Parents, students, and concerned citizens from Burlington and Monkton, Vermont went to Vermont Gas Systems Inc., on December 20th to present their opinions on the proposed Vermont Gas pipeline. The pipeline would run through central Vermont, under Lake Champlain and into Ticonderoga, New York to provide natural gas to International Paper. Vermont Gas handed in its application for a certificate for public good to the public service board on December 20th and in response, Burlington-based environmental group Rising Tide Vermont and people from Monkton, VT came to the company’s building to give them a “Certificate of Public Destruction.”
Individuals from Monkton, Vermont are specifically concerned about the pipeline. Resident Henry Boisse has lived in Monkton for twenty years and is worried about the likelihood of a pipeline explosion; Vermont Gas is constructing the pipeline to go right under the main road in Monkton. After citing the recent pipeline explosion in Virginia, Mr. Boisse said that he and other Monkton residents’ reasons for protesting were based on concerns for public safety. Rising Tide VT, however, wants to connect the issue of Vermont Gas’s pipeline to the larger topic of climate change. “We just don’t see this as a solution to the climate problem,” said Burlington resident Avery Pitman.
Vermont citizens unite against Vermont Gas pipeline.
Their “Certificate of Public Destruction” reads: “Petition of Vermont Gas Systems, Inc., for a certificate of public destruction, authorizing the violation of our right to a livable planet and a healthy environment…”
People assemble in the parking lot across from the Vermont Gas company building.
Will Bennington, Michael Hurlburt, and Martha Wa came into the building to present the “Certificate of Public Destruction.”
Monkton resident Michael Hurlburt, president of Vermont Citizens for Public Safety, then applied for a position of public relations, as he believes that Vermont Gas Systems Inc. has not done a good enough job at being transparent with the public.
Burlington resident Keith Brunner reads the “Certificate of Public Destruction” for the press.
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For more information on what Rising Tide VT is doing in Burlington, visit their Facebook page: Rising Tide Vermont.
Jenn March is an activist photographer from Burlington, Vermont. She has been organizing in both state and national issues for over a year. She is currently photographing for Rising Tide VT, a Burlington-based environmental group. Jenn is presently working towards a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Photography at Burlington College.