Upper Committee Supports Pipeline to Power Plant

PETERSBURG – Upper Township Committee met Feb. 23 in the township’s Community Center on Route 50 since the Township Building experienced a water main break.
On the agenda was a resolution “in support of the South Jersey Gas proposed natural gas pipeline to enhance reliability for electric and gas customers of Cape May and Atlantic counties,” which committee passed unanimously.
Anticipating audience reactions to their passage of this resolution, Mayor Richard Palombo asked that those speaking during the public comment period “keep your remarks courteous and refrain from being redundant and repetitious.”
Nevertheless, the public comment period elicited lengthy statements from opponents of the pipeline, which covered arguments as to why the pipeline should not be constructed as well as veered into tangential issues including safety from drone overflights and Second Amendment rights.
Chief among the objections she has against the pipeline, Georgina Shanley described that its construction “would be a disaster for the Pinelands and Upper as well as Ocean City where I am a resident. I am very disappointed with your approval of this resolution.”
Shanley noted that both the Pinelands Commission as well as four previous governors (Byrne, Whitman, Florio and Kean) have all been strongly opposed to building the pipeline along the proposed route.
She also stated that committee was “giving out erroneous information such as telling residents their taxes would go up if the pipeline were not built and that jobs would be created if it were.”
Dr. Steve Fenichel, also of Ocean City, said “Ocean City already has been listed as an area which suffers from high mortality from downwind emissions, directly linked to the B.L. England plant, in fact Ocean City is ranked 14th in the nation in this category. This committee needs to do its due diligence, read the materials I send you and make the right decision for residents not only in Upper but also Ocean City, and Somers Point by rejecting the pipeline.”
In response, a Strathmere resident said, “I think Upper should be doing a better job of advertising the benefits of the pipeline to township residents. A lot of Upper residents don’t understand its benefits and don’t understand how much their taxes will go up if there is no pipeline and how much cleaner natural gas is than the coal the England plant is now burning.”
“A vast majority of Upper Township residents want this pipeline, well into the 90-plus percentage, and those very few who don’t support the plan don’t support it because they don’t like the route, and will support it if the route doesn’t come near their property,” commented Palombo. “Without a second pipeline we run the risk that there will be no gas availability for any resident or business in Cape May County if something happens to the existing line.”
After more back-and-forth on information that has been extensively covered for many months in the media, Palombo said, “Let’s move on, and stop with the lopsided arguments.”
Tuckahoe Bridge
Somewhat related to the various comments about the pipeline was discussion of next steps regarding construction of a new bridge on Route 50 over Tuckahoe River.
During the public comment period, a Route 50 resident stated, “You don’t even know where that gas line is under the bridge,” and for that reason the bridge should not be constructed.
Committeeman Jeffrey Pierson said he had met with representatives of South State Construction, the contractor for this project and that the township’s “wish list” had been presented to it and the state since Route 50 and the bridge itself are state owned and maintained.
“The concern over the condition of this bridge has been raised since 1986,” Pierson said. “We now have a real chance to do something about it and if not we may need to close the bridge for being unsafe, which will take three years to correct rather than the nine months from Labor Day onwards to construct.”
Pierson said once he has solid feedback regarding “wish list” items, notice will be made for public comment so he cannot confirm any exact date for that discussion. Regarding any potential costs for vehicles to be stationed on either side of the bridge, Pierson said, “The costs are beyond our control since it’s a state project,” but that it could be possible that the contractor would cover them since construction of a temporary bridge has been ruled out as not feasible.
Budget
Committeeman John Coggins announced that the final township budget workshop had been held and that the budget would be launched for discussion and public comment at the March 9 committee meeting.
Resolutions Recognizing Achievements
Committee unanimously passed resolutions congratulating Jade Phelps on winning the USA Wrestling N.J. State Championship; honoring Cub Scouts of Pack 79 Joey Brace, Sonny DeFranco, Nicolas George, Travis Koches, Christopher Lemmon, William McLees, Stephen Scales and Evan Troxel on attaining the Arrow of Light award; and congratulating employee Janet McCrosson of the township Municipal Court for her winning entry to the Upper Township Safety Award program for First Quarter 2015.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.