Activists Who Shut Down Fracked Gas Pipeline Project Found Guilty
Three activists who crawled into a 42-inch diameter steel pipe set to be pulled under the Hudson River near the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Verplanck in October 2016, halting construction of a fracked gas pipeline for 18 hours, were found guilty of trespassing last week in Cortlandt Town Court.
Cortlandt Town Justice Kimberly Ragazzo rejected a climate necessity defense of Rebecca Berlin, David Publow and Janet Gonzalez that they exhausted all legal remedies before resorting to direct action. However, Ragazzo denied the Assistant District Attorney’s sentencing request of a maximum fine and 300 hours of community service, instead granting Berlin, Publow, and González unconditional release, refusing a conditional release on the grounds that it would have a chilling effect on their future activism with no community service and no fines.
In her ruling, Ragazzo highlighted the strict, objective standard of New York’s necessity defense and focused her verdict on the narrow grounds that the defendants had not exhausted all legal remedies, specifically citing the defendant’s failure to file as “intervenors” with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
According to David Dorfman, the defense lawyer for the three defendants and a professor at Elizabeth Haub Law School at Pace University, “This was certainly not a complete victory, but we were able to fully and completely litigate the necessity defense. The judge appeared to accredit our arguments and expert testimony regarding the harms caused by shale gas, methane emissions, and the dire risk of pipeline explosions, especially near Indian Point. Where we came up short is whether my three clients exhausted legal means to stop the pipeline before resorting to direct action.”
“We disagree with the verdict and we will appeal. Perhaps as importantly, especially for my clients, they did not sustain criminal convictions and the sentence of an unconditional discharge is basically no sentence at all. No fines, no court costs, no community service. Nothing. That’s a great thing. And the fight continues,” Dorfman added.
The Spectra/Enbridge AIM pipeline transports fracked gas from Pennsylvania through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The high-pressure pipeline runs within 105 feet of Indian Point.
During the trial, expert witnesses testified that in addition to its dangerous placement near Indian Point, the fracked gas pipeline already substantially contributes to climate change and exposes the local community to harmful pollutants in fracked gas which lead to an array of health issues.
“It’s unfortunate that the judge, and most people, still don’t understand how the FERC system is designed to take power away from the people or how we are all part of collective action,” said Berlin, a Yorktown resident. “We are, however, encouraged by her words and her sentencing, both of which show that she understands the AIM Pipeline’s harms and the imminence of those threats.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
