By John Tredrea, Special Writer
More than 100 people filled the meeting room in the West Amwell Township municipal building to standing-room capacity on Nov. 5 at an informational meeting on the proposed PennEast pipeline that would pass through the township.
The 105-mile line would pass through Hunterdon County on its way from Luzerne County, Pa., to a junction with an existing pipeline in nearby Hopewell Township.
At the meeting, West Amwell farmer Robert Fulper bluntly disagreed with one of PennEast Pipeline’s contentions about pipeline construction. "They’ll tell you that they’ll restore the land to the same as what it was before the pipeline was put in," he said, "but it won’t be the same."
Mr. Fulper said several pipelines run under his farm. Showing schematic drawings to illustrate his point, he said the crop yields on his farm are much lower in the areas over the buried pipelines.
"It takes a lot of years to get the soil right for productive farming," he said. "When you strip the topsoil to put in one of these pipelines, the soil is not going to be the same after the line is in. They should try not to disturb virgin ground."
He theorized that heat from the pipelines may also be a factor in the reduced crop yields. He and added that after one of the pipelines on his property needed repairs, the disturbed ground could not be restored to anything close to its previous productivity, despite long hours spent by himself and his son bringing in new topsoil from the edge of the field.
Mr. Fulper’s story was corroborated by two others who spoke at the meeting. Robert Pisaro, an environmental attorney and the policy director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, an environmental advocacy organization based in Hopewell Township, said: "Mr. Fulper’s experience is not unique. Other farmers have told us the same thing."
During its Oct. 22 meeting, the West Amwell Committee passed a three-page resolution objecting to the design and construction of a 30-36 inch pipeline passing through the township.
It says it will significantly damage C-1 protected streams, the Sourland ridge and region, wildlife habitat, existing farm operations and the quality of life in West Amwell Township."
Linda Farrell said she "had the same experience" as Mr. Fulper. A farmer from Chester, Pa., Ms. Farrell, whose land is traversed by three underground pipelines, is also executive director of the Pipeline Safety Coalition.
Asked by a resident who attended the meeting to talk about the radius of a pipeline’s "kill zone," Ms. Farrell said the size of that zone depends on a variety of factors, including the thickness of the pipe. She noted that pipelines close to populated areas have thicker walls than pipelines in isolated areas.
"But I can tell you this," Ms. Farrell said to the resident. "Of the three pipelines on my property, the closest one is 800 feet from my house. I’ve been told that, if it explodes while I’m home, I won’t have time to run."
Impact on property values is an issue that always comes up during discussion of pipeline impacts. At the meeting, real estate agent Bruce Gage of the firm Coldwell Banker said he’s been working in Hunterdon County for more than 30 years.
"One of the very first questions prospective buyers of a home ask is ‘where is the nearest pipeline?’" he said, adding bluntly: "Buyers are not interested in properties near pipelines. We hear a lot of talk about property values when people discuss pipelines. Well, if no one will pay you anything for your house, then what’s it worth?"
In addition to Ms. Farrell and Mr. Pisaro, other guest speakers at the meeting were Maya van Rossum of Delaware Riverkeeper and Kate Milsap of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. Both organizations are adamantly against construction of the Penn East line.
In a comment similar to what Mr. Fulper would say later in the meeting, Ms. van Rossum said: "When a pipeline cuts through a community, literally nothing — wetlands, woodlands, farms — stands in its way. Penn East says it will restore the land to what it was before the pipeline was put in. Not only won’t they, they can’t."
Ms. Milsap said the PennEast project, which requires the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, "is now in the pre-filing stage. This is the best time to try to stop the project. It’s important to send your comments to FERC about this project now."
Added Ms. Farrell: "Once you have one pipeline in your landscape, you become more likely to get another one."
