to go to the President, and to your colleagues in the Senate, and hold a public press conference with Senators in other impacted states to demand that FERC issue a “stop work” order, immediately. Thank you so much for your immediate attention.
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