Anti-Pipeline Groups File Suit against BPU, Pinelands Commission

TRENTON – The Sierra Club and Environment New Jersey announced in a Jan. 28 release, that they have combined forces as plaintiffs in a legal complaint filed against the Pinelands Commission and the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in state Superior Court Appellate Division Jan. 26.
The major issue is Pinelands Commission and BPU approval of a 22-mile gas pipeline which will traverse a section of the Pinelands. The pipeline’s proposed trajectory will go from Maurice River Township in Cumberland County to the B.L. England Generating Station in Beesley’s Point
According to South Jersey Gas, the pipeline is necessary to provide for energy security and to support its customers. The England plant is owned by Rockland Capital of Austin, Texas, and would continue to sell electricity to the PJM grid which provides power in 13 states.
The pipeline route through a portion of the Pinelands has been the subject of several years of intense controversy, hearings, citizen opposition and political strategizing.
At the time of the release, Jeff Tittel, president of the Sierra Club stated, “We are filing this lawsuit to protect the Pinelands from this damaging and unnecessary pipeline. This pipeline will cause irreparable harm to our forests, threaten biodiversity, and cut an ugly scar through the Pinelands. We are doing the job that the Pinelands Commission is supposed to do because they have worked with the BPU to sell out the environment to South Jersey Gas.”
He stated the two environmental organizations chose not to enroll other organizations as co-plaintiffs “because this is a very complicated case with many moving parts,” and they wanted a “free hand” to steer the litigation.
Plaintiffs will be represented by New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center, based in Newark.
In August 2015, Pinelands Commission Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg announced that the proposal for a pipeline could go forward without a vote because it had met the standards of the Comprehensive Management Plan.
That authority is usually exercised for small projects, such as construction of a garage or mini-mart.
The Comprehensive Management Plan bars utilities from building in designated Pinelands forest areas unless they are intended to serve residents of those areas.
The Commission also determined that because it considered the project a “private development” no vote was necessary for South Jersey Gas’ plans to move forward.
Compounding the frustration among environmental and citizen groups, in December 2015, the BPU voted 3-0 that it would not require South Jersey Gas to submit its plans for a review by municipalities and local officials for zoning and other ordinance review along the pipeline’s 22-mile route. Further, one vote was already taken in Jan. 2014 which ended in a 7-7 tie meaning South Jersey Gas’ request for a waiver to place the pipeline through the Pinelands was denied since that decision required a majority “yes” vote.
Tittel and Environment New Jersey Director Doug O’Malley have stated that the crux of the lawsuit is that the pipeline is not “private” as Wittenberg decided.  They have argued that the pipeline is public because it serves people outside of the Pinelands and, as a result, per their legal complaint, plans to build the pipeline violate the Pinelands Protection Act.
 “Four years after passing the Pinelands Act, we are going to court to save the Pinelands,” O’Malley stated. “Our goal of the lawsuit is to invalidate the BPU order and send the plan back to the Pinelands Commission for a public hearing and a vote.”
Tittel and O’Malley also took the occasion of the filing of this litigation to severely chastise Gov. Chris Christie, a vocal supporter of the pipeline despite the opposition of four former governors. They blasted him stating “This is a conspiracy to get around the Pineland’s Act that starts and ends in the governor’s office,” Tittel stated. 
The Pinelands Commission and the BPU stated neither would comment on pending litigation. They both will be represented by the state Attorney General’s Office. South Jersey Gas did not respond to a Herald request for comment.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.