By Frank Mustac, Contributor
A day after the federal government issued a final environmental impact statement for the proposed PennEast Pipeline, a rally was held urging continued opposition to the planned natural gas transmission line., Among the speakers at the rally event held Saturday, April 8, in Stockton, were Hopewell Township Mayor Kevin Kuchinski and Deputy Mayor Julie Blake, as well as Patty Cronheim of the Hopewell Township Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline., Many of the speakers denounced the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s release of an environmental impact statement (EIS) that essentially declares that the $1 billion pressurized gas pipeline will have acceptable impacts on the environment., The speakers claimed, instead, that if built, the project would pollute water and air, and make people who live near the pipeline route less safe in their homes., The PennEast Pipeline Company is waiting for approvals from FERC for a permit to proceed with construction of the proposed roughly 120 mile-long, 36-inch pipeline that would start in Luzerne County, Penn., near Wilkes-Barre and pass through parts of Hunterdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey and end at a junction with an existing pipeline in southeastern Hopewell Township near Blackwell Road., PennEast specifically is requesting a “certificate of public convenience and necessity” from FERC., The Hopewell Township mayor said that the EIS issued by FERC is “like so many previous documents from PennEast,” stating that the document failed to address “substantive concerns that Hopewell Township, our board of health and residents, and other federal and state agencies have raised.”, “We do not need and do not want this pipeline. And this is just not about PennEast,” he said. “All across New Jersey, redundant fossil fuel pipelines threaten to scar our landscapes and endanger our health as they prioritize private economic gains ahead of the public good.”, Kuchinski also worried that the pipeline would have a negative impact on the township’s drinking water, since a large number of residents rely on underground wells., Public safety was also a concern for the mayor, who posited that any potential explosion at the pipeline would be devastating for residents living nearby., “Almost one in seven Hopewell Township residents are in the ‘blast radius’ of the proposed pipeline. That means they would have less than 60 seconds to evacuate to a safe zone in the event of a pipeline rupture, or risk death for themselves and loved ones,” he said. “If you look at the PennEast partners, you can see why we are so concerned – they have an abysmal track record on pipeline safety.”, In a press statement released by the PennEast Pipeline Company after FERC issued the EIS, the chairman of the company’s board of managers, Dat Tran, said “federal regulators have once again determined that PennEast Pipeline can deliver enormous benefits for the region, including lower electric and gas bills, thousands of jobs, enhanced reliability, and direct access to one of the most abundant and affordable supplies of clean-burning natural gas in all of North America – while doing so with little impact on the environment., “The thorough review conducted by federal regulators assessed impacts on everything from safety to water resources to air quality and wildlife,” Tran said. “Their finding is a clear win for the region, business competitiveness, economic growth and job creation.”, Kuchinski said he urges residents to continue voicing their opposition to the project., “We cannot take this challenge lying down. We must stand up and fight to stop these projects,” Kuchinski said. “We must continue the fight to stop PennEast. We must never surrender.”
