JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)issued today a draft Environmental Impact Statement for Spectra Energy’s proposed natural gas pipeline and is now seeking public comments.
The New Jersey – New York Expansion Project has been proposed by Texas Eastern Transmission, LP and Algonquin Gas Transmission. If approved by 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.
The proposed pipeline has proven controversial with local residents.
In its draft Environmental Impact Statement, FERC states notes that, “Construction and operation of the proposed pipeline and aboveground facilities would not materially alter the geologic conditions of the Project area. Seismic hazards, landslides, flash flooding, and subsidence are unlikely to impact the Project facilities. It is also very unlikely that hard, crystalline bedrock requiring blasting would be encountered during the installation of the proposed pipeline and the majority of the aboveground facilities.”
To read the full draft Environmental Impact Statement, visit
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis/2011/09-09-11-eis.asp.
Written comments are due by Oct. 31, 2011.
FERC said Friday that it will hold four public meetings to obtain in-person statements regarding the pipeline. As of Sept. 9, however, the federal agency had not yet announced when or where these public meetings will take place.
The proposal has met with opposition from local residents, activists, and elected leaders – including Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, members of the Jersey City and Hoboken city councils, and U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Opponents argue the pipeline presents a potential hazard to the neighborhoods through which the pipeline will run and will lower property values along the pipeline route. – E. Assata Wright