Rockland put at risk by Pilgrim pipeline plan: View
The dual pipelines, carrying Bakken crude and refined products, would pass through the Ramapo aquifer, a major source of Rocklanders' drinking water
Rockland County residents are encouraged to attend a Sept. 22 public information session regarding the proposed pipelines to be constructed and operated by Pilgrim Transportation of New York. These dual pipelines would run from Albany to Linden, N.J., carrying Bakken crude oil southward and refined products (kerosene, gasoline, aviation fuel) northward. They would make two separate crossings under the Hudson River and would cross a total of 232 water bodies in their path. And they would pass through the Ramapo aquifer, which is a major source of Rocklanders' drinking water.
The session, "Pilgrim Pipelines — What's at risk?" is sponsored Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper and takes place:
- 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22.
- Rockland Community College in Suffern, Technology Building, Room 8180.
Pilgrim would have us believe that pipelines are safer than the trains and barges that transport oil through the Hudson Valley and that the pipelines can replace these modes of transport. Oil pipelines can leak and can explode, just like trains and barges. The Bakken crude oil which will be carried south and the refined products which will be carried north are all highly volatile. Crude oil explosions have caused billions of dollars of damage and have devastated communities elsewhere in the U.S.
VIEW: Pilgrim pipeline deserves fair review
A leak from these pipelines could contaminate the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of people, including the Ramapo well fields which supply one-third of Rockland County’s drinking water. A leak could pollute many other water bodies that the pipelines cross, including the Hudson River and major Hudson tributaries such as the Wallkill River and Catskill, Rondout, Esopus and Moodna creeks. A leak could also pollute the water supply for the many working farms that are located along the pipeline's path.
Pilgrim claims that its pipelines will be safe because they will use the latest smart leak detection and prevention technology, but the pipeline in Santa Barbara, Calif., that leaked 105,000 gallons of crude along the California coastline in 2015 featured this newest technology, and the leak occurred anyway.
Local police and fire departments will be the first responders in the event of an accident. The company promises only that in the event of an accident, a company representative will be at the scene within 24 hours. Local municipalities are not equipped or financed or trained to deal with oil explosions and fires.
Construction and operation of the pipelines would cut down large swaths of trees and otherwise destroy existing landscape. In the presence of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, forests are essential for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus mitigating the effects of climate change on the environment.
These pipelines would not replace oil trains because the pipelines are proposed to begin and end at completely different locations than the crude-by-rail route. There is no benefit to the general public from these pipelines; there is only financial profit to the corporation.
Attend the Sept. 22 session at RCC. Then write to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, your U.S. Senators and Representative, and your New York legislators to express your opposition to the pipelines. Find out more: visit the Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipeline website at stoppilgrimpipeline.com.
The writer is a Nanuet resident.