Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Project, FERC Docket #CP14-‐96-‐000.
Founded in 1988, Earthworks is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the negative impacts of mineral and energy development while seeking sustainable solutions.
Like every other region in an era of accelerating climate change and limited fossil fuel supplies, New England confronts significant economic and environmental challenges in meeting energy demand. We understand that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is operating within this context when determining whether to approve large natural gas transport and delivery systems, such as the AIM Project currently being proposed by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC (Algonquin).
However, energy supply pressures should not be allowed to compromise the careful review of a project’s potential environmental impacts, nor an applicant’s responsibility to be fully transparent about its plans and provide all necessary information to regulatory and permitting agencies. Yet this is what appears to have occurred with the DEIS for the AIM Project.
