Binghamton Radio Show Highlights NY Support for Constitution Pipe
You may recall that in April 2016, New York’s anti-drilling governor, Andrew Cuomo, decided he would cave to pressure from radical environmentalists once again and block the building of the federally-approved Constitution Pipeline (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). The Constitution is a 124-mile pipeline will move 650 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas per day from Susquehanna County, PA to the middle part of New York State, where it will connect with two other pipelines. Cuomo’s toadies at the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied the Constitution the permits it needs to cross creeks and swamps. After it had been approved nearly two years ago by FERC, the DEC’s action was finally enough for Williams and the other partners in the project, who promptly sued NY in federal, NOT state, court (see Williams Sues NY Over Constitution Pipe – DEC May Lose Authority). The court venue is important, because in NY our court system at the highest level is corrupt–the governor appoints judges and those judges like their big-salary jobs and want to get reappointed, so they “decide” cases the way Andy wants them decided (see Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans). We’ve predicted, repeatedly, that the NY DEC runs the very real risk of being removed from the decision process when it comes to federally-approved pipeline projects. If they lose the Constitution case, they will no longer have a role to play. The case went to court last November (see Constitution Pipeline Case Goes to Court in 2 Weeks, Briefs Filed). A decision in the case is due sometime this spring. It could come at any time. In the run-up to a decision, the 70,000+ member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York hosted a radio program a few weeks ago to discuss the Constitution project and the enormous support it has in Upstate NY…
On Jan. 29, MDN friend and JLCNY board member Rob Rano hosted another edition of the semi-regular Good News Table Talk Radio Show. You can listen below. Here’s a description of what was discussed, and who did the discussing:
Discussion Topic:
The Otsego County letter of resolution urges Governor Cuomo to direct the NYS DEC to move forward with completion of the Constitution Pipeline project, already approved by FERC. Our discussion details the benefits that would be realized by bringing clean, abundant natural gas to the region, like securing the jobs provided by the Amphenol and the Raymond corporations. NYS promised both Amphenol and Raymond natural gas from the Constitution Pipeline with funding from the Upstate Revitilization Initiative. The Constitution Pipeline is part of the NYS Energy Plan. Natural gas will provide a competitive business climate producing needed jobs and tax revenue. It will lessen CO2 emissions by replacing the use of coal, fuel oil, and propane. Listen to this informative discussion about this vital infrastructure promised to the economically depressed upstate of New York.
Featured Guests:
Jim Powers, Otsego County Legislator for 17 years. South New Berlin resident, dairy farmer and small business owner.
Ed Frazier, Vice-chair of the Otsego County Legislator, 25 year resident and former mayor of Unadilla, co-owner of Cohen and Frazier Builders.
Dick Downey, Otsego County resident, former educator, Unatego Board of Education member for 20 years, and organizer of the Unatego Area Landowners Association, representing 300 families and 30,000 acres.