Pinelands Comm. Says No To SJ Gas Pipeline

The Pinelands Commission sent a March 6 letter to the South Jersey Gas Company explaining it is withdrawing its approval of a 22-mile pipeline that would have been used to create a gas-powered B.L. England power plant. RC Cape May Holdings recently announced it would not be repowering the plant, and would not use the pipeline.

“We are glad to see the Pinelands Commission has finally woken up and recognized that the pipeline violates the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). It was an entirely unnecessary project. The pipeline would create an ugly scar across the Pinelands cutting through environmentally sensitive land while undermining efforts to transition to renewable energy and reduce climate change impacts. The area is a U.N. biosphere reserve, and the pipeline would cause irreversible damage to wetlands and streams while damaging the region’s pristine aquifer. This is the first positive thing we have seen from the Pinelands Commission in a long time,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “B.L. England came to its senses by withdrawing from the lawsuit on the application for its power plant. It’s ironic that Rockland Capital, owners of B.L. England, have done more to protect the Pinelands than the Pinelands Commission. Now the Commission is being forced to do its job, which is to follow the CMP to protect the Pinelands. “

Nancy Wittenberg, executive director of the Pinelands Commission, explained in a letter to South Jersey Gas that approval of the pipeline had been based on serving the B.L. England plant. “The approval granted by the Commission was based on and specific to the particular project proposed. Since the factual basis for the Commission’s approval has substantially changed, that approval can no longer be justified and South Jersey Gas will need to make a new application to the Commission for any new or amended project through the Pinelands Area,” the letter read.

“We have always said that the B.L. England plant isn’t needed. PJM, the regional grid operator, said that the plant wasn’t needed and that it only needed minor upgrades to the grid, which have already been done. The state Attorney General had already written a letter saying B.L. England’s decision not to reopen invalidates the pipeline approval. Now the Commission has reached the same conclusion,” said Tittel. “The purpose of this pipeline was to build a natural gas plant in Cape May, now that purpose is hot air.”

The proposed SJG pipeline would cut a 22-mile long scar through the Pinelands, impacting critical drinking water for millions of people and blocking New Jersey’s clean-energy goals.

“Our court date has been pushed back to June.. We have to remain vigilant because RC Holdings can sell this plant to another natural gas power company. South Jersey Gas can also come back with another application. That’s why it is so critical that Gov. Murphy move ahead with new appointments to the Pinelands Commission, and place a moratorium on all fossil-fuel infrastructure projects,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We want to work to make sure that the B.L. England site becomes a port to support offshore wind, making a former coal plant support our clean energy future. “