PennEast says it won’t build pipeline; Yudichak blasts ‘environmental extremists’ over decision

WILKES-BARRE — Pipeline Company LLC (PennEast) announced Monday it will end development of its approximately 120-mile long, 36-inch diameter pipeline, which was planned to transport fracked gas from Luzerne County to Mercer County, New Jersey.

Residents in both states have been fighting against the pipeline plan for more than seven years in an effort to protect their property and the environment.

State Sen. John Yudichak Monday said “frivolous lawsuits and misguided political policies” have halted the development of the PennEast Pipeline Project.

“That halt could result in the loss of over 12,000 jobs in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Yudichak, I-Swoyersville.

The pipeline would have crossed 88 waterways, including the Delaware River, as well as numerous wetlands, parks and conservation easements.

In New Jersey, the pipeline would have impacted 42 parcels of state owned conservation lands.

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.

“UGI, and their development partners, along with the Pennsylvania Construction and Building Trade Unions have worked diligently to bring this clean burning $1.3 billion natural gas project to eastern Pennsylvania, where they have met every standard placed before them from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to the United States Supreme Court,” Yudichak said. “Still, environmental extremists persist in putting radical ideology in the way good-paying jobs.”

According to an Associated Press report, PennEast Pipeline Company, which won a recent legal battle against New Jersey at the Supreme Court, nonetheless said the state has failed to provide certain permits and is putting the project on ice.

“PennEast partners, following extensive evaluation and discussion, recently determined further development of the project no longer is supported. Accordingly, PennEast has ceased all further development of the project,” spokesperson Pat Kornick said in an email to the AP.

The decision is the latest swing in a long-running effort to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. It’s also a major win for environmental groups who opposed the project, arguing it would cut a scar across the landscape, threaten wildlife and contribute to the use of fossil fuels.

According to a news release from the Clean Air Council, residents across both states have worked for years to raise awareness within their communities and to advocate to elected officials and regulatory agencies. Clean Air Council partnered with organizations such as Save Carbon County, Homeowners Against Land Taking (HALT), Delaware Riverkeeper Network, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, PennFuture, and Concerned Citizens Against the Pipeline to support these efforts to preserve our environment, climate, and communities.

Joseph Otis Minott, Clean Air Council executive director and chief counsel, issued the following statement:

“PennEast’s cancellation of this unneeded, dangerous fracked gas pipeline is a momentous win for the communities that have fought hard for years to defend their property and the environment. Others who seek to exploit the residents and natural resources of New Jersey and Pennsylvania should take note: we are not easy-take states and we will continue to resist.”

It’s not known if PennEast will pursue the project again if circumstances change.

PA Chamber issues statement

PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr issued a statement regarding the cancellation of the PennEast project, a major regional energy infrastructure project:

“Activists are cheering upon the recent news that the sponsors of the PennEast project, a more than $1 billion investment that would have delivered Pennsylvania-produced natural gas into markets in New Jersey, have cancelled the project,” Barr said. “Let’s be clear: this is no victory – not for ratepayers, who are now lacking a reliable source of gas and electricity; not for the economy, which is now out several thousand well-paying construction jobs at a time when the economy continues to struggle; and not for the environment, as this obstruction results in the mid-Atlantic being more reliant on imported fuels from foreign nations that do not have our strict environmental standards. It is no victory that Russian-sourced gas has been imported into Boston harbor in recent winters.”

Barr said the increased production of natural gas has directly led to substantial reductions in utility bills for businesses and working families in our state and region, as well as historic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a significant improvement in air quality.

“Unfortunately, pipeline constraints due in no small part to misguided political opposition from activists have precluded neighboring states from reaping the benefits of this critical infrastructure development, despite regulated utilities in New Jersey noting to their public service commission that they may not have enough gas to meet winter demand,” Barr said. “The news of this cancellation underscores the importance of state and federal policymakers taking bold strides to make it easier to build things in this country again.”

PennEast, a company made up of five different energy firms, won federal and Pennsylvania permitting approvals including a key Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate that could allow the firm to use eminent domain to acquire land.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court said that companies building interstate pipelines can obtain the land they need even in the face of state opposition, once their projects have been given the green light by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.