By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
JACKSON – The clearing of 70 acres of Pinelands forest in Jackson will not proceed until a legal matter involving Six Flags Great Adventure theme park, KDC Solar and several environmental groups has been concluded.
In an Oct. 3 press release, representatives of the environmental groups said Six Flags and KDC Solar have agreed not to proceed with clear-cutting 70 acres of Pinelands forest unless and until pending litigation is resolved.
Six Flags spokeswoman Kristin B. Siebeneicher said that during the summer, the company agreed to postpone construction of the solar energy facility until 2017.
The issue concerns Six Flags’ approved plan to clear the forested parcel off Reed Road and to install a solar energy facility at that location. Great Adventure officials have said the energy produced by solar panels will power the theme park, which is off Route 537 in Jackson.
During hearings in front of the Jackson Planning Board when the plan was being considered, representatives of environmental groups urged Six Flags executives to install solar panels over Great Adventure’s parking lots instead of clearing the forested parcel.
Siebeneicher said it is not feasible to build a solar carport over the main parking lot where special events occur that require high tents and large vehicles. She said if a solar carport was built over the main parking lot, trees would need to be cleared for a new parking lot to host the special events.
The environmental groups said the agreement involving Six Flags and KDC Solar is a response to those groups’ filing for an injunction in state Superior Court, Toms River, during the week of Sept. 26.
The environmental groups are suing Six Flags, KDC Solar, Jackson and the Jackson Planning Board over land use issues related to the approval of the solar energy facility.
“Six Flags should not be using chain saws to power their rides, especially with litigation pending in Superior Court. There is a high likelihood we will win our case and any clear cutting before that time is premature and would cause irreparable harm,” said David Pringle, New Jersey campaign director of Clean Water Action. “We hope Six Flags’ decision to voluntarily agree instead of to litigate is a sign of a new day with a new CEO. Six Flags can save paradise by putting (solar panels) over the parking lot.”
“Great Adventure cannot be permitted to clear-cut first and ask questions later,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “This injunction will put a pause on any effort to raze this small slice of Pinelands forest land for a misguided goal of a solar installation. We urge Great Adventure to rethink its strategy, drop plans to raze the forest and actually support the environment.”
“Clearing 70 acres of upland forest will result in the permanent and irreversible destruction of a critical habitat for many rare and threatened species. Jackson, by accepting the solar applicant’s flawed environmental impact analysis, has fallen incredibly short of its responsibility to protect critical natural resources,” said Emile DeVito, manager of science and stewardship, New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
“We strongly support solar power, but there are better alternatives Six Flags and KDC can take other than this clear-cut plan,” said Jeff Tittel, director, New Jersey Sierra Club.
“If Six Flags would have put solar panels on their parking lot, they would be operating already. This proves this is a bad project because after all this time and all this money spent, there is still no solar.
“We are going to court because this is a good project in the wrong place. Instead of clear-cutting 16,000 trees, there are other alternatives Six Flags could take that do not impact habitat, water quality and flooding. We need them to stop the clear-cut because it will undermine all the benefits of clean energy,” Tittel said.
Siebeneicher said the solar field will dramatically reduce the theme park’s carbon footprint by eliminating approximately 234,000 tons of carbon dioxide over its first 20 years of operation; 31 times more than the 67 acres being cleared.
She said the project will not harm the habitats of threatened or endangered species, nor impair protected wetlands or watersheds.
Siebeneicher said that as a result of more efficient solar panel technology that is now available, and by locating a portion of the solar field over the Great Adventure employee parking lot, only 67 acres of trees, the majority of which are in poor condition, and brush will be cleared vs. the original plan which required 93 acres to be cleared. She said Six Flags will plant more than 19,000 trees.
She said the plans will provide substantially all of the current annual electric needs of the theme park.
The first of the two-part case is scheduled for trial in December. The Crosswicks-Doctors Creek Watershed Association and Save Barnegat Bay are the other plaintiffs in the case against Jackson Township, Six Flags and KDC Solar, according to the press release.