JERSEY CITY – Days before federal regulators were scheduled to host four public hearings on a controversial natural gas pipeline that could run through Jersey City and Bayonne, Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy released an anti-pipeline public service announcement (PSA).
The mayor – a vocal opponent of a proposed natural gas pipeline that Spectra Energy wants to build through his city – said the PSA is meant to encourage residents to attend next Wednesday’s public hearing in Jersey City.
The three-minute video, titled “No Gas Pipeline in Jersey City,” can be seen on the municipal web site and through YouTube.com.
If approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the proposed pipeline would include the construction and operation of 19.8 miles of new and replacement 42- and 30-inch-diameter pipeline, six new metering and regulating stations, and other related facility abandonments and modifications in Linden, Jersey City near the Hoboken border, and Bayonne.
The pipeline would then cross the Hudson River into New York to connect the company’s existing pipeline infrastructure in the region to Manhattan and Staten Island.
Because of the pipeline’s close proximity to residential areas, local activists and the Healy administration have argued that a natural gas explosion could cause mass casualties and significantly damage important transportation infrastructure. In addition, Healy has noted that the potential hazards posed by a gas pipeline will hurt future commercial and residential
development along 18th Street.
Before FERC can render a decision on the project it is required to hold public hearings. Next week FERC will host four hearings on Spectra’s proposed pipeline. One of these four hearings will take place in Jersey City on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Ferris High School, at 35 Colgate St.
To see the city’s PSA, visit the municipal web site at
http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/ or log in to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eblHZIZTddo. – E. Assata Wright
Healy releases ‘No Gas Pipeline in Jersey City’ video
