VESTAL, NY (WSKG) — Last week, an accident involving a tractor trailer carrying compressed natural gas killed the driver and prompted a mandatory evacuation of the Town of Fenton in Broome County. The incident occurred on Interstate-88 and caused part of the highway to be shutdown for several hours.
New York 23rd District Congressman Tom Reed is blaming the accident on Governor Andrew Cuomo and the stall of the Constitution Pipeline.
The Constitution pipeline, run by the Tulsa-based company Williams, would stretch 125-miles from northern Pennsylvania to New York’s Schoharie county, passing through Broome, Chenango, and Delaware counties. The Cuomo Administration has fought to keep it from being built.
Reed said Cuomo opted for a virtual pipeline with roughly the same route, but less efficient, less safe and more expensive.
"This is why I have always been opposed to this extreme agenda coming out of Albany that is threatening, not only the jobs that are associated with the development of natural gas in our backyard, but also the economic security, the global security impacts, and now you see real people dying," Reed said on a call to reporters.
Reed represents New York’s 23rd district which includes much of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.