The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association applauded today’s decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection to deny a 60-day extension on a water permit application and administratively closed the application submitted by developers of the proposed PennEast pipeline.
NJDEP stated that PennEast had not secured the necessary approvals from most landowners, nor submitted the necessary survey data or analyses of adverse impacts to environmental resources. The developers of the pipeline, which runs a 120-mile course from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, would have to resubmit their application to move forward.
New Jersey’s Office of Rate Counsel, an advocate for rate payers, has concluded that there is no demonstrated need for this fossil fuel project, which travels though environmentally sensitive lands in Hopewell Township.
“We are very pleased that NJDEP has rejected the PennEast application,” said Jim Waltman, Executive Director of the Watershed. “Holding PennEast to the letter of the law helps protect our water, land, and communities from the dangers of a pipeline whose owners just want to rush this project through. We applaud NJDEP for continuing to hold PennEast accountable.”
NJDEP cited the “complexity of the remaining deficient items” as grounds for rejecting the extension request. The developers have encountered significant resistance from landowners, who refuse to grant access needed to assess the project’s environmental impacts.
Pipeline proponents have asserted that the project would go into service by 2018. State water permits are required for the proposed pipeline to be built.
