Vía Verde project

The Vía Verde project (English: Green Way project), also known as Gasoducto del NorteNueva trama ensombrece la Vía Verde. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012. (English: Northern Gas Pipeline), was a pipeline project proposed by the administration of Governor Luis Fortuño intended to supply natural gas to northern Puerto Rico from Puerto Rico's southern region. The pipeline would have run from Peñuelas, on Puerto Rico's southern coast, to electricity-generating plants in Arecibo, Cataño and San Juan, crossing the island's Cordillera Central.Se reafirma a favor del Gasoducto. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 2 November 2011. The project aimed to supply 71% of Puerto Rico's electrical energy needs,Casa Pueblo: Prueba inconsistencias de la Vía Verde. Reinaldo Millán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 15 September 2010. Year 28. No. 1398. Page 18. Retrieved 15 November 2011. while lowering the cost of electricity in the island. A project of Governor Luis Fortuño,Entierra Barack Obama el oleoducto. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.Vía Verde: "no en el futuro cercano". Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.Se disuelve el apoyo PNP al gasoducto. Reinaldo Millán and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 5 October 2011. Page 6. Retrieved 5 October 2011.A Casa Blanca polémica por el gasoducto. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 5 October 2011. Page 4. Retrieved 5 October 2011.Revés de Vía Verde: Se funde plan para gasificar a Costa Sur. Jason Rodríguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011. it was called the "crown jewel" project of his administration.Cae el miércoles otro pilar de Vía Verde. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1487. Page 11. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012. The project was also supported by former governor of Puerto Rico Rafael Hernández Colón. Rafael Hernandez Colon. Caribbean Business. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2011. The pipeline was called "the centerpiece of [Governor Fortuño]'s efforts to kick-start Puerto Rico's dormant economy."Puerto Rican Governor Faces Opposition To Pipeline. Greg Allen and Marisa Peñaloza. National Public Radio (NPR) News. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.

The Gasoducto del Norte project faced stiff opposition from the public, environmentalists – including Casa Pueblo and Bill McKibben – and members of the United States Congress, including Congressman Luis Gutierrez. A Puerto Rico newspaper poll taken in March 2011 showed that 70% of the residents opposed the gas pipeline."", The Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc. Retrieved 23 January 2012.

As of 21 March 2012, the government of Puerto Rico was still awaiting permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before commencing construction of the projected pipeline.Sin fecha para dictamen de Vía Verde. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30, Issue 1477. Page 8. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.AAA paga $14,200 mensuales por almacenar tubos no usados de Gasoducto del Sur. Perla Franco. Claridad. San Juan Puerto Rico. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011. If construction was started, the government estimated the project would take 12 months to complete,Admite ejecutivo de la AEE: Inicia la cuenta regresiva del gasoducto. Jason Rodríguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011. but the time estimate was called "fiction" even by members if his own political party.

On 15 June 2012, the government of Puerto Rico removed from the project the section of the pipeline that would have traversed from Peñuelas to Arecibo. The decision was based on data that indicated there would not be enough gas at Peñuelas to feed into the pipeline.Fortuño y Comité descartan la VíaVerde. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1490. Page 4. Retrieved 20 June 2012. This pipeline section would have cut through the Cordillera Central and was the primary focus of environmentalists' objections.

After much opposition, on 11 October 2012, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) withdrew the entire Vía Verde permit application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers evaluation process, thereby stalling approval of the proposed pipeline indefinitely.Items of Interest: Via Verde Natural Gas Pipeline U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jacksonville, Florida. Website. Retrieved 14 November 2012.

History 1993–2009 In 1993, the chairman of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE), Miguel Cordero, proposed a natural gas pipeline as part of the Government of Puerto Rico's plan to diversify Puerto Rico's energy sources. However, the proposal was not proceeded during the administration of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) governor Pedro Rosselló (1993–2000). Gerardo E. Alvarado León. El Nuevo Dia, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011. In 2001, the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) won the gubernatorial elections, put Sila Calderon in La Fortaleza from 2001 to 2004, and appointed Héctor Rosario as executive director of the AEE. The pipeline plan proposed by Cordero was shelved. In 2005, a natural gas pipeline project named Gasoducto del Sur (English: Southern Gas Pipeline) started construction under the PPD administration of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. The Gasoducto del Sur pipeline would have transported natural gas from the EcoEléctrica facilities in Peñuelas to the power plant at Aguirre in Salinas.A todo Vapor el Cambio a Gas Natural. Yanira Hernández Cabiya. El Nuevo Dia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 20 October 2011.No ayuda el gasoducto a una política energética saludable para Puerto Rico. Perla Franco. Claridad. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2011. Acevedo Vilá managed to complete about 25% of the Gasoducto del Sur project before being defeated by the opposing party, the PNP, in the 2008 elections. When the PNP took back La Fortaleza in 2009 via Luis Fortuño as governor, Miguel Cordero was reappointed executive director of the AEE, and the Gasoducto del Sur project, though a quarter of its way completed, was abruptly cancelled.Lo llaman "Vía Verde": De Peñuelas a Cataño el nuevo gasoducto. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 20 October 2011. (Includes the 27-page presentation by Gov. Luis Fortuño titled "Via Verde: Una nueva era energetica" and 7 images of visuals that include two charts by Daniel Pagan Rosa, principal project consultant, from a presentation made to the Penuelas Municipal Assembly.) The cancellation left the Government of Puerto Rico with a US$59 million debt to the contractor, Skanska, and opened the way for the PNP's alternative project, Gasoducto del Norte.AAA paga $14,200 mensuales por almacenar tubos no usados de Gasoducto del Sur. Perla Franco.Claridad. San Juan Puerto Rico. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

2010 On 19 September 2010, Casa Pueblo held a peaceful march against the Gasoducto project.Convocan a marcha contra la Vía Verde Gasoducto del Norte. Primera Hora. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2012. Another march took place on 1 May 2011, where the governor's opposition party, the PPD, showed their opposition to the project. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012. More than 30,000 people marched the 1 May March.

In December, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers not to issue a permit for the construction of the Via Verde project.Agencias federales: Objetan al proyecto “Vía Verde” Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011.Recomienda EPA que no se apruebe el permiso al Gasoducto del Norte. Jason Rodriguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2 November 2011. Page 6. Retrieved 30 November 2011.

2011 On 11 June 2011, a group of environmentalists from Casa Pueblo, National Puerto Rican Coalition, Sierra Club, Earth Justice and Greenpeace presented their opposition to the project in Washington, DC. Omar Alfonso. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.

On 29 September 2011, Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez formally requested that President Barack Obama investigate the project citing "serious concerns over the existence of a 'close relationship' between the [Request for Comments|RFC] solicitor and its agents and the consultants who review and present formal comments about the Via Verde permit applications" to the Government, as well as an over concerns that Governor Luis Fortuño was using his influence to intervene in favor of the project when he asked to speak to the U.S. Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, about Via Verde "in a process that its already following its course and which did not correspond him to intervene."A Casa Blanca polémica por el gasoducto. Omar Alfonso. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 5 October 2011. Page 4. Retrieved 12 October 2011.

On 5 October 2011, AEE started the process of land expropriation, "even though the Puerto Rico government does not yet possess the necessary permits [from the Federal authorities] for the construction of the Gasoducto."En 14 días expropiaciones del gasoducto. Omar Alfonso and Jason Rodríguez. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.

2012 On 19 February 2012, a crowd numbering about 6,000 persons held a march in the capital city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, to protest the construction of Gasoducto del Norte, a.k.a. Via Verde.Masiva marcha contra el gasoducto en San Juan. Leysa Caro González. Primera Hora. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.Culmina la marcha en contra del gasoducto. Daniel Rivera Vargas. El Nuevo Dia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012. Simultaneous with the demonstration in San Juan, another demonstration was held in New York City with the same purposes.Contagia a NY protesta contra Vía Verde. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

On 11 March 2012, a block of concerned citizens set up a permanent encampment in front of the northern electric generating plant at Palo Seco, one of those that would receive gas from the planned Gasoducto, to protest the planned gas pipeline.Redobla el norte lucha contra Vía Verde. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

On 30 May 2012, the Puerto Rico Senate started hearings on the Gasoducto del Norte and claims that it is not "the only alternative" to reduce the cost of electricity in Puerto Rico.

On 11 October 2012 AEE officially withdrew the entire Vía Verde permit application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers evaluation process, thereby stalling approval of the proposed pipeline indefinitely.

Route The proposed pipeline would distribute natural gas from the Costa Sur Sugar Plantation (Peñuelas/Guayanilla area) north to the Arecibo Cambalache plant, and on to the Palo Seco and San Juan areas. The proposed route would cut through Puerto Rico's Cordillera Central and the northern Karst region. It would cross 13 municipalities.

Technical features