Roughly 200 people gathered at Geprags Park carrying signs and giant papier-mâché birds as they sang beneath a rainy sky.
Hinesburg police chief Frank Koss told protesters who were trespassing that they would be charged with felonies. Then officers dragged the demonstrators across a field to a long row of state and local police cars.
Koss said protesters were arrested because they were blocking Vermont Gas contractors from leaving the work site. But the workers simply drove the other direction — away from the protest across a small mown field rather than through the crowd — and left unimpeded.
Many activists at the scene said they hoped to stop the pipeline, while others said they were sending a message to the public, Vermont Gas and other fossil-fuel companies about the environmental damage caused by the extraction of natural gas.
Rev. Gregory Wilson, of Vershire, told protesters that the fracking process used to extract gas from the Earth contributes to climate change and takes a toll on the local environment. It’s up to the public to stop the damage, he said.
“This is death-oriented right here, for the planet and the individuals of the planet,” Wilson said in an interview, gesturing at the pipeline. “Once you understand the truth of that — what animal does not fight for life when it’s under threat?
The protest occurred just off Route 7A, where drivers mainly honked in support as they drove by. Others expressed discontent with the protesters’ aim.
“Geprags Park sucks!” yelled the passenger of a pickup truck as it sped past.
After the workers left, so did nearly all the police. Koss said he didn’t have enough officers to arrest everyone there, and said he and a few officers remained mainly to ensure protesters’ safety.
As the day wore on and the intermittent rain intensified, protesters piled into yellow buses and drove to the Vermont Gas headquarters in South Burlington and attempted to enter the lobby. Employees locked the front doors before the protesters could enter though, and around 50 of the protesters remained outside on the lawn in the rain into the evening — still holding signs and banners and chanting.
Jane Palmer, one of the six arrested, rejoined their ranks at the Vermont Gas headquarters after police released her.
She’d been charged with unlawful restraint and disorderly conduct, Palmer said.
“Chief Koss said it’s going to be a felony,” she said. “I don’t know that he knows what he’s talking about. The trucks just backed out — we didn’t prevent them from moving.”
Palmer said she’s been fighting the Vermont Gas pipeline for years, and said she’ll continue, even as the project nears completion.
“We’re all fighting, in the most civil way we can, because that’s all that’s left, really,” she said. “We’ll keep fighting.”
Palmer faulted the Department of Public Service and the Public Service Board for repeatedly siding with Vermont Gas through the pipeline’s permitting process, even in the face of public opposition. Civil disobedience is the only option now, she said.
“When you’ve got no other recourse, you’ve got to stand up and say, ‘Hey, this is wrong,’” Palmer said.
Brian Tokar, a lecturer in environmental studies at UVM, said even if demonstrators fail to stop the Vermont Gas pipeline, they may achieve a larger victory.
Many environmentally-destructive projects have been carried out in spite of intense public opposition, but the level of resistance to some such projects Tokar said “has changed the tone for all future projects.”
“That’s really a likely scenario here,” Tokar said.
The Seabrook nuclear plant is a good example this phenomena, he said. Activists ultimately brought about the end of the last major wave of new nuclear generators in the country.
Vermont Gas spokeswoman Beth Parent said the work stoppage at the Vermont Gas site will only increase the cost of the pipeline. It is not clear who will pay those costs, she said.
The same small group of people has opposed the project all along, and they’re not representative of Addison County residents who want lower heating bills this winter, Parent said.
“We’re very pleased everything ended safely today,” Parent said. “Our goal is to make sure events like this end safely, and we continue to work with law enforcement to make sure that happens.”
