Homeowners and residents in Mercer and Hunterdon Counties that would be directly impacted by the proposed path of the PennEast pipeline have hired a Washington D.C. firm to represent them. Watch video
DELAWARE TWP. -- Homeowners and residents in Mercer and Hunterdon counties that would be directly impacted by the proposed PennEast pipeline have hired a Washington, D.C. firm to represent them.
The group of 62 people who formed HALT, Homeowners Against Land Taking, met Thursday at the home of Jacqueline Evans to explain why they oppose a pipeline that, if built, would run from northeastern Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township.
The group has hired Steven Richardson, an attorney with the Washington, D.C.-based firm Wiley Rein and former deputy director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The $1.2 billion project is under consideration by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Enviro groups call for probe of 'biased' regulators
Vincent DiBianca of Delaware Township said the group does not simply want the pipeline route altered.
"We intend to prove there is no valid justification for taking our homes, farms and properties and endangering our livelihoods and families' welling-being for a pipeline that is not needed, not wanted and harmful," he said.
Clik here to view.
PennEast officials have said the concerns over the proposed pipeline are unwarranted. Patricia Kornick, spokeswoman for PennEast, said Wednesday the company will work to restore any property disruption caused by the construction. The pipeline could be operational in 2017, and will lower utility bills, she said.
"With few exceptions, such as building structures or planting trees atop the permanent pipeline right of way, landowners will be able to continue to use their property as they had prior to pipeline construction," Kornick said on Wednesday.
The pipeline is proposed by six major natural gas companies, including all four major companies in New Jersey. Under the proposal, the 36-inch pipeline would run from the Marcellus Shale area of northeastern Pennsylvania and through Hunterdon and Mercer counties, terminating with another existing pipeline in Hopewell Township.
TC Buchanan of Delaware Township said the pipeline would impact her family's ability to continue farming. Buchanan said she has grown apples, persimmons, Asian pears and Christmas trees on her property for 20 years, and her husband Joe, who's family bought the property in 1967, grew up there.
Evans, a single mother of three, also spoke about how pipeline construction would destroy her land where she has is raising more than 30 animals, including sheep, chickens and miniature goats.
Concern about pipeline critics: 'We have a situation here'
"From what I understand, I wouldn't be able to put fencing up and keep the livestock in, and the grass that I had seeded with clover wouldn't grow back and the sheep would get anemic and die," Evans said. "My driveway would also be gone."
Evans said she installed a gate and chain to keep out surveyors, and found these damaged when she returned from vacation. She said she later installed security cameras and increased the number of "no trespassing signs" on her property.
"I think the only point of that is to scare me," she said. "You think this can't be true, we live in America. You think this would happen in a country where people don't have rights, but we have property rights and I'm going to keep on fighting."
PennEast applies to feds to build $1.2B gas pipeline
HALT claims that PennEast has not been granted access of up to 70 percent of the proposed route in New Jersey because of opposition. The Delaware Township Committee approved a resolution that prohibits PennEast surveyors from accessing township-owned land. The township's Board of Health has also issued a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stating that the pipeline may pose risks to residents' health and safety.
Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins and Facebook.