The Pinelands Commission will host a public meeting at 9 a.m. July 26 at the Pine Belt Arena on the campus of Toms River North High School, Toms River, to give interested parties a chance to comment on a proposal put forth by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) to construct the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline.
According to the utility, “the SRL will support the safe, reliable, resilient distribution of natural gas to 83 municipalities throughout Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington counties, benefiting over one million people. The 30-mile project will begin in Chesterfield and continue through North Hanover, Upper Freehold Township, Plumsted Township and then into NJNG’s exisiting system” in Manchester Township.
According to a press release from the New Jersey Sierra Club, which is opposed to the infrastructure project, the matter remains before a court. The Sierra Club is currently suing the state Board of Public Utilities and the Pinelands Commission regarding their approval of the SRL pipeline.
“The battle against the SRL starts again and we won’t let them get away with it,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We must come out to this hearing and tell them they are the Pinelands Commission, not the Pipeline Commission.
“The commissioners must do their job to protect the Pines and our drinking water from this dirty project. This hearing is the next phase in our battle to protect the Pinelands from fracking and pipelines,” Tittel said.
The club claims the SRL will promote sprawl and overdevelopment at the shore and near the Pinelands.
The Pinelands is the largest open space on the eastern seaboard and is recognized for its biodiversity by the United Nations. It is the country’s first National Reserve and holds 17 trillion gallons of water in its aquifer, according to the press release.