The New Jersey Sierra Club blasts UGI's hiring of a former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner.
The hiring of a former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission member by one of the energy companies behind the proposed PennEast Pipeline is being blasted by the Sierra Club as "exactly what's wrong with government and the incestuous relationship between utilities and corporations."
Pamela Witmer served five years with the Pennsylvania PUC before leaving to become vice president of government affairs for UGI Energy Services, according to a corporate release published in Business Wire.
UGI Energy Services is among the companies participating in the PennEast project, a 118-mile, 36-inch natural gas pipleline from the Marcellus Shale region of Northeast Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township in Mercer County.
The pipeline would cut through Hunterdon County and has faced fierce opposition by local leaders and residents.
"Witmer joins UGI Energy Services as the company continues to build-out its natural gas midstream assets to keep pace with growing demand for natural gas and to capitalize on the vast supplies in the Marcellus Shale regions of Pennsylvania," the company's release states.
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Jeff Tittel, head of the New Jersey Sierra Club, called Witmer "a walking, talking conflict of interest" and "an example of the revolving door between lobbyists and government."
PennEast spokeswoman Patricia Kornick said the hiring presents no conflicts and the objections show desperation by opponents to the pipeline.
"The Sierra Club's baseless allegations show the Sierra Club again is grasping at straws to try to prevent beneficial energy infrastructure development," said PennEast spokeswoman Patricia Kornick.
"Interstate natural gas pipelines, such as the PennEast Pipeline Project, are under the jurisdictional review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), not state utility commissions," Kornick said. "For the Sierra Club to imply there is conflict of interest clearly demonstrates the need for the Sierra Club to understand the regulatory structure for interstate natural gas infrastructure projects."
UGI Energy Services President Brad Hall said in the company's release that Witmer's experience in public and private sectors and her perspective on energy policy would help the company better communicate with people affected by its projects.
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Sierra Club members are "concerned that she will use her former office on behalf of PennEast which would be violating ethics laws and will hold her accountable," Tittel said. "This is another reason we have to stick together to fight PennEast Pipeline and this kind of conflict of interest. UGI hiring Witmer will only make us fight harder against this project."
The federal government's schedule for its environmental review of the project sets a deadline of March 16, 2017, for the federal decision on authorization.
That's seven months longer than what the pipeline's developer wanted. Various groups have been calling for the federal government to halt its review completely.
Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find NJ.com on Facebook.