LEADING POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION DISAGREES WITH DEP DECISION TO RESUME DRILLING AT FRESHWATER WETLANDS

TRENTON – The following is a statement from Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, condemning a decision by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reinstate the permit to New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), allowing the company to resume drilling in the construction of the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline. 

“This is a breach of the public’s trust. NJNG has not been held accountable for their past mistakes, and to allow them to resume drilling without any real accountability is inexcusable,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “How many more homes and streams have to be destroyed before the DEP wakes up and realizes that Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) only works 50% of the time, and that’s just not good enough to protect New Jersey? All drilling and pipeline construction needs to stop immediately until the pending court cases are resolved. The safety of New Jersey residents and our precious water supply are at stake.”

 The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, hold public officials accountable, and support laws that protect our environment and improve the quality of people’s lives.