Today's news reports that the Congress gave final approval to the Keystone XL pipeline bill, and that President Obama will now have a veto showdown. But you may not be aware - and it certainly doesn't get as much media attention - that New Jersey has at least 5 of its own proposals for the construction of new pipelines.
These are pipelines that will transport gas and oil from supply sources and cross NJ to deliver fuel to distribution and export points. Pipelines that cross state lines must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
- One is the PennEast pipeline for natural gas from the Marcellus Shale "fracking" region of Pennsylvania to a location north of Trenton. That would send it across some preserved lands and watersheds in Hunterdon and Mercer counties, which sends up environmental red flags.
- Another proposed project is the Diamond East pipeline which would run on a parallel route a few miles to the east.
- The Pilgrim Oil pipeline would bring shale oil (produced in North Dakota) from Albany, N.Y., to Linden, NJ and would cross Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Union counties.
- The NJ Natural Gas pipeline is proposed to run through Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
- The South Jersey Gas pipeline would be in the Pine Barrens of Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.
If these issues concern you, you can contact your U.S. Senators and Congressmen and ask them to change federal policy to require comprehensive planning for energy and infrastructure. To find your Congressman, go to www.house.gov/representatives/
For more information about PennEast, go to www.njconservation.org/
1 comment:
(Federal Twist Rd. Stockton, NJ) Ramapo Fault System Hunterdon County:
The Ramapo fault system is composed of a network of fault lines enclosing our area. I won't bother you with maps (I have them if interested), but it is a result of continental plates that tore away and left the plates highly fractured both deep and at surface level.
The construction of pipelines anywhere in our vicinity Stockton, Frenchtown, Lambertville, Milford, etc. will produce seismic activity that can range from minor to possibly catastrophic magnitudes along the entire fault system. It will range out as far as 200 miles because of the shale and bedrock. Consider boulder slides crashing into the Delaware River. Consider rock slides anywhere along our road systems. Seismic activity where we live, even minor, will produce 2 types of actions: both horizontal or sideways slipping, and vertical lifting of the Ramapo plates.
We are highly vulnerable. At the very least there will be foundation damage and wall cracks. Consider the houses in Stockton and Lambertville perched on the side of the mountain. There's no way they'll survive.
The secondary problem is, that once seismic activity is initiated, it continues to grow both in magnitude and frequency. It cannot be stopped.
I am horrified that we bought a house in Stockton NJ because we believed it was a safe paradise. It isn't. We are facing a serious threat of property damage and lowered land values from pipeline construction.
Additionally, to maintain a weed-free swath on either side of the pipeline, heavy baths of herbicides, some with agent orange derivatives, will be used routinely. The danger to kids, dogs, wildlife, plant life, insects, and ground water will be incalculable.
We know from the destruction to the Pinelands recently, that the pipeline damage once introduced, cannot be undone.
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