Plumsted officials want to be included in the planning process for a high-pressure natural gas pipeline that could be constructed through a portion of Plumsted.
On Feb. 4, members of the Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution urging representatives of New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to meet with officials from municipalities and counties that may be affected by the proposed Southern Reliability Link transmission pipeline.
Mayor Jack Trotta said Plumsted officials are not entirely against the pipeline’s construction, but they believe it should be planned in a way that would be amenable to all concerned parties.
“We are looking for a less intrusive route, which we believe is both available and doable,” Trotta said. “You have to work with us and the counties and other towns to come up with a route that is acceptable to everybody, not just what works for [NJNG].”
NJNG, a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, is planning to run 28 miles of high-pressure gas lines that are 30 inches in diameter from Chesterfield Township in Burlington County to Manchester Township in Ocean County.
The pipeline is expected to make its way through North Hanover Township, Upper Freehold Township, Plumsted Township and Joint Base McGuire- Dix-Lakehurst before reaching NJNG’s transmission system in Manchester Township.
The current planned route would have the pipeline enter Plumsted by crossing Route 537 from Upper Freehold Township, after which it would travel along Highbridge Road, Moorehouse Road and cross Lakewood Road, before continuing along Applegate Lane, Archertown Road and West Colliers Mills Road.
The pipeline would leave Plumsted and enter the joint base after traveling along Route 539.
Michael Kinney, a senior communications specialist at New Jersey Resources, has said the installation of the high-pressure gas line is part of an update to the utility’s infrastructure.
“These lines are part of our Southern Reliability Link, which is the second major feed from an interstate pipeline system. This system connects to a major interstate system that extends through Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties,” Kinney said.
Residents and officials in other municipalities have expressed dissatisfaction with the plan. They said it will not benefit local residents and that it could create a safety concern in residential areas.
Plumsted officials said NJNG’s current plan would have a significant negative impact on various aspects of the township, including natural resources, private property and local roads.
“The route [NJNG] picked goes down streets our residents live on, our school buses have to travel along, and interferes with businesses,” Trotta said.
He said one option would be for the pipeline to be constructed along existing Jersey Central Power & Light rights of way for high-tension power lines and federally owned land near the joint base.
“That would be a much better route for [NJNG] to follow, and it gets them to the same basic area,” Trotta said. “It was also suggested that maybe they could go down Route 68 from Chesterfield and go directly to the joint base rather than going through all of these communities.
“We have asked [NJNG] to provide us with their analysis. … But they have so far been reluctant to give it to us because it is not complete yet,” he said.
The committee will forward its resolution regarding the issue to NJNG executives as well as state and local officials.