For Immediate Release
August 12, 2020

PennEast 6th Anniversary – Pipeline Still Stopped, Win So Far

Today, August 12, marks the 6th anniversary of PennEast’s proposal for their pipeline. NJ Sierra Club joined with Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Berks Gas Truth, and the Pipeline Safety Coalition to fight the pipeline and organize the community.

“Today is the 6th anniversary of PennEast’s announcement for their pipeline. PennEast has been stopped for the last six years because of large public outcry and activism. This is a victory for grassroots and the people who have been fighting this dangerous and unnecessary pipeline. The public is strongly opposed to building this pipeline and want to protect the Delaware River Valley. Because 70% of landowners in New Jersey denied PennEast access to their land, PennEast was unable to get important permits. The fight continues,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We were one of the first groups to fight PennEast with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Whenever you can slow down a bad project for 6 years, it’s a win. But it is a win we have to continue fighting to keep. We didn’t have to ReThink, it took real action to slow down this pipeline.”

In June, the U.S Supreme Court did not issue a decision on whether they will consider a request by PennEast to allow the use of eminent domain to acquire properties belonging to the state of New Jersey along the pipeline’s route. The Supreme Court instead issued an order asking the Justice Department’s solicitor general to file briefs in the case.

“PennEast expected to have their pipeline built by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, here we are 6 years later and the battle continues with no end in sight. We’re going to keep fighting until they’re stopped for good. PennEast is trying to use eminent domain to acquire properties belonging to the state of New Jersey along the pipeline’s route. They want to seize hundreds of acres of preserved open space in New Jersey. Now they are blocked in court because the lower courts ruled that a private pipeline company couldn’t seize public land,” said Tittel. “The Supreme Court is asking input from the Trump Administration and solicitor general whether or not to consider PennEast’s request. The administration may reverse the Third Circuit decision, which would be horrible precedent.”

PennEast has split their plan to construct the pipeline into two phases. The first phase is in Pennsylvania, where the pipeline has met much less resistance. This phase includes construction of approximately 53.3 miles of pipeline and construction of a new natural gas compressor station. Phase 2 of the project, which is not a part of the present application, would extend the proposed pipeline across the Delaware River into Mercer County, NJ at an undetermined future date.

“PennEast is also playing games by splitting their project because it is currently blocked in New Jersey. If they get approval in Pennsylvania, PennEast could use it to put pressure on NJ regulators to try to push through this project. Another part of the game is that PennEast could use the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline to get around the opposition and environmental reviews for the pipeline in New Jersey. Although the Adelphia Pipeline can currently only hold half of PennEast’s gas, they could easily make it bigger or add a loop using existing right-of-ways,” said Jeff Tittel.

In August, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released the PennEast 2020 Amendment Project Environmental Assessment. The EA covered analysis on geology, soils, groundwater, water resources, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife, and threatened and endangered species, air quality and noise and more. Overall, the analysis concluded that the project would not have any significant effect on the quality of the human environment. The comment period on the EA is open until 5:00pm Eastern Time on September 2, 2020.

“In keeping with how bad FERC really is, they just rubber stamped the Environmental Assessment for the first phase of PennEast’s pipeline project. The agency is playing along with PennEast and their games to get around public scrutiny and proper environmental reviews. FERC failed to look at the secondary and cumulative impacts from connected pipelines and the compressor station on the Pennsylvania side of PennEast’s route. They also did not look at alternatives,” said Tittel. “ The biggest flaw is allowing PennEast to start building their pipeline on the Pennsylvania side. This way they can interconnect to Texas Easter, Columbia, and Adelphia and ship their gas without having to build on the New Jersey side or phase 2.”

In June, PennEast filed an application to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to approve the Delaware River Basin portion of Phase I of the PennEast Pipeline Project. Earlier that week, the DRBC sent a letter to FERC stating that the PennEast Pipeline is subject to DRBC review and approval because their planned activities meet at least one of the DRBC’s regulatory thresholds.

“The fight continues at the Supreme Court and the DRBC. PennEast has applied for permits at the DRBC, and New Jersey can still stop them using the 401 Certificate, Endangered Species, Wetlands, Stream Encroachment, and other permits. New Jersey needs to update and strengthen the 401 Certificate because it has been our most successful tool in preventing pipelines. Under the current rules, New Jersey doesn’t make a determination that other states do about whether pipeline activities violate the Surface Water Quality Standards. We need to fix this so that we can stop unnecessary and damaging pipelines. New York, Connecticut, and now North Carolina have all stopped pipelines using the 401,” said Tittel.

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, 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.

“This pipeline is unnecessary, unneeded and dangerous. This is a serious project that will affect many people on both sides of the river. This pipeline will create an ugly scar through the region. It will increase our greenhouse gases, worsen climate impacts, and endanger public health and the environment. It would threaten the entire Valley including 91 acres of wetlands and over 44 miles of forest, 88 waterways; over 1,600 acres total,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “PennEast needs to get the FERC out of our valley. We have fought the PennEast pipeline for the past 6 years. We will fight for another 6 years or whatever it takes until it is finally stopped.”