About 35 people held placards and chanted slogans objecting to the PennEast pipeline, a 118-mile bi-state natural gas conduit Watch video
TRENTON - Environmental groups and residents in the path of the proposed PennEast pipeline on Tuesday rallied on the steps of the Statehouse and protested outside the offices of Public Service Gas & Electric, one of the major stakeholders in the $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline project.
About 35 people held placards and chanted slogans objecting to the PennEast pipeline, a 118-mile bi-state natural gas conduit being considered for construction by federal authorities.
The event was organized by the state Sierra Club, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other environmental groups that are fighting the construction of the PennEast pipeline, which is propose to run from the Marcellus Shale region of Northeast Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township.
Jeff Tittel, director of the state Sierra Club, said the pipeline's proposed route goes through 88 state protected waterways and thousands of acres of preserved farmlands.
"We're here to tell the governor that we don't need another fracking pipeline in this state,'' Tittlel said. "We've got too many already.''
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Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, denounced the project as "unnecessary'' and vowed to block it.
"We will do whatever we have to to stop the PennEast pipeline project,'' van Rossum said.
PennEast, a consortium of natural gas companies that includes all four New Jersey gas providers, last week filed its formal application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates pipelines that cross state lines, for permission to build the pipeline. No timeline was available for the approval process, but PennEast has said the company expects to start construction, if approved, in 2017.
After several speeches on the steps of the Statehouse, including one from Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-15th Dist.), the crowd marched to the PSE&G offices on West State Street, holding signs and chanting.
The rally and protest was the second visible event by opponents of the pipeline proposal in as many days in a stepped-up effort to block the pipeline since PennEast filed a formal application with federal authorities last week.
On Monday, some of the same environmental groups were joined by a battery of politicians vowing to fight the pipeline at a press conference held in Hopewell Township.
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U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.) joined state Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-16th Dist.), Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-15th Dist.) and Hopewell Township Mayor Harvey Lester at the Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain to denounce the proposed $1.2 billion pipeline and called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the proposal.
Municipal opposition to the PennEast proposal has been widespread in New Jersey. Every town through which it is proposed to travel has adopted resolutions against it, including Mercer County government
"This pipeline is terrible,'' Bateman said on Monday. "This one has to be stopped."
A second rally and protest was scheduled to take place Tuesday in Pennsylvania outside the headquarters for UGI corporation, another PennEast partner, but that event was canceled late afternoon Monday. No reason was given.
Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.