For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
PennEast Pipeline Company LLC recently filed with the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) to withdraw its February 5, 2016 Water Withdrawal and Discharge Application in its entirety from consideration by the Delaware River Basin Commission.
“PennEast is trying to play games with the system for their own benefit. They withdrew their water permit application from the DRBC because they know it does not meet its requirements. PennEast is using time now as a way of fixing their application for an unneeded and unnecessary pipeline. What’s even worse is that they want to start construction in Pennsylvania and then try and use that to pressure New Jersey for permits. PennEast are trying to get around DRBC oversight and rules. They want to get around environmental reviews and regulatory hurdles by segmenting the pipeline project. This is a dangerous trick,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “PennEast still need other permits from the DRBC and an EIS, this withdrawal is just a delay.”
PennEast has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve a plan to construct its pipeline in two phases. The first phase would be in Pennsylvania, where the pipeline has met much less resistance. This phase would be 68 miles and be online by November 2021. The second phase would be completed by 2023. Last week, FERC voted to approve PennEast’s petition to be able to seize state-owned lands for the pipeline construction.
“FERC has already backed PennEast on trying to cut through thousands of acres of public land and put in an unnecessary pipeline. This withdrawal is just more games on the part of PennEast. The company is looking to seize hundreds of acres of preserved open space in New Jersey. Almost 50% of that land is preserved land, farmland or state parks. That land is state owned land, or where the state has an interest in, has ownership development rights, or owned by a state agency. We also believe PennEast will take even longer to build their pipeline, especially with the Third Circuit decision that the pipeline cannot be built on state land. PennEast is already appealing the third circuit court decision,” said Tittel.
In October, PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC, filed a petition for a declaratory order and for expedited action requesting that FERC issue an order interpreting the Natural Gas Act’s eminent domain authority in Section 7(h).
“PennEast is taking advantage of the DRBC permitting process and trying to get around the system. The pipeline would threaten the entire Valley including 91 acres of wetlands and over 44 miles of forest, 88 waterways; over 1,600 acres’ total. Some of the major state-owned properties that are part of the PennEast Pipeline route include the Delaware River and Raritan Canal, Bulls Island State Park, Goat Hill, and Baldpate Mountain. Near its southern terminus, the pipeline would cut through the Sourland Mountain, which contains the last contiguous forested areas in central New Jersey and has been recognized as a unique and fragile ecosystem,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “PennEast is trying to play games with their dangerous pipeline and we need to stop them. The best way to stop this pipeline is for Governor Murphy to strengthen New Jersey’s flood hazard rules and deny PennEast’s 401 Water Quality Certificate.”