Public Employee Press

Activists fight pipeline plans in Puerto Rico

Known for its tropical beaches and lush green mountains, the island of Puerto Rico is torn by a heated battle between Gov. Luis Fortuño and a coalition of environmental and union activists who are trying to stop his plan for a massive 92-mile natural gas distribution pipeline.

The $450 million project would cut across mountains, rivers and wetlands from Guayanilla in the South to Arecibo in the Northwest to the densely populated metropolitan area of the capital, San Juan.

Activists say the proposed pipeline, known as the gasoducto, would expose millions of people to explosions and endanger archeological sites, sensitive ecosystems and forest and water resources. The governor calls it Via Verde (Green Way) and claims it will cut energy costs by 30 percent.

U.S. Congress member Luis V. Gutierrez has demanded a federal Environmental Impact Statement and called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a thorough, transparent and fair examination of the governor's project.

New York City labor activists are involved in trying to stop the project and have demonstrated at the 26 Federal Plaza offices of USACE and in front of the White House.

"We have thousands of union brothers and sisters whose lives are in danger if this pipeline is built," said David Galarza of the Civil Service Employees Association, Local 1000 of DC 37's national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Galarza was arrested last year in a protest at the White House.

"Labor, environmental and community activists are working together in coalition and making our voices heard," said Santos Crespo Jr., the president of Local 372 and chair of DC 37's Latino Heritage Committee.

—Alfredo Alvarado