Pipeline project would add burden for peninsula residents
Addabbo stands with consituents against expansion, which could affect their quality of life
BY BILL PARRY
Environmental issues were
the primary concern of state
Sen. Joseph Addabbo when
he decided not to support the
Williams Pipeline project,
also known as the Northeast
Supply Enhancement
Pipeline (NESE).
The 24-mile expansion of
existing pipeline would cross
the Rockaway Peninsula on its
way to another pipeline three
miles offshore.
“My first concern is for
the people who live in the
Rockaways and who have
valid concerns regarding
the project,” Addabbo said.
“This pipeline would provide
no clear, direct benefits to
my constituents, and may
actually impact their quality
of life. After suffering from
Superstorm Sandy, with
hundreds of people still not
back in their homes more
than six years later, I cannot
support an initiative that may
burden them even further.”
Addabbo believes that
companies should retreat from
pumping climate-changing
gases into the atmosphere
and that construction of the
pipeline also has the potential
to disrupt marine life, in
addition to the number of
toxins that would be exposed
and possibly released into
the waters where residents
and visitors swim. Also of
concern is the $926 million
cost of the project, money
Addabbo feels would be better
spent on renewable and clean
energy initiatives.
The senator also pointed
to New York’s Clean Energy
Standard, which mandates
the state receive 50 percent of
its electricity from renewable
energy by 2030 and a 40 percent
reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions by the same
time frame.
”While I understand
that natural gas is a bridge
energy source before we fully
integrate to cleaner energy
forms, it does not mean
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo announced he’s standing with his
Rockaway constituents in opposition to the Williams pipeline
project. Courtesy of Liberty Natural Gas
we have to spend close to a
billion dollars on advancing
natural gas projects. It
seems to me we are moving
backwards instead on moving
forward, environmentally.”
In 2010, Addabbo was a
major opponent of fracking
in New York and the process
of hydraulic fracturing of
gas, which he believed to be
dangerous and a contributor
to climate change.
“I know of the need for
different sources of energy, but
I do not believe fracking gas is
the answer,” Addabbo said.
“The Rockaways are already
leading the way in renewable
energy with an offshore wind
farm project, as New York
state aims to power 1.2 million
homes with these wind farms
by 2030.”
Williams, a Tulsa, Okla.,
energy company that operates
the Transcontinental Gas Pipe
Line Company, had hoped
to have the project finished
by 2020.
“In the end, after
reviewing the many aspects
of the NESE pipeline project,
I have determined that the
negative impacts, cost and
environmental direction
outweigh any benefits the
pipeline may bring,” Addabbo
said. “It is because of these
reasons that I stand with my
constituents in Rockaway in
opposing the construction of
the NESE pipeline and will
continue to work towards
addressing the energy needs
and efficient practices of
our state.”
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