JERSEY CITY – City Councilman Steven Fulop testified today before the New Jersey Transit Authority on the issue of the Spectra pipeline. Spectra has petitioned NJ Transit to ensure and expedite the sale of NJ Transit-owned land necessary to build its controversial pipeline.
“I am here today to remind the New Jersey Transit Authority that their mission is not to be a real estate broker, but to provide safe ways for commuters to ride public transportation,” Councilman Fulop said. “A premature a sale of property would be counter to NJ Transit’s mission in every way and counter to the best interest of residents of Jersey City.”
If approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the proposed pipeline would include 19.8 miles of new and replacement pipes, six new stations, and other related modifications in Linden, Jersey City, and Bayonne. In Jersey City, the underground pipeline route would run through nearly every municipal ward and near such sensitive areas as Jersey City Medical Center, several schools, the Holland Tunnel, the New Jersey Turnpike, and transportation infrastructure near the Jersey City-Hoboken border.
The pipeline would cross the Hudson River into New York to connect the company’s existing pipeline infrastructure to Manhattan and Staten Island, supplying customers of Con Edison.
Spectra has also said that it will supply energy to power facilities operated by Bayonne Plant Holding and Boilers at the International Matex Tank Terminals, also in Bayonne. It is designed to bring 800 million cubic feet of natural gas each day to the two states, according to the project web site.
Local resistance
Because of the pipeline’s close proximity to sensitive areas, local activists and city officials have argued that a natural gas explosion could cause mass casualties and significantly damage important transportation infrastructure.
“Some of the land in question runs parallel to important transportation infrastructure, including the Pulaski Skyway the New Jersey Turnpike and areas of the light rail system. This increases the risk and danger to the NJ Transit’s rider-ship. We urge the New Jersey Transit Authority not to sell the land voluntarily and willingly,” Fulop told NJ Transit. “I am here today to make that clear and advocate for the safety of Jersey City residents.”
The Jersey City Council and the administration of Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy have been united in opposing Spectra’s current plans for the pipeline.
Several construction union groups support the project and have said they would welcome the 5,000 regional jobs the company said the project will create. They say that fears about the natural gas pipeline are exaggerated.
Spectra Energy officials have repeatedly stated that the pipeline can and will be built safely.
In anticipation of FERC approval sometime this summer Spectra is currently trying to shore up land the company will need to build the project. Next Monday (April 16) at 3 p.m. the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will also hold a public hearing on a request by Spectra to divert and rent less than an acre of land near Liberty State Park for the pipeline. The public hearing will take place at 3 p.m. at Liberty State Park, 1 Audrey Zapp Drive in the CRRNJ Terminal Building.
The DEP will also accept written comments regarding Spectra’s proposed lease of state-owned land through April 20. Written comments can be sent to Nancy Lawrence in the DEP’s Green Acres Program, nancy.lawrence@dep.state.nj.us.
Meanwhile, Fulop said today that he plans to sponsor a resolution to be sent to the NJ Transit and Turnpike Authority Board formally requesting that no land sales take place before FERC renders a decision. – E. Assata Wright