New Jersey regulators found PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC's new application for a number of wetlands and flood hazard permits deficient in the latest setback for the natural gas project designed to connect the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
In a four-page Sept. 4 letter to PennEast, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection gave the developer 30 days to address the issues and submit the missing or incomplete materials. The department may close the application if PennEast fails to provide the required information within the period.
The department determined that PennEast did not submit either a right of way agreement or order of condemnation for seven properties along the proposed alignment for the 1.1-Bcf/d gas pipeline. The company also failed to submit a certified list of all real property owners and a revised list of parcels along the route.
PennEast is also required to submit additional fees for each bridge crossing over all regulated waters. The agency told PennEast to review a letter from Thomas Ciacciarelli, mayor of Kingwood Township, N.J., who claimed that the town's copy of the permit application was incomplete.
In a Sept. 6 emailed statement, PennEast said it is reviewing the letter and will work on providing the information needed by the department to start its review of the permit application. "PennEast also is committed to working with the department as this process moves forward," spokeswoman Pat Kornick said.
Kornick noted that the approved project route was "designed with feedback from the [New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection] to minimize environmental impacts."
PennEast faced opposition from environmental groups, landowners, lawmakers and state agencies throughout its development. The company anticipated beginning construction in 2020, but some of the project sponsors pushed back their spending plans to 2021. PennEast is jointly owned by affiliates of Enbridge Inc., Southern Co. Inc., New Jersey Resources Corp., South Jersey Industries Inc. and UGI Corp.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the roughly $1 billion pipeline project in January 2018. The project would consist of a compressor station and a 120-mile, 36-inch-diameter pipeline running between Luzerne County, Pa., and Mercer County, N.J. (FERC docket CP15-558)
