Islander East - Route through Branford
- The
Islander East pipeline route into Long Island Sound from Branford was
recently upgraded in response to the concerns of Branford residents and
the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Some believe
that the sediments of Long Island Sound might hold trace amounts toxic
compounds from a less environmentally friendly time. Worries were also
expressed about the plight of shellfish that might be buried alive by
redeposited dredging material when the pipeline trench was filled in.
- Islander
East has commited to removing all dredged material from the pipeline
route. None of the sediments dredged from the sea bed will be
redeposited beside or over the pipeline trench. Clean and pure,
builders sand, will be used to cover the pipeline and restore the sea
floor.
- The
changes made to the Islander East proposal reduce the near shore
environmental impact by 90% from their initial application with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It also means that the offshore
impact of the Islander East project now has LESS of an environmental impact than the hypothetical, Iroquois Pipeline extension proposal to Shoreham, Long Island.
- The
additional cost to Islander East to lesson the environmental impact of
their project is expected to be between six and eight million dollars.
- At
the top of topo map two, northern section pictured above, is the
shoreline between Pine Orchard, Pleasant Point and Stony Creek.
- The
solid red line that is surrounded by hash marks represents the Islander
East pipeline route. The green hash marks show where the pipeline will
dive deep underground through a bedrock tunnel to avoid disrupting the
near shore shellfish beds in Long Island Sound. The purple hash marks
show where the pipeline will emerge from the bedrock tunnel and be
buried in a narrow trench using environmentally friendly dredging
methods.
- Times
have changed and all of us are more aware of the need to protect our
natural environment. As late as 1980 dredging was allowed to maintain
the 13+ foot deep channel through shellfish beds for Tilcon barges. The
red arrow points to the barge channel. The Islander East pipeline will
be placed in a bedrock tunnel up to 90 feet below the sea floor so it
may safely pass underneath the fragile, nearshore shellfish beds.
- People
who live or vacation on the Thimble Islands receive their electric,
phone and water service from cables and pipelines that are buried in
the sea bed. A blue arrow points to the light green areas south and
east of Pleasant Point which contain many under water cables and
pipelines that successfully coexist with pristine shelfish habitats.
Recently, a new under water pipeline, was proposed to connect Pleasant
Point residents to the Stony Creek mainland and the municipal water
supply.
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