For the past year, landowners and community leaders in PA and NJ have been calling on the Delaware River Basin Commission to hold separate independent meetings within the watershed to review the Environmental Impact Study conducted by FERC of the PennEast pipeline project.
Late last month, the DRBC announced that it would do just that.
This will give the public the opportunity to raise concerns about the impacts on our water, air, and land from the proposed pipeline.
The effects of this pipeline would be devastating for our environment. Eighty-eight streams and waterways would be crossed, the drinking water of 7 million people would be threatened, outdoor recreational attractions would be altered, and habitats for endangered species would be cut down, including habitat of Bald Eagles, Bobolinks, Harrier Hawks, Ospreys, Cormorants, Wood Turtles, Great Blue Herons, Bobcats, Long-tailed Salamander, and others.
Photo: 150+ people overflow from auditorium where NJ Sierra Club Chapter hosted a townhall meeting on April 25, 2016 on the proposed PennEast pipeline.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the agency charged with determining if a new gas pipeline is needed. Historically, FERC approves the vast majority of the applications to build out new gas infrastructure, arguably without the careful analysis one would expect. Until now, the Delaware River Basin Commission had deferred its authority to gather public input over to FERC.
So, a coalition of grassroots and community organizations called on the Delaware River Basin Commission to hear for public concerns about the proposed PennEast pipeline. This same agency placed a temporary moratorium on fracking in 2011 in the Watershed (the coalition is working to make this permanent).
While the release of the impact study is not expected until December and the DRBC hearings until 2017, the coalition fighting the pipeline will not relent. We will keep calling on DRBC and FERC to deny permits for the PennEast pipeline.
But, before we get right back to work, we should recognize and celebrate this small victory--this singular milestone in an ongoing fight that is the mark of a movement that is gaining momentum.
Congratulations to the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Delaware River Keeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, the Pipeline Safety Coalition, local Sierra Club members in PA, and members of the grassroots network at stoppenneast.org.
Keep fighting.
Background: The PennEast pipeline is a proposed gas transmission pipeline project of six separate companies. The intended route would cut a 125-foot swath of permanent devastation for 114 miles. In addition to continuing our dependence on fossil fuel, the impacts of this pipeline could be devastating to people and the environment more immediately.