February 25 - March 2, 2016

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Your Award-Winning News Source for the Upper Delaware River Valley Region Since 1975

Vol. 42 No. 8

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 2, 2016

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www.riverreporter.com

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$1.50

‘FERC represents industry interests’ Message from a fighting environmentalist By FRITZ MAYER

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LDRED, NY — There were four speakers at the February 20 forum at the Eldred Junior-Senior High School about the proposed compressor station on the Millennium Pipeline (MP), to be located a couple of miles up the road on Route 55. The person who spoke with perhaps the most zeal was Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, and head of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN). She painted the proposed project as a battle between the community (to whom DRN is allied) on one side and the pipeline company and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the other. van Rossum connected this battle to the larger war against fracking in general, and she said DRN currently is involved in about a dozen battles regarding “pipeline infrastructure projects.” She said this contest involves not just the Highland Compressor, but also the other elements of Millennium’s Eastern System Upgrade. She said that the project is currently in a voluntary “pre-filing phase.” It’s a process whereby, she said, “MP can go into FERC and say ‘hey, let’s work together to find the best way to advance our project.’ And in fact they really do work together as partners. FERC is not there representing your interests. From everything we have experienced at DRN, FERC is very much representing the interests of the industry.”

van Rossum urged the approximately 75 residents and others on hand to register with FERC to receive any documents related to the project during this pre-filing phase, so that in the future when the time comes, residents will be able to “intervene” in the application process. She said, “Intervening is a great way to show FERC and election officials how strong the interest is from the community that’s being impacted by this project. So when the time for intervention comes, we’re going to come to you and say ‘please everyone intervene. It’s really simple. You can do it online, there’s a fact sheet.’” She said the docket number is PF16-3, but she noted that will change in the future. Speaking about the specific laws that relate to FERC projects she said, “The laws are different than the laws that will apply to normal industrial operations that enter into a community, because the Natural Gas Act now rules. And under the Natural Gas Act, under the language of the law and the interpretation of the law by the courts, all state and local legal authorities are pre-empted. “So I know there is a really good local ordinance that has been passed by Highland, which is wonderful and sends an important message, but that will not rule the day on this compressor, because it is pre-empted by the Natural Gas Act.” She said some federal laws do apply, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Clean Air Act (CAA). She said Continued on page 3

TRR photo by Fritz Mayer

A few ice-fishing enthusiasts were out on White Lake on February 20.

A sunny day on the ice

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HITE LAKE, NY — The King of the Ice contest, sponsored by the Sullivan County Conservation Club, had been scheduled for February 21 but was cancelled this year because authorities deemed the conditions to be too dangerous due to unstable areas, open areas and a period of unusually warm weather. The conditions, however, did not deter a few ice-fishing enthusiasts from taking to the ice on February 20 to drop a line. The sun was out, the temperature was flirting

with the 50 degree mark, and the ice was covered with large areas of water. Not far away, at Black Lake, rescuers from the White Lake and Kauneonga Lake fire companies responded to a call regarding an ATV that had fallen through the ice. According to information on the White Lake Fire Company website, the victim managed to pull himself out of the ice, but, “as the subject attempted to get off the ice he fell through again and had to strip clothing off to extricate himself from the frigid waters.”

Waking Rip van Winkle How a shut-down school was transformed

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SPANNING 2 STATES, 4 COUNTIES, AND A RIVER THAT UNITES US


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