HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP: Committee opposing pipeline

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
The Hopewell Township Committee unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night opposing the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would run through the township.
If built by the firm PennEast Pipeline, the 105-mile line would begin in Luzerne County in Pennsylvania near Wilkes-Barre and end at a junction with an existing pipeline in southeastern Hopewell Township near Blackwell Road.
Township government does not have a say in whether the pipeline is built.
The decision rests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The committee’s action Tuesday drew vigorous praise and applause from a crowd of dozens of pipeline opponents.
"Thanks for the resolution," said Patty Cronheim of Hopewell Township Citizens Against the Penn East Pipeline. "We fully support its passage and look forward to working with the committee."
Katherine Dresdsner, an attorney working with another grassroots group against the pipeline, Concerned Citizens Against the Pipeline, said: "The PennEast Pipeline is the only one of 15 currently proposed pipelines in New Jersey that will not be (located next to) an existing pipeline if built."
She added that state officials have told her the state favors locating new and existing pipelines whenever possible.
A man who lives in the Elm Ridge Park development in the east central section of the township said the pipeline is a threat to the township’s areas of permanently preserved open space. Noting that most township residents, including those in his development, get their water from private wells, he asked: "Who will pay if there’s a pipeline leak and our water is contaminated?"
Jim Waltman, executive director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, which is based in the township, also thanked the committee for the resolution. "The association sees this pipeline as a serious, dramatic threat. We strongly oppose it."
Other residents made similar comments.
Before the committee voted on the resolution, it was amended, at the suggestion of Committeeman Harvey Lester, to convey more strongly the township’s opposition to the pipeline.
Mr. Lester, who said he is unequivocally opposed to the line, said township officials and residents should contact government officials at the county, state and federal level as part of the effort to stop the pipeline. Copies of the resolution passed Tuesday will be sent to officials at all levels of government.
The other committee members also said they were very opposed to the pipeline.
"There’s a risk of gas leaks and water contamination," Committeeman John Hart said. "The pipeline would gouge a permanent scar on our most pastoral area, the Sourland Mountains region."
Committeeman Todd Brant agreed, adding that the pipeline also would "lower property values. We should pursue the co-location issue."
Mayor Vanessa Sandom also was scathingly critical of the proposed pipeline, which she called "a travesty."
She said the township should begin searching for an attorney who could provide the best possible representation in the effort to stop the line.