CONESTOGA, Pa. - The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline expansion project is a step closer to becoming a reality.
As per Williams Partners, "Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) today reported that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing the Atlantic Sunrise expansion project – an expansion of the existing Transco natural gas pipeline to connect abundant Marcellus gas supplies with markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S."
Read Williams Partners full statement here.
The pipeline will stretch through about 35 miles of Lancaster County. The group Lancaster Against Pipelines say it will continue to fight for no pipeline.
"We believe that when the government fails to protect the people, people have a moral obligation to step up and protect the land and the community themselves through nonviolent resistance," said Nick Martin, Lancaster Against Pipelines.
"The next step is building an encampment and getting people here and standing in the direct path of this and saying no we are not going to let you through," said John Telesco, Lancaster Against Pipelines
“We respect peoples’ right to protest, as long as those protests are done peacefully and safely. We will use the full measure of the law working with local, state and federal authorities to ensure that protestors and our construction personnel remain safe during construction activities.”
“We understand that there are some who broadly challenge the value of pipeline infrastructure because of sentiment tied to a larger energy policy debate around the development of domestic natural gas reserves. While we can respect opposing views, it has been our experience that many who take this position base it on a belief that embracing natural gas means you can’t support alternative fuels. That simply isn’t the case. States’ ability to incorporate more wind and solar energy into their power mix is dependent on natural gas combined cycle turbines that will quickly and cost-effectively pick up the slack when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.”
“We’ve also heard from thousands of people who support the project -- individuals, chambers and business groups -- who recognize the economic benefit of the project, in addition to recognizing the important role it plays in supporting the state’s natural gas industry and its tens of thousands of industry jobs," said Christopher Stockton from Williams.