A citizen-sponsored public meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 22, 2016, at the Newburgh Town Hall on Route 300, to update local residents about the Pilgrim oil pipelines.

Town resident and activist Sandra Kissam recently said, “Another dangerous, potentially polluting project is being considered for Orange County. That is, oil pipelines on the NYS Thruway and also crossing the Towns of Newburgh and New Windsor to the Hudson River shoreline. That’s where the ‘bomb” trains are carrying explosive Bakken Crude oil. If the pipelines are built, we face multiple hazards. The Thruway must reject Pilgrim’s application.”

A single six foot trench would hold two pipes, one carrying volatile Bakken Crude oil south to New Jersey refineries, and the other, refined products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, north to Albany. Pilgrim claims the pipelines would each carry 200,000 barrels per day. And they plan to build associated compressor stations, pump stations, meter stations.

Pipelines leak. Reasons include the natural shifting of the ground due to weather changes, water seepage, vibration from heavy traffic, as well as corrosion over time, affecting the pipeline’s structural integrity. In Orange County the risks are multiplied by the laterals to the Hudson, where we have extensive fuel storage tank farms, i.e. Global Oil.

Fort Montgomery resident and rail expert Wayne Kocher says, “There has been a significant increase in earthquakes in our area, and these shifts can rupture pipelines. And don’t forget, rocks always move towards the surface, another risk factor for ruptures, causing leaks.”

The meeting is sponsored by local citizens as part of Coalition of Pilgrim Pipelines New York (CAPPNY). Rosendale Town Councilwoman Jen Metzger will speak, as will CAPPNY Organizer Iris Marie Bloom. Town of Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio will attend. Assemblymen Frank Skartados and Jim Skoufis have been invited.

Twenty-two (22) Hudson Valley municipalities have gone on record opposing the Pilgrim pipelines, including the Town and City of Newburgh, New Windsor, Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson. It’s time to reject this project—protect our communities.

Meeting date: Friday, January 22, 2016
Time: 7:30 PM
Place: Newburgh Town Hall, 1496 Rt. 300

For information contact: Sandra Kissam
845 564-3018
email:

See the announcement flyer here