March 2018, Vol. 245, No. 3

Projects

PennEast Pipeline Sidelined by Courts for Now

New Jersey’s Department of Environ-mental Protection (DEP) said an application for the PennEast Pipeline to bring natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to the state is missing information and was rejected, at least temporarily.

The DEP, in a letter to PennEast,  stated the company had not resubmitted documents for a freshwater wetlands permit and the application was denied. In June, the DEP told PennEast it was closing the application because of missing information.

PennEast may reapply, and the company told AP it plans to, but did not say when.

Federal regulators recently approved the project over protests from environmental groups, who say it could scar the landscape. The approval came two weeks after a severe regional cold spell that forced natural gas prices in New Jersey to skyrocket 31 times above the low-cost gas supplies that PennEast will access.

The 120-mile pipeline route begins in the Marcellus Shale production area near Dallas, PA, and connects with the existing underground Transcontinental Pipeline near Pennington, New Jersey. The route includes 24 municipalities in Pennsylvania and six in New Jersey.