Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has expressed opposition to the “New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act,” a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline in the Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn.
The bill, which was passed on a voice vote in the House of Representatives, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, to construct, operate, and maintain a natural gas pipeline and related facilities in the recreation area, part of the National Park System. President Barack Obama has not stated whether he will sign the bill into law.
“People from every part of Brooklyn – from Prospect Heights to Gerritsen Beach to Marine Park – have very valid and serious concerns about the potentially harmful effects of this pipeline on the environment,” said Clarke, representative for the new 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we must establish that this pipeline will not put the families of Brooklyn in harm’s way,” she added.
Clarke – a member of the House Small Business Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies – said she will continue to monitor this proposal in the regulatory process, as the Department of the Interior and other agencies determine whether to allow Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company to build the natural gas pipeline.
