Climate activists marched to the offices of Gov. Ned Lamont and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in Hartford Tuesday to hand deliver letters demanding an end to all pending and future proposals to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in Connecticut.
The coalition of climate advocates, led by the Sierra Club of Connecticut, said state regulatory agencies hold the power to deny or approve air and water permits that will ultimately determine whether two proposals for interstate gas pipeline expansions in Connecticut will stall or move forward.
The group said pending expansion projects for pipelines owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, TC Energy and Enbridge, could directly impact as many as 26 municipalities where pipelines run in Connecticut, and influence energy reliability, affordability, health and environmental justice across the state.
The letters, signed by four state senators, 15 state representatives and over a dozen elected officials from Cromwell, Hamden, Naugatuck, Mansfield and Middlefield, were delivered to Lamont’s office in the State Capitol and the office of DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes at the agency’s headquarters in Hartford.
The authors said BH/TCE’s Enhancement by Compression Project seeks to increase the amount of natural gas that flows through the western part of the state to New York by expanding two compressor stations located in Brookfield and Milford. Additionally they said that Enbridge, the energy company behind the massive Project Maple proposal to expand the Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline, has applied for “a new regulation station at a pipeline lateral in Coventry” with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“Both of these projects will deepen our state’s reliance on fracked gas and hinder our ability to meet the greenhouse gas reductions and clean energy goals mandated by the Global Warming Solutions Act. Furthermore, they lock us into unreliable, unaffordable, unhealthy, and unjust energy,” the letter stated. “We urge you to protect Connecticut’s climate, economy, and the health and safety of all residents by opposing these gas expansion proposals and directing your agencies to prevent them from being approved.”
In a statement to the Courant, Lamont’s Senior Press Secretary David Bednarz said the governor “appreciates the grassroots advocacy of the Sierra Club” and “values their input on this topic.”
“Our administration is aware of discussions regarding early-stage efforts exploring additional natural gas pipeline infrastructure that would potentially service Connecticut customers and transport gas through the state, however there have been no applications submitted to the state to execute this project, therefore it would be premature at this point to evaluate it,” Bednarz said.
The letter encouraged the Lamont administration to shift away from fossil fuels and build up the state’s solar and wind infrastructure as a way to boost reliability and slash energy rates.
“We pay the fourth highest price for energy and use the fourth highest amount of methane per capita of any other state in the nation. Over reliance on methane contributes to price spikes in both gas and electricity prices,” the letter stated. “More methane will not stabilize prices. The answer is more solar and wind power.”
Martha Klein, a volunteer with Sierra Club Connecticut who led Tuesday’s rally, said state leaders and climate activists share the same vision for a sustainable future, but they need to take action.
“Gov. Lamont has gone on record saying we want an electric grid that’s powered by a 100% carbon-free power and we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the state…We have to actually get there,” Klein said. “Stopping methane infrastructure now — no new infrastructure — has the most immediate benefit on our climate because methane is a short-term pollutant. By stopping the infrastructure expansion now we are going to benefit our climate almost immediately.”
Cromwell Mayor James Demetriades said his community is seriously concerned if the proposed expansions move forward.
“(The Algonquin Pipeline) runs through the town of Cromwell and many other communities across our state,” Demetriades said. “These pipes run through neighborhoods, they run near schools, they run through waterways, they run through town parks. We cannot risk increased environmental and health impacts from such an expansion.”
“Expansion of these pipes means more of those chemicals coming through our communities,” Demetriades added. “In our view, when residents are exposed to gas discharges and other chemical toxins, it’s unacceptable. Period. Residents, schools, our families, should not be left in the dark about what we are breathing in from these pollutants.”
Sena Wazer of Stop Project Maple said Lamont and other state officials need to “Stop telling us you care and start acting like it.”
“If you care about young people and seeing us grow up in a state that is safe and secure, then this is the time to stop expanding the very thing that is ripping our future away,” Wazer said.
