Former Republican gubernatorial candidate and current Environmental Protection Administrator Lee Zeldin made a stop in Binghamton on Monday to push for the proposed Constitution Pipeline.
According to the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation website, the 125-mile pipeline would start in northeastern Pennsylvania and extend through parts of Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties. It was proposed over a decade ago.
“We tap into our energy supplies so much safer than so many other countries do elsewhere around the world, here in the United States, especially in places like New York and New England, and it doesn’t have to be this way,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin also pushed to overturn New York’s statewide fracking ban, which was placed in 2014 after data proved such drilling is cause for environmental and health concerns.
“I know how many benefits there are on the economic front, how many benefits there are on the environmental front. Natural gas isn’t some new source we are proposing to use. It’s our primary source of energy in this state,” Zeldin said.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process that involves sending pressurized water deep into the earth to break up the rock and extract oil and natural gas.
Despite Zeldin’s call for support for these causes, a true repeal of the fracking ban would have to go through a full legislative process.
Sandra Steinbrager, a scientist who spoke at the protest, says the science still speaks for itself.
“We now have five times as much evidence as we did 12 years ago, and those data all say the same thing, which is fracking imperils water, air, and health,” Steinbrager said.
Steinbrager continued citing studies she helped to complete that show fracking is known to create toxic wastewater and deplete the freshwater supply. Those studies also show that fracking is linked to cancers like leukemia as well as birth defects, asthma, and shorter life spans.
Zeldin’s Monday morning appearance drew a crowd of about 50 protestors.
“No fracking way!” was a chant heard over and over outside of Binghamton’s City Hall, where protesters were demonstrating.