NJ Sierra Club & Pinelands Preservation Alliance File Motion for Stay on SRL

Attorneys of New Jersey Sierra Club and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance have filed a motion for a stay on New Jersey Natural Gas’s (NJNG) Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline and a motion to supplement the record with the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of NJ. Two weeks ago, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent a letter of suspension to NJNG. The action includes a suspension of the Freshwater Wetlands permit, and the department is re-evaluating the project’s ability to move forward.

“After the blowout in Upper Freehold that caused a house to be condemned, we are finding more incidents along the SRL route. The pipeline construction has already caused a catastrophe which is why we are in court. Our organizations filed for a stay so we can prevent more damages from happening while we go to court. We also want to bring in new information regarding all of the different violations happening during construction. We said all along this could happen along the route. This is the wrong pipeline in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Despite still being involved in ongoing litigation, NJNG is moving forward with construction for the pipeline at their own risk but the risk has been to the people along the route and to the environment.”

The suspension letter cited three separate inadvertent return (IR) incidents that occurred during horizontal directional drilling (HDD) in Upper Freehold Township. An “IR” is an unpermitted release of drilling sludge, chemicals and fluid into the environment surrounding the construction area. During last week’s Pinelands Commission meeting, members of the public were surprised to hear that five additional IR incidents had been reported in 2019. The new reports show that the five incidents occurred within the Pinelands portion of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The first incident reported on January 31, 2019 discharged 444 gallons into adjacent wetlands. On February 4, 2019 about 80 gallons of slurry were discharged into wetlands. On February 7, 2019 two separate IRs yielded about 490 gallons that were discharged. On February 8, 2019 about 100 gallons were discharged at the same station.

“As if the destruction to a home in Upper Freehold during a global pandemic wasn’t enough, we are now learning that there weren’t merely one or two accidents along the pipeline route, but eight that we know of” said Rhyan Grech, Policy Advocate for Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA). “NJNG has demonstrated a clear pattern of construction accidents that have caused significant damage, the extent of which we don’t fully understand yet. The Pinelands National Reserve consists of some of the most sensitive habitats on the planet, and the IRs that have come to light need to be taken seriously and fully investigated.”

There have been reports along the SRL pipeline route in Monmouth, Ocean, and Burlington county about problems with the building of the pipeline. These include suspected spills, sinkholes, and materials from drilling in streams and ditches.

“We are going to court to do the job that the DEP and BPU should have done all along which is to protect the people along the pipeline route. NJNG say they care about the environment and are doing the right thing but they have caused serious accidents and discharge up and down the pipeline. NJNG reported five ‘inadvertent returns’ in 2019, plus at least two others. Calling them ‘inadvertent returns’ is just Orwellian spin that is made up. The more we keep looking into the SRL pipeline, the worse it gets,” said Tittel. “What’s even worse the Executive Director of the Pinelands Commission, Nancy Wittenberg held back information about incidents that occurred on the pipeline over a year ago.”

A house was condemned in Upper Freehold because NJNG caused a blowout while drilling and cracked the foundation of the home of a woman living along the route.  In New Egypt on Fisher and West Colliers Mill, a pipe collapsed causing a sinkhole near the SRL construction area. Roads will be closed for several weeks for repair. This incident is similar to what happened on the Delaware with Tenneco Gas.

“There is a 50% failure rate of HDD that is accepted by the industry itself,” said Grech. “These are exactly the risks that PPA and Sierra Club, as well as the very residents who have been impacted, warned of during the approvals process years ago. The Pinelands Commission, DEP and Board of Public Utilities had a responsibility and mandate to protect the residents and sensitive habitats along this route. The DEP has taken an important step by suspending the permit. The court now has the opportunity to completely course correct, and halt all construction until our appeals are decided.”