From the Clean Air Council (http://www.cleanair.org/):
After seven years of grassroots activism and building opposition to more fracking in Pennsylvania — the PennEast Pipeline is canceled!
PennEast Pipeline Company LLC announced this week it will end development of its approximately 120-mile long, 36-inch diameter pipeline, which was planned to transport fracked gas from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey. The Council congratulates the community members and environmental organizations who helped raise awareness and fought for this victory for the environment and the health and welfare of nearby residents.
The PennEast Pipeline was slated to be built in the Poconos through some of the most beautiful and valuable natural resources in the Delaware River Watershed. The pipeline would have crossed 88 waterways, as well as numerous wetlands, parks, and conservation easements. In Pennsylvania, it would have plowed through some of the state’s most beloved conservation and recreation areas including Hickory Run State Park, Beltzville Lake, and Weiser State Forest. The construction could have caused contamination of waterways and drinking wells, as well as decreased property values, just as the Mariner East pipelines did.
The Council invested time, community organizing, expertise, and legal resources into opposing PennEast Pipeline from its inception. The Council called on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and Governor Wolf to reject PennEast’s application. The Council also urged the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to hold meaningful public comment periods to assure that impacted community members would understand how the proposed pipeline would impact them. The Council pushed for a public comment period that would allow sufficient time for residents and others to raise their concerns about this dangerous project.
The Council participated in a scientific study by Cadmus Group to highlight the negative costs of the PennEast and Mariner East 2 pipelines on the Delaware River Basin’s ecosystems, economies, and population. The Council developed and submitted extensive technical and legal comments demonstrating to DEP the flaws in the proposed project permits. The Council attorneys sent federal agencies detailed comments explaining how the project was unneeded and harmful. Our members contributed greatly by submitting their own comments to these decision makers.
While the announcement is cause for celebration, lingering concerns remain as PennEast continues to make somewhat contradictory public statements about the possibility of moving ahead with the project in Pennsylvania only, representing a possible continued threat to conservation and recreation areas as well as streams, wetlands, and drinking water.
That is why Clean Air Council continues to work closely with our partners in Save Carbon County, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Concerned Citizens Against the Pipeline, and HALT to ensure that this victory is final and permanent.
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