Kinder Morgan Hops on the Pipeline Payola Bandwagon in NEPA
Look–we’ve written about this before and we’re not going to belabor the point–about pipeline companies using payola to buy support for the pipelines they plan to build through communities. The Constitution Pipeline did it last March in New York (see Constitution Pipeline Payments to Groups – Donations or Payola?). PennEast recently did it this March in southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey (see PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time). Now it’s Kinder Morgan’s turn. KM handed out checks this week in Wayne, Susquehanna, Pike and Luzerne counties in northeastern PA. It’s amazing how much good press, and good will, a $10,000 donation can buy you–especially when you give it to a school…
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In 2010, activities of the anti-drilling group Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, Inc. (GDAC) of Luzerne County, PA (Wilkes-Barre area) caught the attention of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR) Foundation, a company contracted by Pennsylvania’s Department of Homeland Security to monitor potential threats in the Keystone State. The ITRR Foundation put GDAC’s name on a list of organizations to keep an eye on–a so-called “terrorist watch list”–which lists potential threats against “critical infrastructure” in the state. The list with GDAC’s name was circulated to law enforcement agencies and to the drilling industry as well. When word of their inclusion on the list leaked, GDAC huffed and puffed and sued. Lo these 4+ years later, it appears they’ve won that lawsuit and the right to be permanently kept off the list…