Regional Opposition Grows as Croton Prepares to Vote This Week on Project Maple Fracked Gas Pipeline

By Elaine Clarke

Croton-on-Hudson officials are preparing to vote this week on a resolution to join a growing regional effort opposing Project Maple, a proposed expansion of a fracked gas pipeline that environmental advocates warn threatens public health, the Hudson River, and New York’s climate goals.

At its June 18 work session, the Croton-on-Hudson Board of Trustees discussed a resolution opposing Project Maple. The initiative was brought forward by Food & Water Watch, an organization advocating for clean food, safe water, and a healthy environment.

Board members will vote on it later this week, on Wednesday, June 25. Food & Water Watch plans to protest the project that day.

Mayor Brian Pugh introduced the local measure, noting that he and Trustee Len Simon had discussed similar issues in the Croton Sustainability Committee.

“The very bad news is that state and federal incentives for clean energy are under threat,” Pugh said. “The good news is there remains a lot of controversy with the possible window for influencing in the positive direction.”

The Algonquin Gas Transmission (AGT) pipeline runs from northern New Jersey through New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island before reaching eastern Massachusetts.

The expansion would increase the AGT pipeline’s capacity by 25 percent and enlarge the size of the pipes, impacting New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Food & Water Watch Westchester Organizer Melissa Hoffmann explained that while New York receives little of the gas from the pipeline (there’s only one delivery point in the state) it bears much of the resulting pollution.

“There’s a few compressor stations in New York,” Hoffman said. “Compressor stations are where most of the air pollution comes from with these pipelines and also a lot of the greenhouse gas emissions. Because they have to compress the gas to make it push through more efficiently and it releases lots of toxic chemicals into the air.”

‘Reliability and Affordability’

The project would build additional compressor stations, which environmental advocates warn would increase health risk due to pollution. There’s also potential for leaks into the Hudson River and greater risks in the Westchester area, where part of the pipeline crosses two fault lines and another section runs beneath the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant, potentially adding pressure and heat to the spent fuel rods.

“They’re radioactive and if they get too overheated, it can cause an actual explosion and release radioactive waste into the air,” Hoffmann said. “Even right now it’s a risk, but having increased pressure through that area is going to just really increase the chances of something bad happening.”

Enbridge, a multinational energy company specializing in oil and gas pipelines, believes the project will increase electric grid reliability and stabilize gas prices.

As of now, Project Maple is still in the early planning stages. Its open season, which solicited bids from potential shippers to gauge interest, closed in November 2023. An Enbridge spokesperson pointed out to The Examiner that the company hasn’t yet filed an application for Project Maple with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“We have ongoing discussions with possible project customers to better define what a potential project could involve,” the organization stated. “We continue to evaluate and explore opportunities to enhance the reliability and affordability of energy here in the Northeast.”

However, environmental advocates argue the expansion would violate the Climate Leadership and Community Projection Act (CLCPA) and be illegal under New York state law. The CLCPA requires New York to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. Trustee Len Simon added that, besides being well-written legislation, resolutions opposing projects like this are key to helping the state meet its 2030 emissions goals.

“It was not written by the sustainability committee, but it could have been because it’s more or less dominated our last two meetings,” Simon said. 

‘Joining Our Neighbors’

Regional opposition to Project Maple continues to grow. On June 17 of last year, The Examiner News reported on a rally in Verplanck where local residents and officials voiced concerns about the pipeline’s environmental and health risks.

Appealing to Gov. Kathy Hochul to stop the plan from going forward was State Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg (D-Ossining) and Cortlandt Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker.

“It was here just a little over a year ago that we were fighting to keep industrial waste like radioactive nuclides out of the Hudson River,” Levenberg said at the time. “We are going to continue to fight to keep polluters out of the Hudson, a fight we’ve been doing for many years to get the river clean.”

Simon also noted how other local governments have already opposed the expansion. Rockland County passed a resolution in May— the first county in the state to do so. Several Westchester communities, including Ossining, Peekskill, and Hastings-on-Hudson, have adopted similar measures. Trustee Maria Slippen emphasized this point during the work session and said she looked forward to releasing a public comment on the issue.

“We’ve heard from several community groups on joining our name and passing [resolutions],” Slippen said. “I would be interested in moving forward with joining our neighboring municipalities and adopting these that have been presented to us and requested by various groups.”

Hoffmann, a Poughkeepsie resident, said the expansion is a step in the wrong direction, increasing New York’s dependence on fossil fuels when the state should be moving toward sustainable energy sources.

“We can have all these laws too that say we need to move past greenhouse gas emissions or reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. But what does that actually look like?” she said. “It looks like actually banning fossil fuels, moving off of them, and creating the way for alternatives to take over the energy demand.”

​​Food & Water Watch, working with groups such as New York Communities for Change (NYCC), NYCD15/16 Indivisible, and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), is calling on Hochul to reject the expansion and move away from fossil fuels in line with New York’s climate laws. Hoffmann noted that Hochul has met with President Donald Trump, who has advocated for building more pipelines in New York.

“Because she’s been kind of quiet, we’re worried that she might be open to the idea of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure,” Hoffmann said. “We need to have a movement of New Yorkers across the state that are showing her where our priorities lie.”

And as Croton approaches its vote later this week, community groups and advocates are working to raise broader awareness and encourage public opposition to the proposed pipeline expansion.

“We’re trying to work with elected officials at all levels of government to support our campaign and speak out publicly against fossil fuel infrastructure expansion,” Hoffmann said. “Fighting back against fossil fuel infrastructure is very crucial for fighting the climate crisis.”