Opponents of the PennEast gas pipeline are holding a meeting on Monday, April 18, 2016, in Lambertville.
LAMBERTVILLE - A town hall meeting on the proposed PennEast gas pipeline is being held 7 p.m. Monday at the Municipal Court on 25 South Union St., the New Jersey Sierra Club announced Friday.
Leading environmental experts will appear at the meeting, according to the organization.
Developers of the proposed $1.2 billion, 36-inch natural gas pipeline that would travel 114 miles from northeastern Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township have recently applied to the Delaware River Basin Commission for a water discharge permit. The commission is just one of many that will need to approve the project in order for it to move ahead.
Review of pipeline project delayed
The Sierra Club stated the commission should hold seven hearings, one in each the basin's region, and review the application independently of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently announced its schedule for an environmental review of the proposed PennEast Pipeline project that is seven months longer than what the pipeline's developer wanted.
Among those opposing the proposed pipeline is the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which recently filed suit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in U.S. District Court charging that the commission's financing structure precludes it from an open, unbiased hearing of interstate pipeline applications.
PennEast, a consortium of natural gas companies, including all four New Jersey gas providers, in September filed its formal application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates pipelines that cross state lines.
When announcing the project in September of last year, Peter Terranova, PennEast board chairman, cited figures from a study backed by Drexel University's business school that said the pipeline would support 12,160 jobs and create $1.6 billion in economic activity. The project would generate 2,500 temporary construction jobs, 21 permanent jobs, and 9,960 ancillary positions, according to PennEast.