Army Corps grants permit for pipeline upgrade

MILFORD — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on March 22 issued a permit for Tennessee Gas Company's Northeast Upgrade, turning aside the urgent plea of 67 environmental groups and hundreds of local citizens that it be stopped.

The permit allows Tennessee Gas to build a natural gas pipeline — Loops 317, 319, 321, and 323 — in Bradford, Wayne, and Pike counties in Pennsylvania, and Sussex County in New Jersey.

In a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. stated that they had received all required federal permits, including those needed from the Obama administration’s Army Corps of Engineers for wetland, streams, and river crossings in Pennsylvania.

Frank Cianfrani, chief regulator for the Philadelphia District, said in a letter that the Corps issued its permit "after a complete review" and "in full consideration of all the comments and recommendations received."

No Environmental Impact Statement will be done. FERC is the lead federal agency of the Northeast Upgrade. In its Environmental Assessment, required by the National Environmental Policy Act, FERC determined that the proposed work "would not have a significant impact on the human environment and therefore an Environmental Impact Statement has not been prepared."

Cianfrani said the Army Corps was "a cooperating agency' in preparing the Environmental Assessment.

"On balance, based on the Corps' evaluation of all pertinent information, it has been determined that the proposed project complies with applicable Federal regulations/guidelines and is not contrary to the general public interest and that the public interest would be best served by approving the proposed work."

The letter included a nod to the environment.

"Permit conditions have been added to the Department of the Army permit to ensure that the impacts associated with the project will be minimal," Cianfrani stated.

"We are outraged by the...decision, but unfortunately not surprised," said anti-pipeline activist Jolie DeFeis of Save Cummins Hill on Thursday morning. "In his State of the Union address, President Obama stated that he would 'cut the red tape for oil and gas' and this permit is the Obama administration doing exactly that at the expense of our Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities."

Tree cutting completed
Tree clearing for the pipeline started in February, after the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied an emergency motion for a stay that had been filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, New Jersey Highlands Coalition, the Sierra Club, and New Jersey Chapter to stop FERC from allowing Tennessee Gas to proceed. They said Tennessee Gas illegally gained piecemeal permits for smaller pipelines designed to create a much larger project.

According to Save Cummins Hill, Tennessee Gas was forced to leave the trees laying in Pennsylvania because they had not received the Army Corps' permit. "Now, heavy equipment can move in," stated DeFeis on Thursday. "Tree removal and trenching Loop 325 in Bergen and Passaic Counties is already underway. New Jersey wetland jurisdiction is within their state’s Department of Environmental Protection and those permits have already been issued."

Save Cummins Hill says the 40-plus-mile project will disturb 450 acres of land, 90 streams, and 136 wetlands. They say a 7.2-mile jug handle detour is an "unnecessary path of destruction" that will kill "thousands of trees, crossing Exceptional Value Trout streams, steep cliffs, ravines, stealing private property through eminent domain. The pipeline will clear cut 100-foot swath scarring the Historic Route 6 Cliffs and ending up adjacent to the Delaware Valley School District main campus where it will then cross the Delaware River."

DeFeis said Thursday, “It is shocking that it took them nine months to ultimately fall into line with FERC....It is particularly mind blowing that their permit basically acknowledges that they really didn’t look any further as they promised.”

Cummins Hill resident Linda Klee wrote in a letter to the Army Corps: “Your agency ignored every fact and every piece of evidence, pictures and video, present and past that was sent to you showing damage to wetlands and streams occurring and that had occurred, and numerous violations by Tennessee Gas on Loop 323 and the 300 line. No Environmental Impact Study was ever done. There is an island in the middle of the Delaware River in a flood zone home to numerous migratory birds that will be impacted. Well, that is just great work Army Corps! Great Job! As a retired military family we will not salute you!”

Economic benefit expected
Supporters of the pipeline point to the promise of economic benefits.

An economic analysis of the upgrade in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, prepared for Tennessee Gas by researchers at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, says the upgrade will have a significant economic benefit locally.

“The $58.9 million in spending in Pennsylvania translates directly into 704 job-years, $26.5 million in labor income, and $34.0 million in gross domestic product (GDP or wealth),” states the analysis, which was published in March 2011. “This activity directly related to the pipeline upgrade will support and additional 396 job-years, $11.4 million in labor income, and $17.4 million in GDP within Pennsylvania....In net, 1,100 job years of employment will be generated that will be paid about $37.8 million, and $51.4 million in total GDP will be generated.”

About 43 percent of the job-years in Pennsylvania will be created in the construction industry, the analysis states, with “a good number of jobs” supported in other industries: “Most notable are jobs in the retail and service sector, each of which will support about 20 percent of the job-years....As in the New Jersey case, the employment in these sectors will be created by contractors and employees of Tennessee, who will stay at local motels and hotels and eat at local restaurants and diners. But many will also be in support of the households of pipeline construction workers.”

The average annual pay per job will be about $37,600 for those employed directly and just over $28,700 for those employed indirectly but supported directly by the project activity, according to the analysis.

Online
Save Cummins Hill:
www.savecumminshill.com

Rutgers' economic analysis:
www.kindermorgan.com/business/gas_pipelines/projects/northeastupgrade/Economic_Report_050911.pdf