The Sierra Club director writes that pipeline opponents should again make their concerns known to Pinelands Commission members.
To the Editor:
In a major victory that upholds the protection of the Pinelands, a state appellate court has ruled against the Christie administration's attempts to ram approval of a South Jersey Gas Co. pipeline through the Pinelands Commission.
This pipeline would cut an ugly scar through the environmentally sensitive Pinelands, threaten a U.N. biosphere reserve, and put 17 trillion gallons of drinking water at risk. The Nov. 7 ruling is a major setback for the administration and puts this destructive pipeline on hold. The 22-mile pipeline would bring natural gas to the B.L. England electricity generation plant in Cape May County, allowing it to operate on that fuel.
Acting on a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations, the court ruled that Pinelands Commission Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg exceeded her authority when she approved the pipeline in 2015. She did this to get around a full vote by the commission, which denied approval for the pipeline in 2014.
The court not only overturned Wittenberg's actions, but also a state Board of Public Utilities' approval of the pipeline based on her actions. The matter was returned to the full Pinelands Commission for another vote.
This is a big win against the abuse of power and arrogance by Gov. Chris Christie's administration. This pipeline is so damaging and unnecessary that three former governors joined our litigation.
This also shows how bad the Christie administration has been when it comes to protecting the Pinelands. Even though we won the case, we still have a lot of work to do. We need to get the public to get the Pinelands Commission to stand up to the governor and deny this pipeline like it did two years ago.
Jeff Tittel
Director
New Jersey Sierra Club
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