By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-992096.mp3
Manhattan, NY – Upstate Environmentalists have joined forces with some New York City residents in opposing a pipeline that will carry 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to markets in New York and New Jersey... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
>The New Jersey-NY Pipeline Expansion Project would transport fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York City through a 30-inch underground high-pressure pipeline through the Hudson river, entering densely populated Manhattan at Gansevoort Street after crossing under the Hudson River from New Jersey.
The pipeline proposal was the subject of heated debate in New York and Jersey City in recent weeks. Mayors in Jersey City and Hoboken are dead-set against it.
Last week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the pipeline a huge endorsement: The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter recently announced it had received confirmation from testimony submitted by James W. Ring, Winslow Professor Emeritus of nuclear physics at Hamilton College,on the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's revised draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, regarding the dangers of inhaled radon and the likelihood that shale gas extracted from the Marcellus and Utica shales will deliver radon into NYS residences at point of use.
Mayor Bloomberg argues that "Only about 20 percent of the gas, incidentally, that comes through that line will go to New York City." while Ring points out that, whatever the percentage, "Next to smoking, radon is the most potent cause of lung cancer."
The period of public comment on the pipeline is now closed; comments are now under review by FERC, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Spectra Energy's Marylee Hanley dismisses radon concerns, arguing the project will increase access to domestic natural gas supplies improving reliability and sustainability. An environmental review by FERC previously concluded that any "adverse impacts" could be reduced to "less than significant" levels - the agency favors approval of the pipeline. Spectra Energy officials insist it would be the safest pipeline in North America. The target date for completion of the project is November 2013.