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Cortlandt To Hold Rally Against Pipeline, High-Voltage Station

CORTLANDT, N.Y. -- Two proposed projects in Verplanck will be the subject of a rally led by the Town of Cortlandt on Wednesday.

An example of what the proposed Specter-Algonquin pipeline in Verplanck would look like.

An example of what the proposed Specter-Algonquin pipeline in Verplanck would look like.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Erica Mills

The Town of Cortlandt, Village of Buchanan and Citizens Task Force are holding a rally at 6 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and 11th Street in Verplanck to protest a proposed gas pipeline and high-voltage station.

The 42-inch Spectra Algonquin gas pipeline would replace a previous 26-inch pipeline that runs through Cortlandt and has existed for 60 years. The pipeline, which must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, would run across the Hudson River and into Peekskill and Yorktown.

Erica Mills fears the project could have unintended consequences and is concerned about its placement 450 feet from Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School.

"This will destroy the environmental area," Mills said. "It won't even provide us with gas. We're not for this."

Mills and the town are also rallying against a proposed 1,000 megawatt high voltage converter station that would be 49 feet high, the equivalent of two Best Buys, built at 11th street and Broadway in Verplanck.

"There's one house within 150 feet of this," Mills said. "You're going to be hearing this buzzing noise 24-7. It's out of code for the Town of Cortlandt."

The converter station must be approved by the state's Public Service Commission, which has held several hearings on the project. 

"We are completely against this," Mills said. "We're trying to get the information out to families. Younger people my age might not be aware of this. This will have a huge negative impact."

Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi has spoken out strongly against the project. 

"We already have Indian Point down the road," Puglisi said. "We do not need to become the energy capital of the country."

Puglisi said she has been meeting regularly with her citizens task force and has gone to public hearings to express the town's disapproval of the projects.

"Everything and anything I can do to stop this project, I am doing," Puglisi said. "We are trying to get the word out through sending out mailings and holding meetings."

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