Below is a link to what I just found out is a propsed natural gas pipeline that would travel, at least partially, through the pinelands, and ending at Beesly's point in Cape May county. Can anyone here share more about anything about this, esp. the proposed right-of-way/ line of disturbance-? I haven't seen a map of it but that would be ideal. This would be pretty huge and I can't imagine this getting passed for construction to commence on this.
I work directly on the environmental side of pipeline projects identical to this. I can tell you they are fucking monstrosities, best way I can describe the process is that the land gets absolutely raped in the process- it's brutal. The average joe has no idea, as the actual construction process gets zero media exposure. To see this in the barrens or anywhere close to it would completely blow my mind.
I can't see it happening, but if the pinelands commission were to green light this they would lose every shred of credibilty from an environmental perspective, and rightly so. Hopefully this gets shot down but it sure caught my attention and thought I'd share it here.
If you dont trust the link or whatever, I pasted the main portion of the actual article below the link....
http://www.phillyburbs.com/00redesi...cle_0cd51b91-1f26-541e-8ae8-71e185ec6c57.html
"........One must wonder why the Pinelands Commission is considering granting permission to South Jersey Gas to install a pipeline through this pristine, precious land. Already, half of the Pinelands has been lost to development, while the rest of it is endangered from the pressure of off-road vehicles, further development and now this.
Forbidden under the Comprehensive Management Plan, a variance would have to be granted to allow the pipeline, whose purpose is to carry fracked, liquid gas to repower the B.L. England power plant in Beesley’s Point, Upper Township, Cape May County. The pipeline is 22 miles long, 24 inches in diameter — 15 miles of which will run through designated Forest Area, Rural Development Area and Village Area. It will be sunk in some places to a depth of 4 feet and to 60 feet where it will run under two ponds, a river, a creek and wetlands.
Since this project is a violation of the Comprehensive Management Plan, why should the Pinelands Commission allow it? Why should the governor approve it?
Does it benefit the Pinelands and those dependent upon it, including ourselves? It is not reasonable to assume that in its lifetime, this wretched pipeline will never rupture, crack or leak and spill its poison into the pure Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer — the source of drinking water for wildlife and thousands of people. We cannot expect the increasingly fragile Pinelands will be safe. Google “pipeline incidents or accidents” and view in horror the list that emerges.
Why is the Pinelands Commission refusing to hear testimony about the environmental impact of the pipeline from an independent scientist, a restoration ecologist who has offered his services free of charge?
The profit motive is not enough for us to risk certain damage to a national treasure that once lost can never be restored. The damage wrought by construction alone, even if all goes right, will cause irreparable harm. There are other ways to get power to the B.L. England power plant, some using sustainable, alternative fuels. There are even pipeline routes that would avoid the Pinelands.
A treasure unlike any other has been entrusted to the Pinelands Commission, the governor and all of us to protect for our children and those who will follow them. The pitch pines, orchids, sundews, tree frogs — all creatures of the Pinelands and all who care about them — cry out to you: “Hear our pleas and say no to the pipeline. The Pinelands sustain us body and soul and could be lost forever at the stroke of a pen.”
If you have questions about this issue or want to attend meetings to express your concerns, visit the Pinelands Commission website, www.state.nj.us/pinelands/, and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, www.pinelandsalliance.org, to learn about the effects of the pipeline and what you can do. "
I work directly on the environmental side of pipeline projects identical to this. I can tell you they are fucking monstrosities, best way I can describe the process is that the land gets absolutely raped in the process- it's brutal. The average joe has no idea, as the actual construction process gets zero media exposure. To see this in the barrens or anywhere close to it would completely blow my mind.
I can't see it happening, but if the pinelands commission were to green light this they would lose every shred of credibilty from an environmental perspective, and rightly so. Hopefully this gets shot down but it sure caught my attention and thought I'd share it here.
If you dont trust the link or whatever, I pasted the main portion of the actual article below the link....
http://www.phillyburbs.com/00redesi...cle_0cd51b91-1f26-541e-8ae8-71e185ec6c57.html
"........One must wonder why the Pinelands Commission is considering granting permission to South Jersey Gas to install a pipeline through this pristine, precious land. Already, half of the Pinelands has been lost to development, while the rest of it is endangered from the pressure of off-road vehicles, further development and now this.
Forbidden under the Comprehensive Management Plan, a variance would have to be granted to allow the pipeline, whose purpose is to carry fracked, liquid gas to repower the B.L. England power plant in Beesley’s Point, Upper Township, Cape May County. The pipeline is 22 miles long, 24 inches in diameter — 15 miles of which will run through designated Forest Area, Rural Development Area and Village Area. It will be sunk in some places to a depth of 4 feet and to 60 feet where it will run under two ponds, a river, a creek and wetlands.
Since this project is a violation of the Comprehensive Management Plan, why should the Pinelands Commission allow it? Why should the governor approve it?
Does it benefit the Pinelands and those dependent upon it, including ourselves? It is not reasonable to assume that in its lifetime, this wretched pipeline will never rupture, crack or leak and spill its poison into the pure Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer — the source of drinking water for wildlife and thousands of people. We cannot expect the increasingly fragile Pinelands will be safe. Google “pipeline incidents or accidents” and view in horror the list that emerges.
Why is the Pinelands Commission refusing to hear testimony about the environmental impact of the pipeline from an independent scientist, a restoration ecologist who has offered his services free of charge?
The profit motive is not enough for us to risk certain damage to a national treasure that once lost can never be restored. The damage wrought by construction alone, even if all goes right, will cause irreparable harm. There are other ways to get power to the B.L. England power plant, some using sustainable, alternative fuels. There are even pipeline routes that would avoid the Pinelands.
A treasure unlike any other has been entrusted to the Pinelands Commission, the governor and all of us to protect for our children and those who will follow them. The pitch pines, orchids, sundews, tree frogs — all creatures of the Pinelands and all who care about them — cry out to you: “Hear our pleas and say no to the pipeline. The Pinelands sustain us body and soul and could be lost forever at the stroke of a pen.”
If you have questions about this issue or want to attend meetings to express your concerns, visit the Pinelands Commission website, www.state.nj.us/pinelands/, and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, www.pinelandsalliance.org, to learn about the effects of the pipeline and what you can do. "
