More Pipeline Opposition

Opposition to the proposed Northern Access Pipeline that would send toxic fracked gas from Pennsylvania to Canada is gaining opposition across Western New York.

In Sardinia, a small farming community off of Route 16, they held an old fashioned “Grange Styled” meeting speaking about the dangers of the pipeline to the community. Sardinia is a farming community just south of Route 400 and Holland. This pipeline is a threat to the farmers and their way of living and earning an income.

Several threats to the community that involved this pipeline were discussed.

First was the pipeline itself and the loss of land that farmers faced. If the pipeline goes through a farmer's land, that land is unusable for farming. And all the farmer will receive is a token payment for the loss of the land. A one time token payment. The farmer, a businessman by nature, loses out to the larger businessman – the big gas company. And the money that the farmer will receive will not cover the loss of crops that they face as long as that pipeline is in use.

By the way – that loss of land translates into a loss of food. For us. This gas is going to Canada. What is more important to us – food for our tables or keeping Canada warm?

And after that pipeline goes in, there is stray voltage that comes out of them – a nice side effect that I was not aware of. This voltage can be powerful enough to kill wild animals and cattle. Will the farmer be compensated for the loss of their cattle from this stray voltage? I doubt it.

And I like hiking. Barefoot. Something about feeling the grass in my toes and dirt under my feet that feels good. Are these pipelines going to be adequately marked so that nature lovers stay away from them? However far away “safe” happens to be?

And the heavy construction trucks will compress the soil in such a manner that farmers that till the soil will not be able to break it up for ten years. Again, more lost income for the farmers. Will they be compensated for this loss too? Doubt it.

And then the water. Yes, we can talk about the damage to the wells when (not if) a spill happens. Let's add to this discussion the 180 streams it will cross, 270 wetlands (isn't the Federal Government supposed to protect these?), and seven ponds that farmers need for cattle and other uses. This is more than I was aware of before. The more I dig into this pipeline and hear what people have to say about it – the worse it becomes.

All so Canada can have cheap crappy gas?

And with the damage to the streams, you can write off fishing in those areas. More loss to local commerce.

Find a map of this proposed pipeline and you will see it affects rural areas the most. Almost exclusively. And why should farmers that are barely making it by on what they make have to pay the price for crappy gas for Canada?

Yes - crappy gas. The gas from fracking wells is not a high quality gas that the companies like you to think it is. It is a lower grade gas with a higher content of water as well as dangerous chemical substances like benzene – a well known carcinogen. A repairman that I know that spends a significant time fixing natural gas and propane appliances says that using fracked gas shortens the life of the appliance. Significantly.

WE-CAP – Wyoming, Erie, Cattaraugus Communities Act on the Pipeline,the Sierra Club, the Pendleton Action Team are encouraging people from all over the area to look at the dangers this pipeline will present and stand together and oppose it.

Environmentalists, sportsmen and women, farmers, and anyone that is concerned about nature need to join together to oppose this pipeline and the deadly threat that it presents to our communities and way of life.