Environmentalists express concerns over pipeline construction

Environmentalists and other local community members have expressed concerns over the Williams Transcontinental pipeline that will run through parts of Princeton and Montgomery.

When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found in December that the proposed pipeline would not significantly impact the surrounding community, it permitted Transco to move forward with the project.

The project would include 30 miles of a new natural gas pipeline loop through Mercer, Somerset and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey and in Monroe and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania. A portion of the 42-inch-diameterpipeline will run through an area of the Princeton Ridge as part of the 6.36-mile Skillman Loop.

Environmentalists' main concerns have included protecting freshwater wetlands, anti-degradation streams and water quality; construction’s impact on rare and endangered species; the pipeline’s addition to the cumulative effect of pipelines on New Jersey’s ecosystem.

Transco has already revised its plans for the $650 million natural gas pipeline through the environmentally-sensitive Princeton Ridge to include tunneling under wetlands and bodies of water this March.

Transco's plans for the pipeline affecting parts of Princeton and Montgomery originally proposed open trenching throughout the 1.3-mile section of the ridge, which contains boulders and bedrock.

Adding a new pipeline relieves bottlenecks that can occur in the course of the transportation of natural gas, Christopher Stockton, a Transco spokesman, said, adding that Transco is putting a new line next to the old line.

“At the end of the day, you’ll have two lines with flowing gas, and that relieves some of those bottlenecks that you may have in the system,” he said.

Increased demand for natural gas is the reason for the project, Stockton said.

“This particular project has been in the works for about three years,” he said. “That’s about how long it takes to permit an interstate transmission pipeline project.”

Construction is expected to begin aroundMay 1.

Some environmentalists said they doubt FERC’s effectiveness as a regulatory agency, adding they don't believe claims of eminent domain are justified in the pipeline construction.

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“What New Jersey needs to do is to create a plan to examine all of the pipelines that are coming through and see what we need, what we don’t need, what’s extraneous and what’s best for New Jersey," Patty Cronheim, Coordinator for Hopewell Township Citizens against the PennEast Pipeline, said. "New Jersey needs to increase its pipelines’ efficiencies and create a plan that’s least destructive to the environment and doesn’t infringe on people’s property rights."

She said she didn't believe there was a natural gas shortage in New Jersey, adding that some of New Jersey's 11 proposed pipelines are for exportation and not for intrastate use.

"What we have is an overseas market where gas goes for seven times as much,” she said.

In a less densely populated area, no company would even try to put a pipeline through such an environmentally important area because of the public reaction and potential legal issues,Barbara Blumenthal, president of the Princeton Ridge Coalition, said.

“The problem is that New Jersey is much more developed than it was 60 years ago," Barbara Blumenthal, President of the Princeton Ridge Coalition, said. "It’s not easy to find an alternate route.”

The forest in the Princeton Ridge area is small but important as a home for many migratory birds and endangered species,Blumenthal noted, adding thatif the pipeline has to go there, the best course of action to pursue is examining what the alternatives are and how environmental damage can be mitigated, which is ongoing.

“It’s a modest improvement but it doesn’t address most of the environmental damage issues," she said of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's latest recommendations. "There is still a discussion to see what else can be done to make this less damaging.”

Stockton said Transco was sensitive to the environmental issue, adding Transco has been working with the town, the Princeton Ridge Coalition and engineers to minimize the environmental impact.

Transco has agreed to keep its workspace in a much smaller area in order to minimize damage in the Princeton Ridge, he said, adding that the company has also recently proposed to drill its pipe under wetland areas and streams to avoid disturbing the surface area.

“Right now we’re working with New Jersey DEP to get permits for the wetland and stream crossing,” Stockton said. “It’s a process. There’s a lot of discussion back and forth and a lot of modifications made to your plan as a result of that process.”

Transco hopes to win approval from the New Jersey DEP reasonably soon, Stockton said.

“We’re hopeful we’re at the end of the process,” he said.