No Fracked Oil Pipeline!

Our Drinking Water & Safe Communities - more important than Fossil Fuels

The Pilgrim Pipeline Company is proposing to build a new, bi-directional pipeline to transport oil and refined petroleum products between Albany, New York and Linden, New Jersey. The company has not released a detailed map, but the project is expected to follow along Route 287 through Mahwah, Franklin Lakes and Oakland in Bergen County and continue through Wanaque, Pompton Lakes and Bloomingdale in Passaic County. It would also enter Morris County, including through Riverdale and Pequannock, and then cut across Watchung, Scotch Plains, and other communities before heading east toward Linden.

Fracked, Explosive Oil Carried Through our Communities

Pilgrim Pipeline would transport oil extracted from North Dakota's Bakken Shale via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking -- an extreme form of oil and gas extraction that depletes and despoils clean water, creates toxic air emissions and radioactive waste, and contributes to the climate crisis by releasing large quantities of methane gas into the atmosphere.Additionally, Bakken oil is extremely volatile and dangerous. In February the Wall Street Journal compared oil from 86 locations around the world and found Bakken crude oil to be the most explosive.^[1] Bringing this fuel into our states endangers our families, property, and environment.

Pipelines Under-regulated & Poorly Maintained

Pipeline systems in the United States are chronically under regulated to guarantee safe transportation. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA)only has 135 inspectors to oversee 2.6 million miles of pipeline. PHMSA or its state partners have inspected only one fifth of that pipeline system since 2006.[2] Lack of inspections and ability to easily corrode makes the risk of a spill very real. In October, a spill of Bakken crude from a pipeline in North Dakota resulted in over 20,600 barrels - equivalent to 865,200 gallons- of oil escaping into the environment. The event was one of the largest onshore oil spills in recent history.

Immediate Environmental and Environmental Justice Impacts

The Pilgrim Pipeline is proposed to run through the New Jersey Highlands. The Highlands region provides drinking water for half of New Jersey's residents and a major oil spill in this ecologically sensitive region could prove disastrous. Pipeline construction would destroy wetlands and critical habitats for threatened and endangered species in the NJ Highlands, and degrade our waterways by creating more erosion due to construction. The pipeline would also pass through environmental justice communities that already live with too much air and water pollution from the fossil fuel industry.

Climate Consequences

Especially after Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey needs to oppose fuel sources that contribute to climate change. Our coastal communities are not prepared for the sea level to rise one foot, much less the 3-5 feet predicted in 85 years. Those born today will see our New Jersey shore communities abandoned if we fail to act now.

Clean Energy Alternatives

Instead of investing in long term infrastructure for more fossil fuels, we need to be investing in alternatives like solar, wind and energy efficiency that do not threaten the environment and our public health. With sensible policy prescriptions that cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize alternatives, we can create green jobs while improving our environmental legacy.

Questions? Contact msmith@fwwatch.org or Toni.Granato@sierraclub.org