The much-feared natural gas pipeline proposed to run through Jersey City could be one step closer to reality once Spectra Energy files a formal application next month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to begin construction.
But Jersey City officials plan to try to stop the project by filing for “intervenor status” with the FERC at the same time Spectra puts in their paperwork. Granted intervenor status, the city would have legal standing if a lawsuit is filed to stop the pipeline, which is also proposed to run through Bayonne and along the southern border of Hoboken.
It is intended to carry 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Texas through Hudson County to New York City customers of Con Edison. One of the major hazards critics point out is that it will run past three public schools and other landmarks such as Liberty State Park.
The pipeline, if ever approved for construction, would be 30 inches in diameter and run for over eight miles through Bayonne and Jersey City underground no more than six feet below ground.
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Residents, meanwhile, are up in arms over this project because it will run through residential neighborhoods and pose a serious risk if an explosion or some other catastrophe occurs.
Several Downtown Jersey City citizens have organized a group with a website, NoGasPipeline.org, which has been working with the city to inform the public about the pipeline and how they can oppose it.
Hoboken joins the opposition
In late October, the Hoboken city council passed a resolution, sponsored by council members Theresa Castellano and Michael Russo, intended to pre-empt any effort to try to run the pipeline through the city, a measure prompted by the fact that the current design shows the pipeline located close to Hoboken’s southern border.
The organizers of the NoGasPipeline.org website were invited to address residents of the 4th Ward, which extends to the city’s southern border, at the campaign headquarters of council candidate, now council member, Tim Occhipinti. Several who attended that meeting pointed out that if an explosion were to occur some of the 4th Ward would be in the “blast zone.”
Mayor Dawn Zimmer has also gone on record along with Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy as opposing the gas pipeline.
Stopping by any means
As part of the information campaign, NoGasPipeline.org and the city sponsored a screening of the award-winning documentary, “Gasland,” on Nov.6 at the Loew’s Theatre in Journal Square, which was followed by a Q&A with Mayor Healy and City Council members Steven Fulop and Ray Velazquez.
Healy, Fulop and other opponents want the pipeline re-routed so it goes from Staten Island directly to Manhattan via an underwater route.
The council has introduced ordinances to amend plans for 10 redevelopment areas spanning the path of the proposed Spectra pipeline: Caven Point, Bates Street, Grand Jersey, Greenville Industrial, Jersey Avenue Light Rail, Jersey Avenue Park, Jersey Avenue Tenth Street, Liberty Harbor, Montgomery Street, and Morris Canal. The bulk of the redevelopment areas are in downtown Jersey City but also impacted is the Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette section.
The significance of the amendments was pointed out a few days before the council meeting at the “Gasland” screening when Mayor Healy said that the construction of the pipeline could impact on millions of dollars of development taking place in those corridors, and “affect property values.”
Downtown resident and NoGasPipeline.org co-founder Dale Hardman highlighted the dangers of the pipeline going through a densely populated city during the Q&A session. He mentioned the term, “BP on land” (referring to the British Petroleum oil tanker explosion earlier this year) while talking about the gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif. in September that caused a billion dollars in damage and killed eight people.
Fulop also spoke about amending the redevelopment plans at the screening.
“Again, this is just another aspect to a roadblock there, it is not an end-all restriction,” Fulop said. “But what we are doing is we’re lining up the ducks in a row so we can move forward and have the necessary leverage to fight the good fight.”
More importantly, Fulop as well as others on the panel encouraged the public to write to state and federal legislators to ask them to file for intervenor status.
Spectra pipes up
Marylee Hanley, spokesperson for Spectra Energy’s NJ/NY Expansion Project (as the proposed pipeline construction is called) issued the following statement about amending the redevelopment plans.
“While we’re not in a position to comment on the specific redevelopment zone ordinances being voted on by the city council, we can tell you that, specific to our pipeline proposal, we are committed to continuing conversations with city officials to listen to their concerns and to talk about various items such as the numerous safety measures we’ve built in to the pipeline design, the benefits to Jersey City such as jobs and property tax relief, and the general need for the pipeline.”
Spectra, in particular, are touting an estimated $2.1 million in taxes they would pay to the city during the lifetime of the pipeline and hundreds of jobs that would come with the construction.
The pipeline, if ever approved for construction, would be 30 inches in diameter and run for over eight miles through Bayonne and Jersey City underground no more than six feet below ground.
As for the filing the application with FERC for the pipeline, while the city was led to believe that Spectra would do so on Christmas Eve, a Spectra representative said that the application could be filed in mid-December, which would start the process toward the erecting of the pipeline.
Spectra expects to start building in spring 2012 if they receive approvals from all the necessary agencies, with completion by November 2013 when the pipeline would be put into service.
The public learns more
For those who may have only heard about the pipeline but don’t know all the details, they can learn more by visiting www.nogaspipeline.org or the city’s website, www.cityofjerseycity.com.
Also, upcoming community meetings are scheduled, with some to be attended by Spectra officials so they can answer questions.
The meetings are as follows: the next Van Vorst Park Association meeting this Tuesday, Nov. 16 7:30 p.m. at the Barrow Mansion with Dale Hardman and Stephen Musgrave of NoGasPipeline.org as guest speakers; the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) Meeting on Dec. 1, 7:45 p.m. at Public School 37 on Erie Street with Spectra officials attending, and on Dec. 14, 6 p.m. at the Mary McLeod Bethune Community Center, 140 Martin Luther King Dr. with NoGasPipeline.org giving a presentation on the pipeline and its impact on Ward F organized by Councilwoman Viola Richardson.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.