Woman tree sits to protest gas pipeline project in Burrillville

SHERRI ANNE Andre is sitting on a platform between trees near the Spectra Energy gas compressor station in Burrillville to protest the company's expansion of the station. / COURTESY NICKY KATKEVICH
SHERRI ANNE Andre is sitting on a platform between trees near the Spectra Energy gas compressor station in Burrillville to protest the company's expansion of the station. / COURTESY NICKY KATKEVICH

BURRILLVILLE – Sherri Anne Andre started a tree sit at 1 a.m. Tuesday to protest Spectra Energy’s proposal to expand the gas compressor station.
Andre, 26, of Warren, said she felt she had no other choice but to sit at the edge of the station. She is sitting on a wooden platform suspended in the trees.
She said she is doing the tree sit “indefinitely” and brought with her two months of food and a solar battery for her cell phone.
“My intention is to stay up here until Spectra stops building their extension,” Andre said. “Nonviolent direct action seems like the best option.”
Andre said she made her decision to do a tree sit after attending meetings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state Department of Environmental Management, as well as with U.S. Sens. Jack F. Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and feeling like the opposition’s concerns were not being heard. The company wants to nearly double the capacity of the station as part of its pipeline expansion project.
She called Spectra’s plan to expand the interstate pipeline capacity of its existing Algonquin Gas Transmission system “unnecessary.”
Spectra’s director of stakeholder outreach, Marylee Hanley, said the company will not allow or tolerate unauthorized individuals entering Spectra property. Safety for employees and the public are a top priority, she said.
“That is trespassing. It is not acceptable and we will prosecute,” Hanley said.
“Our pipelines provide a major source of energy for the nation and it is our obligation to safely and securely operate these facilities,” Hanley said. “Safety is at the forefront of everything we do.”
The station is part of Spectra’s Algonquin Incremental Market Project, designed to expand the interstate pipeline capacity of Spectra’s existing Algonquin Gas Transmission system. The compressor station is on 800 acres owned by Spectra in a remote location of Burrillville.
According to the Spectra website, the AIM Project will “allow abundant regional natural gas supplies to flow reliably into the Northeast, helping to meet the increasing demand while lowering energy costs.”

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