In an astounding turnaround after years of battling N.J. over permits to build a natural gas pipeline from Northeast Pa. to Mercer County, PennEast has canceled its 116-mile p By Susan Phillips September 27, 2021 SCOTUS would rule in PennEasts favor, but the company still had to secure permits from entities such as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and the Delaware River Basin Commission. However, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware can stop the PennEast Pipeline once and for all. It also confirms that this unneeded project will not take our lands, pollute our waters or undermine our transition to a clean energy future, said Tom Gilbert, campaign director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and ReThink Energy NJ. PennEast drops pipeline - Times News Online PennEast opponents say community activism was key to beating pipeline. N.J., DRBC call on FERC for new environmental review of PennEast, PennEasts decision to build pipeline in two phases has reignited objections to project, rekindled concerns that have been seething for years, Philadelphia police say Kingsessing mass shooting suspect was shooting aimlessly, Photos: Parade performers, spectators bid America Happy Birthday in Philadelphia on July Fourth, Glenside Fourth of July parade celebrates its 120th year. Yesterdays cancellation should be a wake-up call for FERC, added Suzanne Mattei, an energy policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, which advocates for a diverse and sustainable energy economy. Development of the PennEast Pipeline has been put on hold! The company then halted the condemning of land in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, before making the decision to cancel the project. The pipeline would have shipped Marcellus Shale gas from Luzerne County across the Delaware River to Mercer County to provide what the company said was much-needed, affordable natural gas to residents. Phil Murphy came into office promising to transition the state away from fossil fuels and on Monday praised the end of PennEast in a statement. If this news is true, this is a wonderful testament to the people in New Jersey who care about their water and their environment and who have worked their tails off to stop this unnecessary pipeline, Hopewell Township Mayor Julie Blake said. "I think as a result you will see greater scrutiny from FERC in the first place when its considering whether to approve them," Sabath added. Philadelphia, PA, 19103, Suite 1004 PennEast Gas Pipeline Cancelled by Developers - NRDC The construction of the 116-mile long natural gas pipeline would have been from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. Newspaper Media Group is your local news, sports, entertainment, music fashion website. The Supreme Courts decision, while not resulting in PennEasts construction over state-owned recreational and conservation lands in this case, does carry precedential value for other cases, said Jessica Bell, an attorney with the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at NYUs law school. Phase One of the pipeline project would have consisted of 68 miles of pipeline in Pennsylvania. Enbridge-backed PennEast becomes the latest to scuttle a natural gas Gas prices have surged in Europe and Asia due to rising demand and lack of supply, and that has boosted U.S. gas prices to seven-year highs. One billion cubic feet is enough gas for about five million U.S. homes for a day. PennEast spokeswoman Pat Kornick issued a statement Monday morning, citing the continued lack of support from the Garden State in acquiring environmental permits. Sept 27 (Reuters) - PennEast Pipeline said on Monday it would stop developing a proposed pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, the latest in a series of natural gas lines to run aground due to legal and regulatory challenges. But, we were confident on a local level from the government and the residents.. FERC first approved the project in 2015, drawing objections from residents, environmentalists, and the state of New Jersey. We are ready to . It was just a matter of time, said the Delaware Riverkeepers Maya van Rossum in a statement. PennEast Cancels Pipeline Project, Murphy Welcomes Decision Weve been in this tide of gobbling up peoples rights and properties and destroying everything and that tide needed to be turned and I think weve been a big piece of that tide turning, she said. The pipeline would have crossed 88 waterways, including the Delaware River, as well as numerous wetlands, parks, and conservation easements. Southeastern Pa. has a clean water crisis brewing. The developer had not been able to get a water quality certification and wetlands permits under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act in New Jersey, even though it had secured approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said project spokesperson Pat Kornick. The 120-mile (193-km) pipe was designed to deliver 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of gas from the Marcellus shale to customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Buchanan said shes relieved its over and is now crying tears of joy. If the pipeline project were to be constructed, its construction would have occurred in Mercer County. Marcellus NatGas Conference Call Schedule. Malinowski said companies making deals among themselves is not a sufficient reason to take away peoples land and pump more fossil fuels into the atmosphere. He said he was overjoyed that PennEast was canceling its pipeline plans. As with PennEast, the Atlantic Coast cancellation also happened shortly after the developers had won a victory in the Supreme Court. Its time that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and elected leaders realize that we need energy infrastructure, and step up for American families who are already getting a taste of what politicized anti-energy policies do in the form of higher gasoline prices and spiraling inflation, CEA Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler said in a statement yesterday. Washington DC | New York | Houston | Pittsburgh | Mexico City Calgary | Chile, Unlock this article for free - enter your email address. WHYY is a partner station of StateImpact Pennsylvania. Opponents said it would harm acres of forest, wetlands, and waterways; pose a danger from potential explosions; and represented an outmoded fossil fuel infrastructure project at a time when climate change was increasingly tied to extreme weather events. Bidens infrastructure plan would help Philly fulfill clean water promise. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. PennEast faced many other hurdles, though, including environmental permits that would have to come from New Jersey officials opposed to the project. jamison.cocklin@naturalgasintel.com, During one of the hottest weeks of the summer so far, natural gas prices rallied in the final days of June. Opponents said it would harm acres of forest, wetlands, and waterways; pose a danger from potential explosions; and represented an outmoded fossil fuel infrastructure project at a time when climate change was increasingly tied to extreme weather events. The companys decision not to pursue eminent-domain claims on 42 parcels of publicly owned land was announced in an agreement with the Attorney Generals office. "The Marcellus/Utica was the growth engine of natural gas production for many years and that has slowed considerably the past two years," said Luke Jackson, manager North America natural gas at S&P Global Platts, noting the region was already constrained by a lack of pipelines. We provide you with the latest news from your community. PennEast Concedes to Opposition, Cancels Pipeline Project - PR Newswire The projects demise is another sign that natural gas just a few years ago hailed as a bridge fuel between coal and renewable energy is unwelcome in states like New Jersey where officials are increasingly worried about extreme weather and a changing climate. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. As a result of the FERC rulemaking and public comment process, the company changed the route in at least 33 instances. New programs aim to cut bills and emissions, Pennsylvania leads the nation in Lyme disease. The PennEast pipeline is shown. PennEast Pipeline Co. said Monday morning its project was over, marking the end to a contested endeavor that just months ago won Supreme Court approval to seize and build on public lands in New. 1.800.427.5747 | The decision by the court overturned a 2019 Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which denied the condemning of more than 42 parcels of New Jersey state-owned land for the companys pipeline project. Confirming to the federal agency what had been previously stated in September about the project being canceled due to legal and regulatory hurdles. The forests remain one of the largest and least disturbed tracts of woodland in our region,and hometo rare plant and wildlife habitats. Climate Solutions, a collaboration of news organizations, educational institutions and a theater company, uses engagement, education and storytelling to help central Pennsylvanians toward climate change literacy, resilience and adaptation. PennEast announced Monday that it will stop all further development of a 110-mile natural gas pipeline that would have sliced through five eastern Pennsylvania counties on the way to New Jersey . "Its a waste of everybodys resources not only the companys resources, but government resources and community resources landowners resources, Mattei continued. 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., The Hub is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the, Earlier this May SEPTA held public comment about their proposed FY2024 capital, Suite 300 It feels great to get confirmation of what we expected. Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck released a statement on Sept. 27 as well. Delaware River Basin Commission faces pressure to reject PennEast pipeline. We knew we would get here eventually. The companys pursuit of the case in the high court, which had support from a number of industry organizations, could be seen as securing precedent and preventing other states from using similar types of challenges in the future. Once operational, the pipeline would have exacerbated the climate crisis, introducing nearly 50 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each yearthe equivalent of the carbon dioxide emitted by all of the cars in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston combined. The project battled landowners, environmental groups and the state of New Jersey for years. Clean Air Council Blog Archive PennEast Pipeline Canceled In an astounding turnaround after years of battling N.J. over permits to build a natural gas pipeline from Northeast Pa. to Mercer County, PennEast has canceled its 116-mile p, A sign protesting the proposed PennEast Pipeline route in Carbon County, Pa. (Emma Lee/WHYY). PennEast becomes the latest to scuttle a natural gas pipeline project | The pipeline was slated to pass through Baldpate Mountain which is where we are headquartered. Demand for clean-burning natural gas remains high. In-depth analysis and commentary on today's biggest news stories as only the BBC can deliver. The project has faced pushback from local residents, environmental organizations and the state. The regulatory hurdles to develop the pipeline were far more cumbersome and the developers had to make the unfortunate decision to cut their losses and end the . PHILADELPHIA, PA (Sept 27, 2021) Today Pipeline Company LLC (PennEast) announced it will end development of its approximately 120-mile long, 36-inch diameter pipeline, which was planned to transport fracked gas from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey. The decision came in light of a November ruling by Third Circuit Court of Appeals, denying PennEasts request to rehear a case concerning the condemning of 42 parcels of New Jersey state-owned land for PennEasts pipeline project. Co-authored with Maggie Valachovic (Legal Intern, NRDC). Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News The PennEast pipeline will no longer go. The next month, energy companies Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. called it quits on the Atlantic Coast pipeline, which wouldve run 600 miles from West Virginia across Virginia and into North Carolina (Energywire, July 6, 2020). | AP Photo. PennEast Pipeline Canceled | Sierra Club Phil Murphys new administration laid out a clean energy plan for the state that was incompatible with continued pipeline construction. Natalie Cox, spokesperson for the Mountain Valley and Southgate projects, said that the D.C. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? The announcement comes just days after PennEast withdrew its eminent domain claims on the 42 parcels of New Jersey conservation lands. Demand for clean-burning natural gas remains high. It involves precedent agreements," in which shippers commit to purchasing a certain amount of pipeline capacity, provided certain conditions on the project move forward. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. But were not done yet we must reform a system that allowed this economically unnecessary project to be approved in the first place.. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyones stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. In June, PennEast had received welcome news when the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision had ruled that the PennEast Pipeline project can proceed with condemning New Jersey state-owned land. The Consumer Energy Alliance, whose membership includes oil and gas trade associations, energy companies and a variety of other groups, called PennEasts cancellation yet another loss for New Jersey and Pennsylvanias families and businesses.. PennEast would have been among the projects to face that review as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had yet to decide a challenge to its FERC certificate. The project dropped its years-long efforts to condemn land owned by New Jersey last 2023 Natural Gas Intelligence. Circuit had affirmed MVPs certificate in 2019 and the court has more recently rejected arguments contesting the need for the project this February. We always expected that this project would be stopped, because its clear that it wasnt needed and at odds with our clean energy future., just months ago won Supreme Court approval, would not acquire land in the state for some time., just hours before a government shutdown in, denied one of PennEasts first applications. The investors and companies who allowed this investment by their CEOs and boards, take note, if your company is going to invest in a project that is an environmental disaster strictly for short-term profits, I think its time for investors to start taking charge and changing CEOs and boards., A pro-pipeline group backed by building trades unions, industry, and chambers of commerce called it a disappointing decision., Pennsylvania now will lose its share of what was expected to be $1.2 billion in investments, said spokesman Kurt Knaus in a statement. PennEast Pipeline Company has confirmed to federal officials that the member companies have stopped all further development of the $1 billion pipeline project. The court had rejected FERCs interpretation of case law and called for the agency to look beyond precedent agreements to determine market demand. By Jamison Cocklin September 27, 2021 Seven years after it was announced, the PennEast Pipeline has been canceled following repeated regulatory and legal setbacks that have increasingly. This watershed serves as critical habitat to over 400 types of birds and over 90 fish species, and construction of the pipeline would endanger the habitats of six federally-listed threatened and endangered species including the bog turtle, the rusty patched bumble bee, and two species of bats. PennEast Pipeline Logo (PRNewsfoto/PennEast Pipeline Company) After legal and regulatory hurdles, the proposed $1 billion PennEast Pipeline project has been canceled, according . The cancellation of the PennEast pipeline yesterday is stirring speculation about the fate of other similar projects and resurfacing criticism of the federal approval process for natural gas infrastructure. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New England prices led the way given pipeline maintenance in the region, lifting NGIs Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. The state says it spent about $1 billion to acquire and control the parcels for open space and to preserve the land for recreation, conservation, and agriculture, and that it should not be used to ship natural gas. The letter provided to FERC on Nov. 30 was in response to a request from the federal agency for a status report and statement on whether PennEast still planned to construct the pipeline. This blog provides general information, not legal advice. | We have advocated, litigated, conducted critical scientific ground truthing, and been clear throughout that we would accept nothing short of cancellation!. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, had granted the company eminent domain to seize land from uncooperative landowners, including the state of New Jersey. September 29, 2021 Pipeline Project Canceled by PennEast By Anne Levin After more than 10 years of planning and facing opposition from environmentalists across the region, PennEast has opted to pull the plug on its proposed 116-mile natural gas pipeline. Please give today. 2021 02:45PM by Jarrad Hedes jmhedes@tnonline.com A controversial natural gas pipeline project that would have run through Carbon County has been dropped. PennEast cancels pipeline project; cites lack of permits from N.J Phase One of the pipeline project would have consisted of 68 miles of pipeline in Pennsylvania. PennEasts cancelation 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, said Clean Air Council executive director Joe Minott. Since Day 1, the Murphy Administration has fought the construction of the PennEast pipeline, which would have harmed New Jerseys residents, businesses and fragile natural resources. In an emailed statement to E&E News, the company cited its lack of water and wetland permits in New Jersey as the key barriers to building the pipeline (Energywire, Sept. 27). Bidens infrastructure bill could help. The state previously denied the permit. Bob Rader of Milford, N.J. sold his property rather than live with the pipeline, but said the news should be a wake up call to similar fossil fuel projects. She says the win is larger than her own. PennEast confirms cancellation of $1 billion pipeline project to FERC, Democrats hold on strong to Woodbridge Council ward seats; BOE will reorganize with new member, Outdoor Equity Alliance receives $50,000 grant from Princeton Area Community Foundation. The pipeline constraints that currently limit market access will only grow worse without projects like PennEast, which was designed to meet the clear public need by businesses and consumers for reliable, affordable energy.. But opponents said PennEast had also suffered from a shortcoming that is common to at least two other recently failed projects and should be corrected before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves future energy projects. In previous years, PennEast faced several setbacks in the New Jersey portion of the pipeline. Environmentalists who had fought the pipeline quickly praised the news. Due to that denial and opinion by the third circuit, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection also denied the companys Freshwater Wetlands Permit application siting that PennEasts application could not be administratively complete because of the circuits decision. Ending this project does nothing to change the equation. Last week, the projects end seemed inevitable, after the company said it was giving up on any immediate plans to build in New Jersey, declaring it would not acquire land in the state for some time. There had been similar news out of Pennsylvania earlier this summer. PennEast shelves plan to build pipeline on public lands in New Jersey. Residents across both states have worked for years to raise awareness within their communities and to advocate to elected officials and regulatory agencies. The decision to cancel the pipeline reflects what we already know: that the PennEast Pipeline has no place in the Delaware River Basin or anywhere else. The state says it spent about $1 billion to acquire and control the parcels for open space and to preserve the land for recreation, conservation, and agriculture, and that it should not be used to ship natural gas. As a result of the FERC rulemaking and public comment process, the company changed the route in at least 33 instances. Todays acknowledgement from PennEast that its project is dead puts to rest any speculation that the company is still seeking to build the pipeline. STATEIMPACT PENNSYLVANIA - After years of battling New Jersey over permits to build a natural gas pipeline from Northeast Pennsylvania to Mercer County a fight that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court PennEast has canceled its 116-mile project. The proposed pipeline was intended to transport approximately 1 billion cubic feet of fracked gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey every daypolluting the waters of the Delaware River, harming the wildlife that rely on the river for survival, and accelerating the climate crisis. Former Republican Gov. PennEast Gas Project Halted in Latest U.S. Pipeline Casualty With the cancellation of PennEast and other pipelines, the industry is becoming more concerned that additional production from the key Marcellus/Utica shale in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia will become trapped in the basin. The decision to cease the development of the pipeline follows a lengthy litigation between PennEast Pipeline Company and New Jersey over whether the company could ask a court to order the state to grant access to state land for construction of the pipeline; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the case earlier this year. Despite the June Supreme Court ruling, the project still needed Clean Water Act permits from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as approvals from the Delaware River Basin Commission and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. Phase Two would have finished the remaining route in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. VICTORY: PennEast pipeline is canceled. A Trojan Horse That Would Subvert Climate Justice in New York, boating, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, birding, and scenic touring, Contact Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, Contact Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Contact Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania. He also noted that federal courts were more closely scrutinizing FERCs project approvals.