October 21, 2021 – Pennsylvania and New Jersey landowners woke up last week to news of the victory they have been working to accomplish over the last seven years: the PennEast pipeline, in a word, is dead. The company announced it would end development of its planned 118 mile, 36” diameter fracked gas pipeline from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ.
PennEast had previously filed eminent domain proceedings against dozens of landowners in both states to build its dangerous and unneeded pipeline. For seven years, property owners in Pennsylvania and New Jersey faced lawsuits for asserting their private property rights and refusing to sell to PennEast pipeline. Hints of the pipeline’s impending demise came over the last several weeks as PennEast suddenly announced it would withdraw condemnation lawsuits against 70 property owners in Luzerne, Carbon, Monroe, Northampton and Bucks counties in Pennsylvania, and would similarly drop its plan to use eminent domain to acquire state-owned land in New Jersey.
The Council has opposed PennEast Pipeline from its inception investing time, community organizing, expertise, and legal resources into this fight. The Council:
- Called on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and Governor Wolf to reject PennEast’s application.
- 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.
- 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.
- Developed and submitted extensive technical and legal comments demonstrating to DEP the flaws in the proposed project permits.
- Sent federal agencies detailed comments explaining how the project was unneeded and harmful.
- Recruited our members to submit their own comments to state and federal agencies.
All that persistence has finally paid off.
In addition to preserving private property, residents and the Council have fought tirelessly for years to protect the 88 waterways, 44 wetlands, 30 parks, 33 conservation easements, and numerous exceptional value streams that PennEast would have crossed. The pipeline would have also plowed through some of the region’s most beloved conservation and recreation areas including Hickory Run State Park, Beltzville Lake, and Weiser State Forest.
PennEast is a private for-profit company that does not meet any public need. Its construction would have destroyed some of Pennsylvania’s most cherished natural resources and ecotourist areas, while its operation would have led to more fracking harms and climate-causing methane pollution. The end of PennEast is a huge victory for landowners, conservationists, and all those who recreate in our treasured state parks.
While the announcement is cause for celebration, lingering concerns remain as PennEast continues to make contradictory public statements about the possibility of moving ahead with a portion of the project in Pennsylvania only. This could pose a 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 Homeowners Against Land Takings (HALT) to ensure that this victory is final and permanent.
For more information contact Eve Miari, Advocacy Coordinator, emiari@cleanair.org
