Pinelands Pipeline Proposal

Running Head: PINELANDS PIPELINE PROPOSAL

Pinelands Pipeline Proposal Celia Rodrigues Richard Stockton College

Pinelands Pipeline Proposal

South Jersey Gas has created a proposal to place a natural gas pipeline through the Pinelands preserve. This proposal has caused quite a stir among the public and there are a surprising amount of mix reviews. The purpose of the pipeline is to provide a natural gas feed to the BL England power station so they can convert from coal to gas. Also, they wish improve the reliability of service to the Cape May and Atlantic Counties. Should something happen to the existing pipeline servicing these counties, the Pinelands pipeline would act as backup line preventing any outages. (Fatzinger 2014) I understand the need to provide adequate power service for their customers but I found myself wondering, why in the Pinelands? According to Robert Fatzinger, Senior Vice President of engineering and system integrity of South Jersey Gas, there were three routes selected for investigation of possible development. When working with the Pinelands Commission staff and NJ DEP it was decided that the route running through the Pinelands, next to an existing highway, was the least environmentally damaging option. As wonderful as this may sound, there are many areas of concern with this project. One of the main concerns is the ability to clean-up should the pipeline explode or leak. How can the Cohansey aquifer be protected from such a disaster? Mr. Fatzingers response was simply that there is little chance for the pipeline to have issues during or after construction. Once completed, there is a management program regulated by the federal government to make sure that the pipeline continues to operate at optimum efficiency. (Fatzinger 2014) I found Mr. Fatzingers statement to be very bold, because there are pipeline leaks that occur all over the world and there are plenty that have happened in the U.S. The New York Times conducted a story investigating the issues of pipelines across Middle America. The Times investigation found that in fact pipelines already crisscrossing America are leaking constantly and disastrously, that the federal agency assigned to protect them is so chronically understaffed, and that as a result theyve left much of the regulatory control in the hands of pipeline operators themselves. (Romm 2011) Who is to say that we wont incur the same issue? Other arguments include the drilling that will be done to place the pipeline underground beneath rivers, streams and ponds, which will be very detrimental to the surrounding habitats. If the environmental impacts werent enough, the political line this proposal crosses is very unnerving. South Jersey Gas has been working with the Pinelands Commission staff to develop a memorandum of agreement in order to progress with the project. Jeff Tittel, Director of the NJ chapter of the Sierra Club, points out that this pipeline violates the Comprehensive Management Plan and the Pinelands Act because the memorandum of agreement is meant for government entities only. (Tittel 2014) If this proposal is approved, it will create a whole other set of issues. What would stop other private organizations from trying to develop within the Pinelands preservation? It appears to me that the pipeline proposal is a scheme to keep the peaker plant up and running. The BL England power station currently operates thirty to forty days a year and was scheduled to shut down. (Tittel 2014) Thankfully the proposal was not approved and the Pinelands will continue to remain preserved. I do believe that this will be the end of the pipeline story; however, I also believe that there will be other stories like it. With an ever growing population, the need for space and resources will also continue to grow. The increasing demand for space will place even more pressure on the Pinelands Commission. I just hope that they continue to abide by the Comprehensive Management Plan to avoid another close call.

Pinelands Pipeline Proposal References Fatzinger, Robert and Tittel, Jeff, Radio times, interview, January 3, 2014. Romm, Joe. (2011, September 11) McKibben: Constantly and Disastrously Leaking U.S. Pipelines Are the Mess in the Middle of the Keystone XL Debate. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/11/316187/mckibben-leaking-pipelineskeystone-xl/