PSE&G Denies Pilgrim Pipeline Access to Montville Right-of-Way
“Plans to build an oil pipeline from Albany, NY to Linden, NJ were effectively stalled when PSE&G told Pilgrim it will not allow access to its right-of-way, according to an email from PSE&G spokeswoman Karen Johnson to NJ.com.
“We told Pilgrim that it was not in the best interests of the utility or its customers to allow access to the right of way,” Johnson said, according to NJ.com.
“This right-of-way already contains transmission, distribution and gas facilities,” Johnson added this week, according to NJ.com. “At the time, we said that building another pipeline in the same right-of-way could interfere with these existing facilities, as well as future potential uses of this property for the provision of safe and reliable electric and gas service.”
Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings, LLC, had planned to utilize PSE&G-held rights-of-way that cross Montville to build its pipeline, a move that residents and the Township Committee opposed. The Township Committee passed a resolution stating this fact on Sept. 23, 2014 (Read it HERE). Reasons for the opposition included “significant safety concerns for the Township of Montville, as well as potential harm to municipal and county infrastructure,” the use of heavy construction equipment near homes which would impact soil and could cause flooding, the hazards caused by bringing highly flammable oil through Montville, the decline of property values resulting in a loss of tax revenue for the Township, and the danger the pipeline poses to the Township’s aquifer.”
Benno, Melissa. Tap Into Montville 1 March 2015.