CHERRY HILL – Before a raucous crowd, the Pinelands Commission Feb. 24 granted approval for a natural gas pipeline through a million-acre protected area, removing a major obstacle to the project and reversing a previous split decision rejecting it in 2014.
Dubbed the “South Jersey Gas Cape-Atlantic Pipeline Reliability Project,” the pipeline is proposed to run 22 miles from Cumberland County through Estelle Manor to Beesley’s Point in Upper Township, mostly underground along Routes 49 and 50.
It will allow the coal-fired B.L. England power plant to switch to natural gas, which proponents say burns cleaner and will keep the plant open.
Opponents say “see you in court.”
The matter has become a rallying cry for South Jersey environmental activists.
“Look, we beat them once, we can beat them again,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, one of the groups fighting the pipeline. He had harsh words for the commission after the Feb. 24 morning vote.
“I think it was the most shameful episode not only in Pinelands history but in New Jersey political history,” he said. About 800 pipeline opponents packed the meeting at the Grand Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia-Cherry Hill, by Tittel’s estimate.
He said almost all opposed the project. Previous hearings on the matter have also seen crowds.
But in this case, Tittel complained, the vote took place before the commission took public input.
“That’s not something we do in New Jersey, or in the United States. Maybe in Putin’s Russia,” he said.
In a video from the meeting, the crowd can be heard chanting “Do the right thing” during the meeting.
No one from the commission or South Jersey Gas were immediately available for comment.
In previous comments, officials with the utility argued that the pipeline will mean greater reliability for customers at the shore, reduce emissions and improve reliability at B.L. England, and uses a route that minimizes environmental impact, citing approval by the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2015.
Local officials have backed the project, including the Upper Township Committee and Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st), and the owners of the power plant.
“We are pleased with the Pineland Commission’s vote to enable the delivery of natural gas to the B.L. England facility in Beesley’s Point that currently relies on coal and oil to generate electricity. The use of natural gas and state-of-the-art emissions control technology, together, can turn the facility into a cleaner and more efficient generator of electricity for the people of South Jersey,” reads a statement released Feb. 24 in the afternoon by RC Cape May Holdings, which announced its purchase of the plant in 2006 for over $12 million.
According to Tittel, the focus on the power generating station helps prove their case. He argues that infrastructure projects in the pinelands are supposed to only be approved if they help pinelands residents.
He said the commission didn’t have a true public process, as ordered by a court, and that the pipeline project violates the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, in that the plant is outside the pinelands jurisdiction.
The gas company also cites increased reliability for customers, but he argues that only a small fraction of those customers live in the pinelands.
The project has the needed approvals from the state Board of Public Utilities, and the utility had sought the approval of the Pinelands Commission since 2012.
South Jersey Gas released the following statement:
“Today’s approval by the Pinelands Commission of South Jersey Gas’ application for the Cape-Atlantic Reliability Project recognizes the energy reliability challenges facing southern New Jersey and the balanced solution this project offers.
“The careful construction of this pipeline will address the energy demands of 142,000 customers in Cape May and Atlantic counties, protect and create jobs, and provide a meaningful opportunity to significantly reduce air emissions while supporting the state’s Energy Master Plan.
“Over the last four years, South Jersey Gas has worked collaboratively and cooperatively with all of the governing agencies involved in this project to enable the B.L. England facility to use cleaner, more efficient natural gas to generate locally sourced, lower-cost electricity for residents. We appreciate the constructive dialogue that ensued throughout the application process, and the significant time and energy this commission has committed to maintaining the integrity of the process.
“Thanks to the diligence of all those involved, we will be able to support energy reliability for Cape May and Atlantic counties while continuing to responsibly operate our infrastructure throughout the Pinelands, as we have for decades.
“More information about the Cape-Atlantic Reliability Project is available online here.”
Sen. Jeff Van Drew’s statement:
“I want to thank the commissioners who voted to approve the project. They had the courage to do what they thought was right, despite the threats to their safety and harassment they endured during this tumultuous process.
“Regardless of where you stand on this issue or any issue for that matter, there is room for open debate. This type of intimidation, which was also directed at me, is deplorable.
“Building this pipeline is the right thing to do. It will create a cleaner and more reliable system of energy delivery for the region by converting a coal plant to natural gas, without negatively impacting the environment.
“Importantly, the pipeline will run along the shoulder of a road, and not on the Pinelands, as incorrectly stated over and over again by special interest groups and others. It will also mean that local jobs will be maintained and more will be created.
“All of this will benefit the health, safety and economic wellbeing of our residents for years to come.
“This project is critically important for Cape May and Atlantic counties, for the region and the entire state, and this vote means we can continue moving this process forward.”
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
Villas – Don't kid yourself. Those "Nobel" prize people are as political as you can get. Wise up!
