BillHustonBlog: Press coverage + Audio -- Minisink appeal yesterday

Residents of Minisink NY and supporters packed the courtroom
yesterday United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit,
as a 3-judge panel heard oral arguments in an appeal to FERC's issuance
of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for constructing
a compressor station in a rural/residential neighborhood.

Audio recording of oral arguments:
http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/recordings2014.nsf/F2FB55EB991DBE3D85257CCB005C5067/$file/12-1481.mp3

Audio of Press Conference (video coming soon)
http://changetheframe.com/bhuston/audio/FERC%20Minisink%20DC%20appeal%201%20May%202014%20Press%20Conference.mp3

EE News report of the hearing:
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059998835

Report by Asha Canalos: Minisink Matters:

Today's hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals was an intense, dramatic event. We would like to deeply thank the many supporters who traveled from near and far to be there with us to demonstrate their support- we were deeply honored to be joined by the leaders of grassroots organizations and supporters from across NY, NJ, PA, MD and DC. We packed the courtroom with a tremendous show of solidarity.

Oral arguments were heard before Circuit Judges Millet, Kavanaugh, and Wilkins. Our attorney, Carolyn Elefant, was passionate and articulate in her argument, presenting clearly FERC's bias toward industry-held opinion in siting of infrastructure. She was actively questioned by Judges Millet and Kavanaugh. FERC's attorney followed with a bland recital of the commission's findings in 2012, and a defense of FERC protocol, and was confronted with an aggressive line of questioning by the judges. Then, Millennium's lawyer, echoing the company's claims of fulfilling customer needs and avoiding unnecessary environmental damage, received a series of heavy-hitting questions, for which he did not appear fully prepared. Finally, Elefant was allowed a rebuttal, and again swiftly and succinctly addressed all the final questions asked by the judges. Among the issues brought up in the hearing were the Wagoner Alternative/problematic 'Neversink Segment,' the history of the Kuprewicz Report, and the obstructions the Minisink Community faced in receiving necessary and relevant information on a timely basis. A full audio recording of today's hearing can be accessed here:

http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/recordings.nsf/

Rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals take, at a minimum, four weeks, and could potentially take up to four months.

Several members of the media are covering this story- two radio interviews were conducted today (Radio Pacifica and WAMC Hudson Valley NPR), footage of our press conference was taken and will soon be available, and we've had steady interest from local and regional journalists- we'll get that distributed very soon.

Thanks to all for the incredible support,

Asha C.

Background:

--
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May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)