In late August, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied a necessary permit to the Valley Lateral project, a fracked gas pipeline slated to go a new power plant owned by Competitive Power Ventures in Orange County, NY. DEC cited the recent federal court decision for the Sabal Trail pipeline holding that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not sufficiently consider the climate impacts of burning the gas transported by these pipelines before approving them. FERC’s environmental review of the Valley Lateral project had similar flaws and was therefore incomplete, DEC concluded, prohibiting construction of the project.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Sierra Club applauds Governor Cuomo and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for putting the climate and New Yorkers’ environment above corporate polluter profits by rejecting the permits for the Valley Lateral pipeline. While FERC continues to act as a rubber stamp for fossil fuel industries of the past century, leaders like Governor Cuomo are showing the country that we won’t depend on the dirty, dangerous fuels of the past and that the time to transition to clean, renewable energy is now. The increasing affordability and accessibility of wind and solar energy has rendered these dirty, dangerous gas pipelines unnecessary and building them only tries to keep us addicted to the dirty fuels of the past while the clean energy economy is rapidly becoming our present and future.
“Governor Cuomo and the NY DEC’s decision is an example of leadership that has helped our country continue to make progress tackling the climate crisis despite the actions seen from this White House.”
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