LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS JOIN IMPACTED LANDOWNERS TO DECRY PENNEAST PIPELINE’S SEIZURE OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LANDS  

• Vow continued fight against unneeded project 
• First time in State history taxpayer-preserved lands seized through eminent domain

A bipartisan group of elected officials will join conservation leaders and citizen landowners whose land will be seized by PennEast pipeline after a court ruling on Friday, for an infrastructure project that will serve no public benefit. This is the first time in the state’s history that preserved open space has been condemned.

Bipartisan elected officials from townships along the pipeline’s proposed route will be present at this event. The speakers will strongly condemn the outcome of a decision in the U.S. District Court in Trenton on December 19, and will vow their continued opposition to the pipeline project that still needs approval from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Delaware River Basin Commission. PennEast is a proposed pipeline that would transport 1 billion cubic feet/day of fracked gas 118-miles from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania into Hunterdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey. Experts have found no market need for this new pipeline in order to meet current or projected gas demands in New Jersey.

This event will take place at 17 Benjamin Trail, Pennington, NJ, one of more than 100 homes that will now be partially condemned for the unapproved PennEast project. PennEast still needs water permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and an approval from the Delaware River Basin Commission before it can be built.

WHAT: 

Affected Landowners, Land Trusts, & Elected Officials Condemn PennEast Pipeline’s Abuse of Eminent Domain for Unapproved, Unneeded Pipeline

WHERE/WHEN:

Wednesday, December 19, 11:00 a.m.                              

Condemned Family home owned by Loretta Varhley, Property Seized by PennEast

17 Benjamin Trail, Pennington, NJ

WHO:                        

• State, county and local level bipartisan elected officials

o   U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12)

o   U.S. Congressman-elect Tom Malinowski (D-7)

o   Sen. Shirley Turner (D-15)

o   Assm. Anthony Verrelli (D-15) (Invited)

o   Assemblyman Zwicker (D-16) (Invited)

• Officials from Townships along proposed pipeline route:

o   Hopewell Township Committeewoman Kristin McLaughlin (D)

o   Committee member Richard Dodds (R), Kingwood Twp., NJ

• Citizen homeowners impacted by PennEast eminent domain
• New Jersey Conservation Foundation
• Hunterdon Land Trust
• HALT – PennEast (Homeowners Against Land Taking)
• Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
• New Jersey Highlands Coalition
• The Watershed Institute
• NJ League of Conservation Voters

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