LTE: Stand Up and Speak Out Against PennEast

To the Editor:

The fight against the PennEast pipeline has been going on now for almost five years. Citizen activists, elected officials, the NJ Attorney General, and environmental organizations have come together to block this destructive project, which has been deemed “unnecessary” by the NJ Division of Rate Counsel and characterized by them as “unduly generous to PennEast and unfair to consumers.”

Thanks to the broad cooperation of the many groups fighting this project, PennEast — whose original plan was to have their pipeline in the ground in 2017 — has been stymied. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that PennEast cannot condemn state-owned lands for their pipeline, and recently denied the company’s request for a re-hearing on that issue. 

NJDEP followed that decision with a denial of PennEast’s permit, finding that its application was “deficient.” 

There is one more front where you can have an impact and help put the final nail in the coffin of PennEast. The Delaware River Basin Commission has authority over the pipeline because it crosses the river. They will be meeting on December 11 at 10am at Washington Crossing State Park Visitor Center, 1112 River Road, in Pennsylvania. 

Please try to attend this meeting to demonstrate to the DRBC that this pipeline should be rejected from their docket and that the people of this region stand united against PennEast. Groups such as Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Sourland Conservancy, and Sierra Club will be delivering a petition to the Commissioners – available here: www.delawareriverkeeper.org/node/6125   

Sign on and share! We hope to fill the auditorium to demonstrate to the Commission that the people want this pipeline stopped. This is a chance for you to stand up and speak out against PennEast. You don’t even need to testify — most of the slots for testimony have been filled. We just need to show up and prove how serious we are about killing this project. On behalf of the Sourland Conservancy, I hope you can join us. And bring a friend!

Marylou Ferrara,

Advocacy Chair,

Sourland Conservancy