NY Gas Pipeline Ban Benefits Fight Against Climate Change - Advocacy Group

The decision by the US state of New York to block the construction of a 125-mile long natural gas pipeline benefits the fight against climate change, environmental watchdog GreenFaith Executive Director Fletch Harper told Sputnik on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — On April 22, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that it refused to allow the Constitution Pipeline Company to construct a pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York City, Boston and other cities.

"I do support the decision," Harper said. "We face a multi-faceted challenge — fighting climate change by stopping the development of new fossil fuel infrastructure."

The pipeline would have transported natural gas extracted through the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing, a process in which water and chemicals are injected into wells at high pressure to release gas trapped by rock formations.

The DEC sited potential damage to forests and over 200 "sensitive" streams as a reason for rejecting the project.

Environmentalists have lobbied hard to ban fracking, which they claim threatens to pollute underground supplies of drinking water. Several states and many local governments have banned the practice.

Meanwhile, project sponsors issued a joint statement saying that they "remain absolutely committed" to building the pipeline.

GreenFaith was founded in 1992 and advocates energy conservation and the use of renewable energy, according to the group’s website.