by Thaddeus Flint
NED is now truly dead.
Kinder Morgan officially withdrew its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline on Monday. The company did not provide any further explanation for ending the high pressure natural gas project which would have cut across southern Rensselaer County, including Stephentown, on the way to New England.[private]
The project was suspended a month ago. Kinder Morgan representatives at that time cited a lack of potential customers.
The pipeline has met with huge opposition since the announced route was made public two years ago.
Local anti-pipeline group, Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline (SNYFGP), which had just celebrated the project’s suspension with a party attended by close to a hundred people Sunday, chided the energy company’s decision saying “Kinder Morgan must have been so upset not to be invited that they decided to withdraw the application.”
“I breathe a little easier now,” wrote SNYFGP organizer Sandy Nathan of Stephentown. “But I know that there are more environmental battles than I ever imagined before and that they are all in someone’s backyard.”
Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino also welcomed the news, saying, “I am delighted that the application for the Northeast Direct Pipeline has been withdrawn. From the onset the siting process for this project seemed extremely flawed. I want to thank the leaders of the Towns of Nassau, Schodack, and Stephentown, as well as all of our partners in the state of Massachusetts who joined with the Berkshire Planning Commission to pool our collective resources and knowledge to help us better represent our constituents and protect the public’s health, safety, and environment.”
Chairman of the County Legilsature Stan Brownell commented, “The proposed pipeline was opposed widely across Rensselaer County and the region because of potential threats to quality of life, health, safety, the environment and economic vitality. There were no virtually no benefits from the project for this area, and we are glad to see the project application withdrawn.”
County Legislator Martin Reid added, “So many concerns about the project went unanswered and unaddressed by the applicant. For more than a year, there was a failure to answer basic questions and that showed why the project was wrong for the area.”[/private]