In early April, after a period of intense popular resistance by rural, urban, and indigenous communities spread across the southern tier, the south towns, and the Niagara Frontier, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied National Fuel water quality permits that would have allowed the company to begin constructing a 99-mile fracked gas pipeline through Western New York to export markets in Canada. The route proposed by National Fuel cut a path through vulnerable ecological habitats, threatened drinking water supplies for thousands of residents, and infringed on private and native land rights. Recent events in nearby Ohio reveal the significant risks posed by this kind of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure development. National Fuel is now suing the DEC in federal court in an attempt to overturn this decision.
 

On April 20, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) delivered a second victory over National Fuel with its decision to dramatically reduce the company’s proposed rate increase filed in April 2016 from $41.7 million to $5.9 million. The Crossroads Collective successfully petitioned the PSC to hold a public hearing in downtown Buffalo late last year, and was responsible for mobilizing community opposition to National Fuel’s thinly veiled plan to maximize corporate profits, shareholder dividends, and executive compensation at the expense of area ratepayers. In an official press release, the PSC credited the hundreds of public comments and in-person testimony delivered by National Fuel customers in Buffalo and Western New York with influencing their decision. The PSC’s order also included a 110% increase in utility bill assistance for low income customers and a sharp reduction in the allowable rate of return to shareholders and investors.
 

Crossroads Collective member organizations view these local and regional victories as crucial building blocks for broader progressive change aimed at curtailing the corporate power of the fossil fuel industry and enabling equitable transitions to a 100% clean energy economy that benefits vulnerable populations and ordinary people.

Crossroads partners are members of the NY Renews coalition, which has been building grassroots and legislative support in New York state for the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA). The CCPA represents the most comprehensive climate and jobs bill in the country. If passed, the CCPA would codify Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s clean energy goals, placing NYS on the path to a fossil fuel-free economy by 2050. It would prioritize clean energy investments in disadvantaged and environmental justice communities. And it would secure fair labor standards, family-sustaining wages, and local jobs for workers in emerging clean energy sectors. Unsurprisingly, National Fuel lobbied against the CCPA during the 2016 legislative session.  

This morning in front of the U.S. Capitol building, on the eve of a historic People’s Climate Movement march on Washington planned for Saturday, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) were joined by members of NY Renews as they introduced federal climate legislation that seeks to advance the same bold vision of the CCPA. Back in Buffalo, the Crossroads Collective stands in full support of this effort and will continue to call on our elected leaders in NYS to take bold action on climate by passing the CCPA this legislative session.

Recent victories against National Fuel notwithstanding, Crossroads partners remain vigilant of the threats posed by powerful corporate interests that profit off the exploitation of people and planet. The struggle for climate justice in Buffalo and WNY is real, and the resistance is here to stay.