HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP >> PennEast Pipeline Co. has received federal approval to build an underground natural gas transmission line that stretches from Dallas Township in Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township in New Jersey, but environmental activists are seeking to kill the $1 billion project at the state level.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, also known as FERC, on Friday issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity allowing PennEast to construct, own and operate a 120-mile-long pipeline that crosses state lines.
PennEast celebrated the news with a Friday evening tweet saying, “FERC approves the PennEast Pipeline, which is set to deliver lower electric and gas bills, cleaner air, and thousands of jobs.”
In another tweet, PennEast added, “Its approval means our region will finally realize its full benefits: over a billion dollars in economic impact, more than 12,000 jobs, and lower energy bills for residents!”
But the New Jersey Sierra Club, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and a HALT PennEast group of affected landowners known formally as the Homeowners Against Land Taking are vowing to keep fighting the pipeline proposal.
“Now it’s up to New Jersey to protect our land and water from this dangerous and unnecessary pipeline and for our state to reject the Trump administration’s dirty and reckless energy policies,” Jim Waltman, executive director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, said Saturday in a press statement. “This is far from over.”
FERC suggests state agencies should cooperate with PennEast in making the proposed pipeline a reality.
“Any state or local permits issued with respect to the jurisdictional facilities authorized herein must be consistent with the conditions of this certificate. The Commission encourages cooperation between interstate pipelines and local authorities,” FERC said in its decision, according to a copy obtained by The Trentonian. “However, this does not mean that state and local agencies, through application of state or local laws, may prohibit or unreasonably delay the construction or operation of facilities approved by this Commission.”
An anti-PennEast rally protesting FERC’s decision is scheduled to take place 4 p.m. Monday at Hoff Farm, which is located at 892 Sergeantsville Rd. (Rt. 523) in Stockton, New Jersey.
Hopewell Township Mayor Kevin Kuchinski is expected to attend. In a press statement on Saturday, he said, “The federal review of PennEast was a complete sham. The fight to stop this unneeded pipeline is now on our turf, where New Jersey’s strong authority to protect its residents and environment can be used to hold PennEast fully accountable to the law.”
