DEC Relays Decision to Co-Lead Environmental Review in Pilgrim Pipeline Proposal.

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) decision to share the environmental review responsibilities with the NYS Thruway Authority for the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline project was a big disappointment to us all at KingstonCitizens.org.

“The three cities who are “involved”  in this proposal – Kingston, Newburgh and Albany – all rejected the Thruway Authority’s request.” said Rebecca Martin, Executive Director of KingstonCitizens.org. “We count on the DEC to uphold their responsibility to protect the environment and our public, and a co-lead in an environmental review process is not a good compromise. From what I know, it is an unprecedented decision and in my opinion, the Pilgrim Pipeline proposal is the wrong project to test out a shared leadership role. We need the lead to be fully unbiased and do not accept one that shares to gain monetarily in anyway. How is the public to trust that it isn’t tainted otherwise?”

“The City of Kingston was quite explicit that the Thruway Authority should not be involved as lead agency for the environmental review of Pilgrim’s proposed pipelines, and we voted unanimously to demand the DEC instead,” said Matt Dunn, Ward One Alderman and Majority Leader of the Kingston Common Council.  “We will continue our robust opposition to these pipelines, which contradict our commitment to safe healthy energy, and which would put the Rondout, Esopus, Hudson, and other critical waterways at risk, with no benefit to our residents.”

Riverkeeper, a critical partner in assuring a transparent environmental review process for the Pilgrim Pipeline sent out their own press release earlier in the week.  “We believe that a joint lead agency status is unprecedented and fails to address the concern that many municipalities in the region that specifically expressed their opposition to the Thruway Authority’s participation in the environmental review process. Furthermore, this decision undermines the effort to conduct an environmental review that adequately protects the environment and critical resources such as drinking water.”

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