ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York's U.S. senators are urging the federal government to halt the expansion of a gas pipeline project that runs beside a nuclear power plant.
Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand want the Algonquin pipeline project halted until independent health and safety reviews are completed. The two Democrats say the project poses a threat to the quality of life in the region and doesn't come with any long-term benefit to the communities it would affect.
Both senators are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission not to approve any proposal until a thorough, independent review of the project's potential impacts is completed.
The project would nearly double the size of the current natural gas transmission line on a route that travels through Rockland, Putnam and Westchester counties in southeastern New York.