Genieve Long Reveals Horrors of Oil Pipeline Spill

CORNWALL – Wednesday, March 29, 2013 will be forever etched in Genieve Long’s memory. It’s traumatic events changed her life, along with thousands of others, forever.

On that day, The Mayflower, Arkansas resident, Long witnessed- seeing, smelling and touching something she will never forget: the rupture of the Exxon’s Mayflower Oil Pipeline, carrying Canadian diluted bitumin and spilling about 200,000 gallons of oil on the lush, fertile land and into the once thriving, clear, blue Lake Conway.

Within moments an indescribable, putrid stench penetrated the air; Long’s four children complained of upset stomachs as they asked their mother where the “awful smell was coming from.” Long herself was feeling an intense migraine coming on, as she surveyed the only homeland she had known for over thirty years being devastated by a inexplicable disaster, which neither she nor any Mayflower residents were told anything about; in fact, most residents were unaware the antiquated pipeline even existed. That beautiful early spring day they knew all too well of its presence as well as rapid, merciless power to destroy lives on multiple levels.

“My children and I have been sick with migraines, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea since the day of the spill; people’s homes have been demolished as well,” Long, fighting off tears, told a room full of about fifty people at the Town of Cornwall’s Munger House Thursday night. “I stand here today to tell you the people proposing a pipeline in your area will tell you there will be massive improvements, such as more jobs, but once the pipeline is done, they will all be gone; the same thing that happened to me and my town will happen here with the Pilgrim Pipeline.

That similar, local oil pipeline scenario Long alludes to is something that has been inciting much discussion as of late. More specifically, the proposal, starting with Albany and moving southward, entails the implementation of a single six-foot trench, holding two parallel pipes and carrying both crude and refined oils to New Jersey; each pipeline would carry 200,000 barrels a day. The plan calls for laterals in both the Towns of Newburgh and New Windsor, having an immediate, local impact, none of which many deem positive.

“We really are facing a clear and present danger; our communities will be harmed, as we will be hemmed in by a situation that at any time will devastate us,” Richard Randazzo, Town of Cornwall Supervisor, cautioned those in attendance. “At a time when we are looking for renewable energy resources, it shocks me that we would even consider this; we really need to fight this from happening, as it is all about money and I have yet to hear any real positives that will come of it.”

Adding to Randazzo’s fears, is the fact that research shows pipelines leak and have leaked more than any other means of transport. In fact, from 2003-2013, they have spilled a total of 44 million gallons of crude oil. That reality, along with the countless traumatic long-lasting effects of such a spill, as outlined by Long’s experience, and the confirmation that the Thruway had accepted application of the Pilgrim Pipeline, was all the motivation Sandra Kissam needed. Back in January of this year she spearheaded the formation of Residents Against Pilgrim Pipeline (RAPP.) Holding an initial meeting in Newburgh, the group has picked up momentum since.

Thursday, many of those members were on hand, attentively listening in to the nightmare Long and her family has endured as well as the passionate advocacy work it has inspired, fighting to hold Exxon responsible for the turmoil it has wreaked on both families and the town they hold close to their hearts. The futile efforts by workers to wear proper breathing apparatus, telling the severity of the spill, or to attempt to absorb the thick oil spillage with countless rolls of paper towels or install ineffective barriers that failed to even touch the water but claimed to stop oil penetration were inexcusable cover ups which Long is insistent upon exposing.

It’s been three years since the Mayflower spillage, and still residents do not know the exact chemical mixture of the oil that has destroyed their lives. Although some health studies were offered, none were conducted, as they were all politically aimed to benefit Exxon. Long herself has had 12 bouts with pneumonia. Despite it all, she and her family have not left. They lack the funds to do so. More so, it’s the only place they have ever called home.

Following her talk, along with slideshow that showed the first-hand physical atrocities (such as the up-close, “peanut butter” thickness of the oil as well as some of the death toll on marine life) from the spill, Long fielded several questions from the concerned audience. The last one was what we here should be most focused on in the wake of the Pilgrim Pipeline proposal.

“Your safety,” Long quickly replied. “We have one earth, and you have one family; we need to protect them at all costs.”

With a “Seven Point Plan” in the works, RAPP members, along with others, are hard at work planning a Push Back on D.E.C. and Adopt an Exit Along the Thruway events as well as a concerted effort to wear pins, put up signs and seal bumper stickers to cars raising awareness of the Pilgrim Pipeline dangers. Concerned citizens are also urged to contact Governor Andrew Cuomo by emailing him at: gov.cuomo@chamber.state.ny.us or calling (518) 474-8390.

Randazzo is considering something even more.

“I want to hold a town hall meeting, and invite Governor Cuomo, who has the power to stop this act, which makes absolutely no sense, here.”

It’s an issue void of so much logic according to Kissam, that as much support to oppose it is critical.
“We need to be primarily concerned about this issue because our water supplies, safety and health, and property values are under serious threat if crude Brakken oil, gasoline, jet fuel and other refined products are piped on the Thruway and through lateral pipelines to the Hudson River,” stressed Kissam. “We would take the risk with no benefit; yet the Thruway is seriously considering the proposal, and our communities must oppose it.”

To learn more about how you can get involved with RAPP and or specifics of what you can do to help in this fight, contact Kissam at (845) 564-3018.