Church joins crusade against pipeline

http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s4026575.shtml

People packed the pews as a Town of Bethlehem church joined the crusade against a natural gas pipeline, Saturday afternoon.

“Words like fracking are not complimentary with a holy reverence for the earth,” said Rev. Harlan Ratmeyer, First Reformed Church of Bethlehem Pastor.

And what turned the pastor against Kinder Morgan’s plan, was the proposed 30-inch line runs right through the church’s 220 year old nature preserve, and along its cemetery.

“Then we realized this was a much bigger deal than us alone trying to fight something,” said Ratmeyer.

Stop New York Fracked Gas Pipeline led the discussion. They have an estimated 8 months left to persuade the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC to not allow Kinder Morgan to build the 133 mile long pipeline.

“I do believe we’re at a tipping point for a lot of reasons,” said Becky Meier, Stop New York Fracked Gas Pipeline.

She says lawmakers are starting to listen.

“After listening to the information today, A. I want to see a health study, and B. I think I’m inclined to be against it,” said Neil Breslin, D – Bethlehem, who was at the meeting.

It’s clear people are afraid of losing their land to Kinder Morgan through eminent domain.

A number at the meeting, including the church, say Kinder Morgan has sent surveyors onto their land without their permission. Leslie Carey told us they surprised her on a walk in the woods and were confrontational.

“I was very intimidated. Here are three men. I’m alone in the woods with a puppy and a dog. They have machetes and insist I don’t belong there,” said Carey, a Nassau resident.

After five people filed police reports with state police about trespassing surveyors in Nassau, town supervisor Dave Fleming says he’s considering launching an investigation.

We talked to Kinder Morgan media representative Richard Wheatley about that. He recited a prepared statement:

“Mr. Fleming’s accusations are not new to us. We do have permission to survey on electric utility cooridors.”

Wheatley wouldn’t speculate if that’s where they were. But said the company’s contacted police because its surveyors have been threatened.

The company hopes to start building in 2017 and finish by Nov 1, 2018.  But the Natural Gas giant has plenty standing in its way.

Kinder Morgan’s stock price has been tumbling with the fall of oil prices.  Dropping nearly 75 percent since April. It was at a low last week, until a slight rebound after news the company was cutting 900 million dollars from its capital budget.

Bethlehem Area Residents Voice Concerns Over Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/top-stories/2016/01/23/bethlehem-area-residents-voice-concerns-over-proposed-natural-gas-pipeline.html

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. — A well attended meeting Saturday afternoon inside the historic First Reformed Church hosted by members of the “Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline” organization. Filling the seats was close to 150 Bethlehem area residents.

Proposed is a more than 400 mile, 30 inch wide underground line that would carry natural gas stretching from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts and operated by Texas based Kinder Morgan. The company said the line is necessary to meet the area’s shifting energy needs. But nearly everyone who attended Saturday’s meeting had numerous concerns from installation of the pipe to how it would effect the environment.

“Along the pipelines there could be leaks into water and air then you could have explosions and clearly that’s a health and welfare issue,” said Becky Meier from “Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline” organization.

The proposal would also include compressor stations that the company said are required to keep the gas flowing. Kinder Morgan said the project is safe and will follow all state, local and federal guidelines, but some residents feel their overall health may be in jeopardy.

“The compressor station called Minisink about 40 miles south of us here, the community around there has experienced some real health effects and that’s a much smaller compressor station then the one slated in Rensselaer county,” said Meier.

Some spoke out about seeing surveyors on their property, who told homeowners they have a right to be there. For Larry Lesage, he said hundreds of trees have already been cleared near his home, while the project has yet to be approved.

“National Grid told me last fall they were coming in to do some routine maintenance. It was nothing routine. They came in and cleared tons of trees along the wood line, a lot of our neighbors have no woods in our yards anymore,” said Lesage.

Despite so much opposition from residents, county legislators and members of the Bethlehem Town Board were in attendance. Lawmakers said Kinder Morgan could still be given the green light if it’s approved by the federal energy and regulatory commission under “eminent domain,”  if the project is seen as being in the public’s best interest.

“If it involves more than one state the federal government comes in and FERC. When that happens they have ultimate power but with thAt ultimate power, if the higher ups in New York State get involved they could have a way of influencing the final decision,” said Senator Neil Breslin.

Organizers said they feel they have a chance to stop the proposal from moving forward.

“There have been a lot of big changes in the world in the last 20 years that nobody thought would happen and so clearly it can,” said Meier.

Opposition leaders said they plan to hold more public meetings like Saturday’s. Kinder Morgan hopes to start the project by 2017. If it’s approved, it will be completed in 2018.

N.J. homeowners organize to oppose PennEast pipeline

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/90264-group-of-nj-homeowners-forms-to-oppose-penneast-pipeline?linktype=hp_impact

New Jersey homeowners in Hunterdon and Mercer counties have formed a new group to oppose the proposed PennEast natural gas pipeline, which they say could be built on private property using eminent domain.

HALT PennEast — which stands for “homeowners against land taking” — criticized the PennEast Pipeline Company for proposing a route that would abut or intersect the properties of dozens of New Jersey residents, as well as threatening to use the power of eminent domain to install the underground pipeline.

“This is not just for this group of people,” said Vincent DiBianca, one of the group’s organizers, who lives along the proposed route in Delaware Township. “If this starts to set a precedent, and corporate gain is one of the fundamental principles at play here and people can lose their properties, that’s unconstitutional. It’s certainly not fair and just.”

DiBianca said the proposed route touches about 250 properties in New Jersey and that homeowners are starting to speak out aganist the 118- mile pipeline, which would run from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, to Mercer County, ending near Trenton.

On its website, PennEast said that federal approval of the pipeline would allow the company “to access property to survey land and to construct and operate infrastructure; however, PennEast considers it a last resort that would be an exhaustive, socially and financially costly process for all involved.”

PennEast said it would rather reach out to homeowners first and offer to pay them for the use of their land.

But for some residents of Hunterdon and Mercer counties, that dog won’t hunt.

“How would we farm?” said Jacqueline Evans, who lives in Delaware Township with her three children, about a hundred feet from the proposed route of the pipeline.

“This pipeline would compromise that. I’m also transitioning into organic, and that would also be compromised.”

Evans said she is also worried about the safety of a natural gas pipeline so close to her kids. “My children are always asking questions about what happens when it blows up, and these are very difficult questions to answer as a mother.”

So far, members of HALT PennEast are only New Jersey homeowners, but DiBianca said he would be open to expanding the group to include Pennsylvanians as well.

HALT PennEast has hired Wiley Rein, a large Washington, D.C., law firm specializing in government regulation.

Right now the PennEast project is under review at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which reviews any proposed pipeline that would cross state lines. FERC could approve or deny the project as soon as this fall.

PennEast said the pipeline would lower energy costs for customers in the area and increase reliability, especially during extreme weather when demand is high.

NJ homeowners hire D.C. law firm to fight PennEast pipeline

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/01/21/nj-homeowners-hire-d-c-law-firm-to-fight-penneast-pipeline/

Homeowners in Hunterdon and Mercer Counties have joined together to hire a D.C. law firm to fight the construction of the controversial PennEast pipeline that would carry Marcellus Shale gas to Northeast markets. The move marks a preemptive strike by residents along a wealthier stretch of the 114-mile long proposed pipe, aiming to fight off potential eminent domain actions.

“This is not just for this group of people,” said Vincent DiBianca, one of the new group’s organizers who lives along the proposed route in Delaware Township. “If this starts to set a precedent, and corporate gain is one of the fundamental principles at play here and people can lose their properties, that’s unconstitutional. It’s certainly not fair and just.”

HALT PennEast — which stands for “homeowners against land taking” — criticized the PennEast Pipeline Company for proposing a route for the pipeline that would abut or intersect the properties of dozens of New Jersey residents. The proposed 36-inch line would begin in Luzerne County, PA, pass through six Pennsylvania counties, cross the river into New Jersey, traveling through Mercer and Hunterdon counties to supply other major interstate pipelines with Marcellus Shale gas near Trenton.

The company has had trouble getting leases from some property owners in New Jersey, many of whom have been blocking surveyors. PennEast filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in D.C. back in September. The pipeline company would still have to jump through a number of regulatory hoops but would need approval from FERC to pursue eminent domain against holdouts along the route.Proponents say the new line will provide needed reliability and cheaper gas to densely the populated New York and New Jersey market. They say it will also help supply the state with cleaner burning natural gas, which has been replacing coal at power plants.

PennEast has said it would use eminent domain only as a last resort, and has been working to make inroads with communities along the route, including offering grants for community projects. The company says it would rather reach out to homeowners first and offer to pay them for the use of their land.

But for some residents of Hunterdon and Mercer Counties, that dog won’t hunt.

“How would we farm?” asked Jacqueline Evans, who lives in Delaware Township with her three children, about a hundred feet from the proposed route of the pipeline.

“This pipeline would compromise that. I’m also transitioning into organic, and that would also be compromised.” 

Evans said she is also worried about the safety of a natural gas pipeline so close to her kids. “My children are always asking questions about what happens when it blows up, and these are very difficult questions to answer as a mother.”

So far, members of HALT PennEast are only New Jersey homeowners, but DiBianca said he would be open to expanding the group to include Pennsylvanians as well. The group has hired Wiley Rein, a large Washington D.C. law firm specializing in government regulation, to represent their interests. FERC could make its decision as early as this fall.

 

Tennessee Gas seeks ‘pre-condemnation’ access for pipeline surveys as 408 Massachusetts landowners resist

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/tennessee_gas_seeks_pre-condem.html

Tennessee Gas says it sent letters and made phone calls, and even tried to make personal contact, but 408 landowners along the proposed route have either “expressly refused to grant Tennessee permission to conduct the surveys” or not responded.

“… (the landowners are) minding their own business and seeking to simply live their lives in peace.”

The list of property owners digging in their heels includes names from across the state. In Western Massachusetts, notable landowners include Deerfield Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon School, First Light Hydro Generating Co. in Northfield, Clarkdale Fruit Farm and Ciesluk Farm in Deerfield and Woolman Hill Quaker Retreat Center in Deerfield.

Notably, the company’s DPU filings do not include a request to enter over 100 conservation parcels in Massachusetts, many of which are protected from development under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution. Tennessee may need legislative approval to gain easements through those properties.

Homeowners Lawyer Up: HALT PennEast Vows to Stop Pipeline

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homeowners-lawyer-up-halt-penneast-vows-to-stop-pipeline-300207958.html

STOCKTON, N.J., Jan. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Homeowners and residents in Mercer and Hunterdon counties that would be directly impacted by the proposed PennEast pipeline have joined forces to create the group – HALT PennEast (“Homeowners Against Land Taking”) to step up their efforts to stop construction of the pipeline. To represent its interests, the group has hired Wiley Rein, a leading Washington D.C. law firm known for its expertise in complex, high-stakes regulatory, litigation, constitutional and transactional matters.

“We will use our fast-growing collective resources to stop the PennEast pipeline,” said Vincent DiBianca of Delaware Township, one of the homeowners leading the group. “Contrary to PennEast’s public relations spin, we intend to prove that there is no valid justification for taking our homes, farms and properties and endangering our livelihoods and families’ well-being for a pipeline that is not needed, not wanted and harmful. We’re committed to putting the breaks on a proposed pipeline that when you look under the covers would solely benefit the private companies behind it, not the public.” PennEast is owned partly by PSE&G, New Jersey Resources and South Jersey Gas.

If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the pipeline, PennEast could use eminent domain to take the private properties it needs to build the pipeline, against the wishes of the homeowners. DiBianca said, “We are already building our case that eminent domain for corporate gain is unconstitutional.” A recent statewide poll by FDU’s PublicMind for ReThink Energy NJ found that 87 percent of New Jersey residents are concerned about “the seizure of private property for private companies” to build pipelines.

“All New Jerseyans need to know that they too could wake up one day and learn that a massive gas pipeline is planned to go right through their properties and communities and they too could face the loss of their homes, farms, and businesses,” said Michael Spille of West Amwell and a member of HALT.

Several homeowners along the proposed pipeline route will lose their ability to farm, temporarily or permanently, as well as rights to use their own land, while still paying taxes on the property. “The livelihoods of many homeowners will be irreparably damaged,” said Laura Wilson from Holland Township. “For one family in particular, the pipeline would run the entire length of their farm, taking out apple and Asian pear orchards, as well as permanently blocking access to their hayfields. Their ability to farm will be destroyed.”

HALT PennEast has identified several areas of inaccurate and misleading claims in what PennEast Pipeline Company LLC has identified as rationale for constructing this pipeline through private lands, including:

Myth #1: Pipeline would help to meet region’s energy demand

Not so.  The Proposed PennEast Pipeline would create a 53% supply surplus above the current level of consumption in New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania. The gas is bound for other markets and is not needed in Jersey. However, the companies that make up PennEast would greatly profit, at the expense of the affected homeowners and communities.

Myth #2: Pipeline will bring a boost to the economy

Not the case. In the end, shockingly, only 10 permanent jobs would result from construction of the pipeline in New Jersey according to an in-depth analysis by The Goodman Group that was released by ReThink Energy NJ in Nov., 2015.  This hardly justifies taking private property from homeowners and threatening their livelihoods, including many farmers directly in the path of the pipeline. The local tourism and real-estate industries could also suffer as scenic areas are marred by construction and property-values are reduced.

DiBianca says, “The real economic growth opportunity for NJ and the country is in clean renewable energy jobs, not in the dirty, non-renewable fossil fuels of coal, oil and gas.” As the Union of Concerned Scientists states, “it’s wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and biomass that provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health and our economy”.

“Our initiative goes beyond protecting our own properties. We are not interested in moving this to our neighbors’ properties or elsewhere in the state. We and our partners are doing diligent homework to establish that NJ doesn’t need it at all,” said Maureen Syrnick of Kingwood Township.

The event was held at the home of Jacqueline Evans in Delaware Township. The proposed pipeline would come right up her driveway and within 100 feet of her home. “I can’t sleep at night because I worry about the safety of my children,” said Evans. “The vast majority of homeowners in the path of the pipeline are adamantly opposed to this and won’t be bought off by PennEast at any price.”

To date, PennEast has not been granted access to about 70 percent of the proposed route in New Jersey due to homeowner opposition. The project is behind schedule as a result. “Our resolve is strengthening and we are pooling our resources legally and otherwise for the long haul,” said DiBianca. “We are going to assertively engage with FERC, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and other decision-makers so they are made fully aware of our grounded and vehement objections.”

HALT PennEast is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to stop the unwanted, unneeded and harmful proposed PennEast pipeline by aggregating our resources, talent and commitment to protect our homes, farms, properties and enterprise and ensure the well being of our families, livelihoods and communities.

Homeowner group wants to HALT PennEast pipeline

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2016/01/homeowner_group_wants_to_halt_penneast_pipeline.html#incart_river_index

or Jacqueline Evans, the fight against the PennEast pipeline isn’t about tree hugging, necessarily. She’s also fighting for her business.

Evans owns an organic farm in Stockton, Hunterdon County, and the proposed 36-inch natural gas conduit is proposed to run through it, potentially negating her organic certification, endangering her livelihood and the way of life she’s worked to achieve.

“We’re fighting for our concept of the American dream,” Evans said. “I think it will destroy our agricultural community. There are going to be businesses who can’t make money.”

Evans was among the 62 people who have formed a community group aimed at stopping the PennEast pipeline, which is proposed to run from northeastern Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township. The $1.2 billion project is under consideration by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The group calls itself HALT (Homeowners Against Land Taking) PennEast, and its members, enlisted from Hunterdon and Mercer counties, claim to be “in it for the long haul,” according to Vince DiBianca, of Delaware Township.

“We’re not a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) group,” DiBianca said. “The case we’re building is that we don’t believe there’s any public good in this project. We don’t want it relocated off our properties, we’re organizing to stop it.”

The group has hired some K Street firepower for their efforts. Steven Richardson, an attorney with longtime Washington D.C.-based firm Wiley Rein and former deputy director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, has been retained by the group, DiBianca said.

“We’re serious, we’re united, we’re organizing and we’re in it for the long haul,” DiBianca said. “We’re standing up to protect our property rights and to stop this unwanted, unneeded and harmful pipeline.”

Tennessee Gas Pipeline asks Department of Public Utilities for access to more than 400 private properties

http://www.gazettenet.com/news/20613929-95/tennessee-gas-pipeline-asks-department-of-public-utilities-for-access-to-more-than-400

The company seeking to build a natural gas pipeline through Franklin County has asked the state Department of Public Utilities for the authority to enter more than 400 private properties to conduct surveys for the controversial project.

Over the past two years since the project was announced, many landowners who have found their properties squarely in the path of the proposed 30-inch diameter, 420-mile pipeline have denied the company access to their land.

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. has responded with letters asking for permission to survey and informing those landowners that it would ask the DPU for access if necessary.

The company also asked for permission in separate filings to conduct geotechnical and vernal pool surveys on various properties.

The company wants to conduct civil, archaeological, cultural resource, wetlands, water body delineation and endangered or rare species surveys to support information in its pending application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates interstate natural gas transportation.

That certificate would grant the company eminent domain powers, allowing it to seize parts of the properties along the route to create right-of-way easements.

Peaceful protesters, undeterred by weather, set off on walk against pipeline

http://www.recorder.com/home/20574954-95/pipeline-walk-slow-to-start-due-to-the-weather

DEERFIELD — A crowd of peaceful protesters are trekking part of the route of the proposed natural-gas pipeline from Northfield to Plainfield, to both commemorate the life of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and to put a stop to the fossil fuel industry’s plan to construct the Tennessee Gas Pipeline that would run through western Massachusetts.

“People are so worried about what is happening locally and globally,” said Sister Clare Carter, a Buddhist nun who has lived at the New England Peace Pagoda in Leverett for nearly 30 years. This is one of many walks she has participated in to promote environmental justice.

“This walk is part of stopping this war on the earth,” she said. “It is so moving. People are coming together.”

Through the bitter January cold, Carter was one of nearly 80 residents who walked to the beat of a drum down the sidewalk in Historic Deerfield on Sunday. They were headed, on foot, towards Conway, the next stop on their three-day journey over Martin Luther King Day weekend. They walked through the rolling, barron Deerfield farm lands with their dogs and children, holding signs condemning the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline. They walked on frozen-over sidewalks, with woolen hats on their heads. Cars followed behind, honking in support, with drivers waving from inside.

The walk is to dispute Kinder Morgan’s NED pipeline project, which is currently under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The 30-inch diameter pipeline would carry 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale fields to Dracut each day, passing through Plainfield in Hampshire County and eight Franklin County towns.

Pipeline concerns prompt town to hold forum, invite N.J. lawmakers

http://www.nj.com/burlington/index.ssf/2016/01/pipeline_concerns_prompt_town_to_hold_forum_invite.html

The proposed $130 million New Jersey Natural Gas pipeline has become a cause of concern for residents and elected officials in several Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean County towns.

The 28-mile, 30-inch Southern Reliability Link would begin in Chesterfield and continue through North Hanover, Upper Freehold, Plumsted and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst before connecting to the utility’s system in Manchester.

Williams Co., which owns and operates the Transco pipeline, is also awaiting approval to build a compressor station that would take gas from its Trenton Woodbury line and send it into the NJNG pipeline.

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She said the compressor station is most concerning to township residents since it would sit on the Bordentown-Chesterfield border.

“The expanse of that project and the environmental degradation that it would bring to our area is phenomenal,” she said. “If there is a blowdown and if there is, worst-case scenario, a leak or an explosion, we have schools, churches and homes in that area that would be directly affected.”

Williams also wants a permanent easement from Bordentown Township, but facing opposition, may have to take over the property through eminent domain.

“We want no part of their project,” Popko said. “We do not support their project and we don’t want them on our public property at all. They’re not welcome.”