"'A slap in the face’: pipeline violates civil rights, say New Yorkers," 11 Feb. 2022

... Residents have spent the last two years protesting National Grid’s 7-mile pipeline, which zigzags through predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods, bypassing whiter, wealthier parts of Brooklyn. Formally known as the Metropolitan Reliability Project, the pipeline is often referred to as the north Brooklyn pipeline. They have blocked the pipeline’s construction at demonstrations and some have stopped paying part of their utility bills, in an effort to divert funding from the project.

... [T]hey went a step further, filing a complaint against the utility and state that argues the pipeline has resulted in racial discrimination, violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Title VI prohibits federally-funded entities from discriminating on the basis of race, gender, and other protected identities.)

... Not long after the complaint was filed, two federal investigations were launched into New York state agencies. (Asked for comment, a National Grid spokesperson said both of the federal agencies dismissed the complaint against the utility.)

... Responding to a request for comment, a National Grid spokesperson maintains that the utility company complied with all laws.

... Brooklyn residents claim they never had the opportunity to consent to the pipeline – a frequent complaint shared by environmental justice communities. “[National Grid] never reached out to me, never reached out to my fellow neighbors, none of us,” said Rogers, a member of Brownsville Green Justice, one of the groups behind the complaint.