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No Decision Yet on Constitution Pipeline Section 401 Water Quality Certification/Keep Deluging Governor Cuomo With Calls/More Press Coverage
We only need 62 more signatories to get to 1,000: Coalition Letter Which Requests That Governor Cuomo Deny All Section 401 Water Quality Certification Applications
See our latest terrific press coverage: Pipelines, loopholes at center of fight over fossil fuels in Tompkins
Greetings,
Many thanks to all the Fractivists who made our State of the State rally a success and are now working with great focus and zeal to require Governor Cuomo to DENY Section 401 Water Quality Certifications (WQC) required for the proposed Constitution Pipeline and other gas/oil infrastructure projects across our state.
If that can be achieved, those proposed projects would be killed even though FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) earlier granted some conditional approvals.
That would be a historic step toward actually halting New York's addiction to fossil fuels instead of endlessly complaining about burning oil, coal and natural gas without making a dent in our state's vast consumption of those polluting fuels.
Where We Stand
In less than one month, we successfully launched a new, full-scale, statewide public policy and political campaign to require Governor Cuomo to kill all proposed natural gas pipelines and infrastructure projects in New York because DEC's own data prove the agency can neither "preclude" water quality violations nor clean them up in compliance with environmental protection standards as required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
See onerous requirements for Section 401 Certification
Governor Cuomo will have an extremely hard time ignoring our substantive arguments if we speak loudly and knowledgeably with one voice. His office is reportedly being besieged with phone calls. That is excellent. Smile and dial. Do not stop until you drop.
I wrote respectfully yesterday to Chairman Steve Englebright and all the members of the New York State Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. Many of those members played key roles in delaying adoption of an inadequate Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for nearly seven years until we collectively required Governor Cuomo to prohibit shale fracking.
See: Letter regarding Section 401 Water Quality Certification Applications
Take Urgent and Immediate Action Today
Each day in this battle is a political eternity. FERC has not granted requested authorization for proposed Constitution Pipeline "tree-felling activities," but Governor Cuomo has not fulfilled our request to DENY the Section 401 WQC applications.
New York's Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, submitted an "Answer in Opposition" to FERC regarding the "tree-felling" request, but wrote, "The NY Attorney General’s opposition to the Request to Proceed is procedural; the NY Attorney General takes no position on the merits of the proposed Pipeline."
Nevertheless, the AG underscored that New York has yet to render a decision on the Section 401 Water Quality Certification application for the proposed 124-mile pipeline. That decision, for good or for ill, will set a precedent for the New Market and Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipelines.
That is why I implore you to focus all your efforts on Governor Cuomo. Pour it on and STAY ON MESSAGE.
Call the Governor at 518 474 8390 to request that he require DEC to DENY all pending Section 401 Water Quality Certification applications for the proposed Constitution Pipeline and other gas/oil infrastructure projects.
Respectfully inform the Governor that DEC can only grant Section 401 Water Quality Certifications when the agency determines that the proposed project will not violate water quality standards.
Please tell the Governor politely and firmly that DEC's own data prove the agency has totally failed to prevent or clean up massive pipeline explosions, fires, ruptures and toxic discharges documented with the agency's own data. Those uncontrolled pollution releases violated water quality standards from one end of the state to the other.
Due to these unacceptable regulatory shortcomings, DEC must DENY all pending Section 401 Water Quality Certification applications.
Do you live near an existing or proposed pipeline? See Map
Use this Quick Action Guide.
Conclusion
The hallmark of our incredibly successful campaign during the last six and a half years is that we conduct unprecedented data research, formulate well-reasoned proposals, generate intense media coverage and coordinate the efforts of thousands of sophisticated activists to persuade key decision makers to fulfill our respectful requests.
Keep pushing. There must be no let-up or New York could miss a huge opportunity to end its addiction to fossil fuels. Killing multi-billion dollar pipelines requires super heavy lifting, but it can be done if we all work together and relentlessly echo the same message to Governor Cuomo.
In closing, I am immensely grateful to each and every person who is helping to pursue this new line of advocacy through hard work and great dedication, particularly our amazing Contributors. Thank you so much.
Onward and upward.
Cheers,
Walter
Please donate if you wish to support our powerful and unique campaign to keep New York 100% free of shale fracking and pipeline hazards. Contributions of $1,000.00 or more are tax-deductible. Please call 800 286 9427 or 607 273 3391 for more info.
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DEC’s Unplugged Abandoned Wells Database & Overview Map
Marcellus Shale Interactive Map
