State Regulators Approve South Jersey Gas Pipeline Project

A proposed 21.6-mile, 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to serve the B.L. England power plant at Beesley's Point, NJ  "is reasonably necessary for the service, convenience or welfare of the public," according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which has approved South Jersey Gas Company's (SJG) petition for the project.

The decision came nearly two years after the New Jersey Pinelands Commission rejected an SJG proposal to build part of the $90 million pipeline through the Pinelands National Reserve, despite support for the project from Gov. Chris Christie, the DEP, the BPU and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

While most of the project is set to be constructed within right-of-ways, about 15 miles of the pipeline would travel beneath existing paved portions or roadway shoulders within the Pinelands. SJG filed an amendment to its project application with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission in May. The amendment responded to comments and issues raised during the commission's Memorandum of Agreement process and accounted for changed circumstances since the January 2014 vote.

naturalgasintel.com/articles/104790-state-regulators-approve-south-jersey-gas-pipeline-project

nj.com/cape-may-county/index.ssf/2015/12/natural_gas_pipeline_overcomes_major_hurdle

Proposed Energy Pipelines in New Jersey

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).

1. 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.
2. Another proposed project is the Diamond East pipeline which would run on a parallel route a few miles to the east.
3. 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. 
4.  The NJ Natural Gas pipeline is proposed to run through Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
5. The South Jersey Gas pipeline would be in the Pine Barrens of Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

According to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, for the PennEast, two potential routes are being considered which could cross "as many as 66 preserved parcels totaling nearly 4,500 acres... and would  cross the Delaware River, a federally-designated Wild & Scenic river, impacting the critically important water resources of the Delaware River Basin and the New Jersey Highlands. [It] would impact farms protected with federal farmland preservation funds, and other agricultural lands that have benefitted from U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for farm conservation practices."

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/find/. To contact Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, go to www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=NJ.

For more information about PennEast, go to www.njconservation.org/currentissues.htm.

U.S. Closer to Allowing Wind Farms Off New Jersey

According to The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Interior Department expects little environmental impact from testing the feasibility of wind farms off the coast of four Atlantic coast states, according to a draft document released Monday.

The findings, which could be changed after the department reviews public comments, are an indication that the agency may be prepared to lease the areas for wind development without a more lengthy environmental review.

The document released Monday is a preliminary assessment of a proposal to lease areas off the coasts of New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland and to allow companies to test whether the areas are viable for generating wind power. It is part of a wider push by the Obama administration to speed up the permitting process for what are known as wind farms.

In a news release asking for public comment on the document, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that, "with today's announcement, we are taking another step toward ensuring that renewable [energy] development along the Atlantic outer continental shelf becomes a reality."

The areas under consideration for lease include about 354,000 acres off southern New Jersey, 139,000 acres off the Virginia coast, 103,000 acres off Delaware's shores and 80,000 acres off the coast of Maryland. Leasing the areas and allowing testing there would have a relatively small effect on wildlife, commercial fishing, water quality and other concerns, the draft environmental review found.

A call for stricter rules on gas drilling around Delaware River

Three environmental groups have released a report to urge the Delaware River Basin Commission to be tougher on natural gas drilling in and around the river, according to a report by LehighValleyLive.com.

Environment New Jersey, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter said at a late December news conference that the chemicals used to extract natural gas can lead to chemical leaks into drinking water and underground aquifers.

There are about 20,000 acres of leased land for drilling, with seven pending applications for the river's watershed, according to their report.

via http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/

Judge Halts WV Wind Farm Over Bats

"A federal judge’s ruling that stopped construction of a West Virginia wind farm to protect an endangered bat underscores the growing conflicts between green energy and imperiled wildlife.

But the case, thought to be the first of its kind involving a wind energy project, seems unlikely to derail other projects, as some wind energy advocates have feared, unless the operators ignore endangered species laws.."

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/judge-halts-wind-farm-over-bats/

Lawsuit Claims Wind Energy Project Would Kill Endangered Bats

Indiana bat roosting under shedding bark
Photo: Bat Conservation International via www.srs.fs.usda.gov

Organizations opposed to a wind energy project in West Virginia are using the Endangered Species Act to try to block the wind farms.

The claim is that endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, are threatened by the wind-turbine towers. Bats can be killed by wind turbines when they are struck by spinning blades or get caught in the turbines' downdraft, which causes their lungs to rupture.

Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

He also testified that when swaths of forest were clear cut to make way for turbines this past summer, important bat habitat may have been removed. (Indiana bats roost under the bark of dead trees.)

The companies involved in building the wind farm countered by saying there is no proof of the bat's presence in the area based on two mist net surveys in the area which found none of the endangered Indiana bats.

Testifying for the plaintiffs, Gannon argued these mist net surveys were poorly done, and that his own acoustic detection surveys in the area (recording bat sounds and identifying them through a computer program) did identify three Indiana bats.

Similar stories are published about the effects that these wind towers and even their warning lights might be having on the migration of birds.

It is another example of the line between what benefits people living in an area and what benefits the wildlife there, and the difficulty in finding the proper balance.

Bat Conservation International, for example, supports the development of alternative energy sources but also recognizes concerns on what the cumulative impacts of wind energy development might be on wildlife. This is especially if expansion occurs without careful planning to minimize harm to birds and bats.

Here's what they say on their site:

We believe that minimizing harmful impacts to wildlife is an essential element of “green energy” and that developers of wind energy must substantially increase efforts to improve siting and develop and test methods to reduce harm to wildlife. Additionally, state and federal agencies must increase support for responsible development of wind energy in a manner compatible with protecting wildlife resources. Cooperation, including access to study sites, funding, and transparency of information obtained, are fundamental elements needed to successfully resolve wind and wildlife conflicts. Response from industry has been mixed and while we applaud those companies and organizations working proactively with resource agency specialists and scientists to solve problems, more has to be done immediately to expand and improve the breadth of our cooperation in developing a sound, scientific basis for decision-making. This is especially true in Texas, which leads the nation in installed wind energy capacity, but woefully trails most states in regard to proactively addressing wildlife impacts.

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
• Western Bat Working Group
• more about the case above at Southern Maryland Online
• Infrared videos of bats and turbines
• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
• NWCC Wildlife Working Group
• Existing State Siting Guidelines
• USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee

The Re-Greening of Cranford

Back a hundred years ago, Cranford was known as the "Venice of New Jersey." It was a town that grew up around the meandering Rahway River.

The river was a main mode of transportation with many residents having boats docked in front of their riverfront homes. About five miles of the 30-mile Rahway River goes through the Township.

Like almost all of New Jersey, Cranford became much more developed and open space, natural resources and habitats disappeared or were endangered.

The river has become a source of significant flooding. Overdevelopment both in the town and in surrounding towns causes stormwater management challenges. Cranford takes a bigger hit than other towns because it lies downstream from most of the 18 towns along the Rahway River.

The Cranford Environmental Commission was created in the 1970s. In 2006-2007 they won an Achievement Award for enacting the first NJ municipal ordinance to require sustainable building standards for new township construction and existing buildings, based on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

In town, the Commission runs programs such as encouraging homeowners to choose renewable energy through the Clean Power Choice Program as well as energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), through the ENERGY STAR Change-A-Light Program.

Blue Heron on the Rahway River

They also created an awareness program about community sustainability called My Green Cranford.

The Rahway River is popular for fishing and the Cranford Canoe Club is a historic spot where residents rent canoes to use on the river. Many homes located on the river have canoes in the backyards and docks on the river.

A 13.5 mile bike path runs through the township, connecting major points of interest. It was built with in 1982 as part of a fuel-conservation program with funds from the Federal Housing Administration. The township also hosts a section of the East Coast Greenway which will run between Calais, Maine and Key West, Florida.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Cranford as its 37th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey and its "greening" is certainly a factor.

How is your NJ town doing environmentally? Do you have an environmental commission? My hometown in suburban Essex County does - check on the ANJEC site for your town. Click here and find out - the ANJEC website has this information at your fingertips.

Wind Adds Power To Ocean Gate

After two years of efforts, Ocean Gate, NJ broke ground to build the first "small wind" municipal turbine in the state.

"Ocean Gate is just a phenomenal role model for other communities," said state Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne M. Fox. "This is a historic ground-breaking. While you're small [about 2200 residents], you're really mighty in what you've done. I really commend you for what you've done for the state and for Ocean Gate."

Starting with a proposal to the borough council from retired Navy engineer Jim Fry in 2007, the town began researching the project.

That included having an anemometer installed to test the wind, adopting the Small Wind Model Ordinance, and researching turbines.

According to the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, Ocean gate will utilize two 50 kilowatt turbines to power the municipal office building and the water treatment plant solely on wind energy.

The system is estimated to save the borough 224,000 kilowatts of electricity purchased from traditional sources, and thus prevents 18 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. The borough has received nearly $200,000 in financial incentives from the state's Clean Energy Program for the approximately $600,000 project.

The borough was also recognized last fall as being the state's Clean Energy Municipality of the Year by the state Board of Public Utilities.

A wind feasibility study done by Rowan University confirmed that Ocean Gate and surrounding communities along the Toms River near the mouth of Barnegat Bay have consistent and reliable wind, with an average daily speed of 6 m.p.h. year around. That amount rates the area, according to the United States Wind Resource Map, as consistently "good" as a potential wind resource.

The state's first wind farm was built in 2007 outside Atlantic City by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and a private energy group. It is also the first such coastal facility in the United States. Five pinwheel-like 40-story-tall turbines are utilized.

Ocean Gate's turbine will probably be only about as high as the town's water tower.

Ocean Gate is located on the south bank of the Toms River in an area popular with sailors for its confluence of wind with those from Barnegat Bay.

Officials plan to have the first municipal wind turbine in the state finished by the end of summer.