Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate, said on Monday that he opposed the natural gas pipeline proposal connecting New York and Pennsylvania. The pipeline will carry fracked shale gas produced in Marcellus Share fields.
Reuters reported that Sanders also called New York officials to reject the proposal. In a statement, Sanders expressed his concern about a possible leak of gas and other issues.
"The possibility of methane leaks from the proposed Constitution Pipeline would be catastrophic to our air and our climate — and if this pipeline were approved, eminent domain would be used to seize land from farmers and homeowners," Sanders said.
In regards to his strong opposition, Politico New York said that the Vermont senator tried to close a double-digit gap in the polls with Hillary Clinton using environmental issue. Sanders also argued the pipeline could poison water supplies and create more reliance on natural gas, while New York state should be more focused on renewable energy supplies.
"Our job is to break our addiction to fossil fuels, not increase our dependence on energy sources that pollute our planet," his statement said.
In the same statement, Sanders presidential campaign also pointed other environmental issue related to Hudson River. Sanders asked General Electric to conduct further cleanup of the river, as GE had dumped more than 1 million pounds of PCBs over the years. In a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency, GE has paid more than $2 billion to clear the river, but a large amount of carcinogenic chemical still remains in the river.
Sanders presidential campaign also noted that chemical pollutants in Hudson river have threatened the river as a recreational resource and harmed the revitalization of riverfront communities. He made a promise to clean the river.
"We must do everything we can to clean up the Hudson River and hold GE accountable for its actions," Sanders' presidential campaign said. "As President, Senator Sanders will make sure the Hudson is fully restored as a source of healthy sustenance and as a recreational and economic resource for all. And Senator Sanders will work to ensure that GE pays to clean up the toxic mess that they created."
According to New York Times, the Constitution Pipeline is a 124-mile structure that would carry fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale fields of Pennsylvania to a compressor station in Wright, New York. Then the pipeline will connect the Iroquois and Tennessee pipelines to take the gas to New England, and potentially to Canada.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Monday that he opposed the natural gas pipeline proposal between New York and Pennsylvania. In an attempt to close the long gap with Hillary Clinton, he also called New York officials to reject the proposal.
