By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — Residents were able to question several professionals involved in a proposed project to add a third transmission line and increase power between Red Bank and Aberdeen.
Representatives of Jersey Central Power & Lighting (JCP&L) held three open houses last week to answer any questions regarding the project, with the first open house being held June 7 at Brookdale Community College.
“The reaction is about what we expected, people are expressing their concerns about the route of the project, they are wanting to know more, they are asking questions regarding how we came to the decision to pick this route,” said Ron Morano, senior public relations representative for JCP&L. “That’s why we have this forum — we set this forum up so we have our project team available to speak one on one to anybody who has a question.”
The proposal, which is dubbed the Monmouth County Reliability Project, will include a new, nearly 10-mile, 230-kV transmission line and substation enhancements along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coastline that will benefit approximately 214,000 power customers and cost approximately $75 million.
According to Morano, the main concern has been the route.
“This route has been selected because it is along a right-of-way that already has been designated for public use that the rail line runs along,” he said. “I think the general consensus is they want more information. They are here because they want to learn more, they want to tell us what’s on their mind, and that is important for us.”
The transmission line will begin at a substation in Aberdeen and will follow the NJ Transit corridor right-of-way through Hazlet, Holmdel and Middletown before ending at the substation in Red Bank.
The company, which is a subsidiary of First Energy, asserts that the upgrades will allow JCP&L to better monitor and react quicker to power needs with modern technology that delivers real-time information about system conditions. Sleek monopoles will be used for the proposed transmission line, rather than the bulky lattice-style towers that were used in the past.
Morano said several different professionals attended the open house to answer questions, including those involved in planning, engineering, environmental, design, real estate and external affairs.
However, several residents have concerns over the proposal and have formed Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE) to advocate against the project.
Steve Lunanuova said he hopes RAGE educates the public about the proposal.
“My main concern is the health of my kids and the kids in the community and my second concern is the value of my property,” he said. “We’re just trying to right now organize. I’ve been trying to really bring awareness to the community.”
Tara McGrath, a co-founder of RAGE, said her main concern is the health of her family.
“These 230-kV power lines should not be this close of a vicinity to people’s houses. I am not even as close as my neighbors,” she said. “I understand there is no definitive, absolute relationship between cancer and the electromagnetic radiation from these lines, but there sure is a significant amount of research that says that they are correlated.”
McGrath said there are currently over 800 members of RAGE and approximately 1,500 signatures on a petition opposing the plan.
Sharri Martino, a Middletown resident who is also a member of RAGE, said her property is 75 feet away from the proposed line.
“If I sit out in the yard I will feel the hum and the electromagnetic radiation coming off those lines,” she said. “There is nothing beneficial to me in any way, shape or form.
“It is going to wreck the value of the homes, nobody is going to buy. I will not be able sell my house for what it’s worth.”
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) said he is gathering as much information as he can from JCP&L and the public before taking a position.
“I have an open mind with everything until I get educated, until I know what the ramifications are,” he said. “JCP&L is making the argument that we need more power in the area. If that is true, then we have to figure out if this is the best way to deliver it or are there less impactful alternatives?
“This needs to be a conversation, to simply say ‘no’ to everything is not productive.”
However, O’Scanlon said having an open house where the public can ask professionals questions is productive.
“The vast majority of the public are open-minded people and want the answers,” he said. “They want to know how worried should they be.”
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will also need to sign off on the project. If approved, construction is expected to begin in June 2017, with a planned in-service date of June 2019.
The project is part of JCP&L’s multi-year, $250 million “Energizing the Future” transmission system reliability enhancement program.
JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.