Activists critical of federal hearing on PennEast pipeline
CLINTON - Though scores of people lined up Tuesday afternoon to let the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) know why they don't want the PennEast natural gas pipeline in Hunterdon County, environmental activists directed their ire toward FERC for changing its hearing procedures.
At an earlier FERC hearing on the project at the Grand Colonial in Union (Union), speakers came to a microphone for hours to voice their opposition to the pipeline that would carry 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day 115 miles from near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to another pipeline in Mercer County.
The proposal has the pipeline entering Hunterdon County north of Milford and then paralleling the Delaware River before crossing into Mercer County southeast of Lambertville.
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But at Monday's FERC hearing at the Holiday Inn, those who wanted to speak about the pipeline were directed to stenographers and had three minutes to make a statement.
"FERC has once again demonstrated its tremendous bias for, and partnership with, the pipeline industry, " said Maya van Rossum, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. "Recognizing that public hearings which allowed the public to hear one another testify was a valuable source of community education and mutual support, FERC is now forcing people to give their testimony in secret, with only a transcriber to hear their words."
Van Rossum said the hearings have become a "mere diversion" and force residents "to struggle to craft three minutes of testimony that is meaningful and makes sense."
FERC's timeline for input on the 1,524-page draft environmental impact statement gave residents less than a month to give comments.
The report, issued in late July, immediately drew fire from critics because it concluded the pipeline's impact would be at "less-than-significant levels" with the implementation of PennEast's and FERC's proposed mitigation measures.
"FERC needs to remember it works for the people of the United States not PennEast," said David Pringle, New Jersey campaign director for Clean Water Action.
Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, said the draft Environmental Impact Statement is "a disaster."
Not just activists have been critical of FERC and the report
"The FERC process has been an insult to my rights as a homeowner," said Christiana Foglio of Delaware Township. "My oral and written comments have been ignored and having less than three weeks to review and comment is just another example of FERC's refusal to engage in appropriate public hearings."
In addition to the residents who turned out Tuesday, a group of 70 business owners has sent a letter to FERC, urging that the pipeline proposal be rejected.
“As a medical professional, my patients’ health is my first priority," said Dr. Jennifer E. Fisher, a chiropractor in Pennington and one of the 70 business owners. "This pipeline threatens their access to care as well as the broader health of our community and environment. The disruption caused by PennEast would jeopardize our health, safety and livelihoods, for a pipeline we don’t even need."
In the letter, the business owners wrote that PennEast “does not consider the economic harms and costs to local businesses that would result from construction of the pipeline, such as disruptions to local businesses, loss of productive farmland, reductions in property values, impacts to local tourism and degraded water quality that we all depend upon to draw countless people to our area.”
FERC has set a Sept. 12 deadline for the submission of written comments on the draft environmental impact statement. Comments can be sent to the FERC's website, www.ferc.gov.
Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
