Organizations Legally Challenge Tennessee Gas Pipeline Project
Effort to block construction based on flawed environmental review by agency
Washington, D.C.
- Three environmental groups – Delaware Riverkeeper Network, New Jersey
Sierra Club, and the New Jersey Highlands Coalition -- have filed a
request for rehearing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) requesting they rescind their approval for the construction of
Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) Northeast Upgrade Project (NEUP). NEUP
is proposed to be built spanning portions of Pennsylvania and northern
New Jersey and crossing under the Delaware River just above the Delaware
Water Gap National Recreation Area. For a copy of the filing, go to:
To see the map and exhibits: http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/resources/Testimonies/TGP_NEUP_Rehearing_Exhibits.pdf
The
organizations are challenging the approval because FERC did not fulfill
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act which
requires that the full extent of environmental impacts, including
cumulative impacts, be considered when making the requisite analysis of
the adverse impacts weighed against public benefits. The filed legal
documents insist that a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is
required and that FERC cannot allow TGP to avoid accurate environmental
review by “segmentation”, or cutting up the pipeline review into small
parts to dodge comprehensive analysis.
"This
is not the wild west! The gas drillers and pipeline companies have to
stop acting like it is and the agencies have to stop letting them get
away with it when they do," said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware
Riverkeeper. "There are laws that apply here. And while those laws are
far from what is necessary to protect communities and the environment,
they do apply and must be complied with. And if our regulatory agencies
aren't going to enforce the requirements of the law, then we as citizens
will," added van Rossum.
"We
are asking for a rehearing to get FERC to do the job they should have
done in the first place. We believe strongly that FERC did not do a
proper environmental analysis and should have done a full Environmental
Impact Statement. We believe they violated the NEPA process and they
need to have a re-hearing to correct their mistake," said Jeff Tittel,
Director, New Jersey Sierra Club. "They did not look at the impacts to
human health and water supply, endangered species, open space, and
historic resources. They did not look at the secondary impacts from
fracking. We believe this is the wrong project in the wrong place and
one of the most destructive pipelines ever proposed in the United States
and FERC needs to reopen this process and have a rehearing."
"Segmenting
the project prevents an accurate assessment of the impacts to the
Highlands water supply area," said Julia Somers, Executive Director of
the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. "The Highlands water users will be
left to pay for the eventual increased water treatment costs resulting
from this and the other pipeline projects," said Somers.
FERC
issued an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the project in November
2011 that found “no significant impact” even though the three
organizations who are appealing - all official Intervenors in the FERC
proceedings - and many other interested parties submitted significant
comments calling for an EIS due to the vulnerable resources of the
region. These resources include high quality streams and wetlands,
forests and other important habitats, the Delaware River and the
adjacent national recreation area, public lands, and other natural,
scenic and historic resources.
The
Request for Rehearing was filed before FERC on June 28, 2012. FERC has
a 30 day period to grant or deny the request. If they do not grant the
request to rescind the order and conduct the fully required NEPA
analysis, the organizations expect to appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court.
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