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Andrew Cuomo’s decision to halt new natural gas infrastructure reshaped New England’s energy market, driving up costs and undermining the transition away from dirtier fuels.
New England recently observed a grim milestone: the 10th anniversary of then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launching what amounted to a blockade against natural gas flowing into the region. Cuomo left the governor’s mansion in 2021, but his policy persists, and six states are still paying the price.
In April 2016, the Cuomo administration announced it had denied water-quality permits to the Constitution Pipeline, a project set to run from gas-producing Pennsylvania to the Albany area, where it would supply a pair of existing pipelines that run to Massachusetts and Connecticut.
This gas infrastructure was necessary, as New England had already retired a slew of coal-fired power plants in anticipation of accepting this new, cleaner fuel source. But now, with gas supply artificially constrained, New England’s gas and electricity costs are exploding, and gas power plants, without enough supply, must often switch to burning dirtier and less-efficient oil.
The water-quality approvals denied by Cuomo, mandated under the federal Clean Water Act, had historically been little more than a formality, requiring developers to take adequate care when digging near and under creek beds and rivers.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Boston Globe (paywall)
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Ken Girardin is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.