Now we realize the importance of phasing out Natural Gas, not expanding it
From an Article by Christina Tatu, Lehigh Valley Morning Call, January 14, 2021
[Associated Press] Nearly 70 people spoke during a virtual forum on Wednesday night hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on the first phase of the PennEast pipeline, which if constructed would cut through nearly a dozen municipalities in Northampton County.
The forum focused on permits PennEast needs for erosion and sediment control and water obstruction and encroachment during the first phase of the project.
Held up by legal challenges in New Jersey, PennEast announced plans last year to construct the nearly 120-mile pipeline in two phases, with the first calling for 68 miles of pipe starting in the Marcellus Shale region of Luzerne County and stopping in Bethlehem Township.
The second phase would include the remaining route, which cuts through Bucks County on its way to the endpoint in Mercer County, New Jersey.
It isn’t clear how long it might take DEP to issue the permits. DEP spokesperson Colleen Connolly said there is no timetable. Even if they are approved, PennEast still needs permits for the second phase of the project. The company is also waiting on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to sign off on the plan to split the project into two phases.
Speakers on Wednesday evening included supporters from organizations like the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia. “Infrastructure is the core to recovering from this pandemic,” said Kevin Sunday, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
He and other proponents who spoke during the three-hour call said PennEast will dramatically lower costs for manufacturers, potentially allowing them to expand business in the state. The pipeline would also increase state tax revenue and lower residents’ electric bills, he said.
PennEast officials have said the project would create more than 12,000 new jobs and generate $740 million in worker wages, but dozens of opponents on the call disputed the economic benefits.
“How can there be a phase one without a phase two?” asked resident Richard Kaiser. The New Jersey portion of the project has been on hold since a federal appeals court granted a stay last year, halting construction while the court tries to resolve issues surrounding PennEast’s attempt to take property in which the state has an interest.
“They say this project is to the benefit of the people, but it’s not,” said resident Christine Shelly. “We didn’t want this project in Pennsylvania and New Jersey didn’t want it either. Isn’t that why this project is split into two parts?”
In Northampton County, the pipeline would cut through dozens of natural riparian buffers, or areas of vegetation that prevent sediment from polluting streams and rivers, said state Sen. Katie J. Muth, a Democrat from Montgomery County. She said the permits under review Wednesday evening were unnecessary for a project that may never be completed.
PennEast, a consortium of natural gas companies, first proposed the pipeline in 2014. The company hopes to have the first phase of the project in service by November, said PennEast spokesperson Patricia Kornick. PennEast is projecting 2023 will be when the second phase of the project goes into operation.
The first phase will have three delivery points: UGI Utilities Inc., which will serve Blue Mountain Ski Resort, and new interconnections with Columbia Gas and Adelphia Gateway. The new interconnections will be south of Route 22 and west of Route 33 and will be constructed on property already owned by PennEast.
In Northampton County, the pipeline will cross Lehigh, Moore, East Allen, Upper Nazareth, Lower Nazareth, Bethlehem, Lower Saucon and Williams townships. A mile of pipeline is also slated to cross through Eldred Township in Monroe County.
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See also: EXPLAINER — PennEast Pipeline, StateImpact Pennsylvania (24 stories)
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