Mahwah Passes Resolution Opposing Pilgrim Pipeline

By Kate Millsaps, Conservation Program Coordinator, NJ Sierra Club and Anne Powley

Mahwah became the eighth community in New Jersey to pass a resolution opposing the Pilgrim Pipeline project last week.

In addition to opposing the newly proposed infrastructure, the resolution calls for a moratorium on surveying and project planning within the municipality and for a thorough environmental review to be conducted to assess the project’s environmental impacts.

By passing this resolution, Mahwah has taken the first step in protecting its residents and environment from the potential impacts that would come with the construction and operation of a new pipeline that would expose the community to the potential pollution of its sole water source aquifer with no benefit to the community.

“The voice of the people of the Township has been heard in this resolution, who are united in their opposition to this pipeline and the threat it poses to our drinking water and the environment,” Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet said. “Residents spoke loud and clear and this resolution is just the first step. This is a resolution which is significant not only for today, but will protect our environment for generations.”

The Pilgrim Pipeline is being proposed to link Albany, New York, and Linden and Port Readng, New Jersey. The project would consist of two pipelines, one carrying highly toxic crude oil and the other carrying refined products up to Albany. The pipeline would cross through environmentally sensitive areas critical for drinking water supply. Mahwah residents receive drinking water from the Ramapo River Basin Aquifer System, which also provides water to Ramsey, Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Allendale, Wayne and Pompton Lakes.

In 1990, Mahwah had the foresight to request that the EPA designate it as a Sole Source Aquifer under the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that it receive special protections. With this resolution, the Council is seeking to further protect the Aquifer from potential leaks that could cause irreparable harm that cannot be mitigated.

“In response to concerns raised by citizens which were amplified by the findings of the Mahwah Township Environmental Commission, the Mahwah Township Council has joined an ever growing list of municipalities across New Jersey who are voicing their collective opposition to the proposed Pilgrim pipeline project which would traverse protected areas of the New Jersey Highlands,” said Jonathan Marcus, Mahwah Environmental Commission member.

“While the proposed pipeline might physically only be in certain municipalities’ ‘backyards,‘ the millions of people who receive their water from the Ramapo River Basin where the pipeline is proposed to pass through will have the effects of this pipeline not in their backyards, but in their homes each and every time they turn on their faucets. Thus, we all need to recognize that the proposed Pilgrim pipeline is in millions of people’s ‘backyards,’“ Marcus said. “...it is imperative that municipalities across the region join with Mahwah and the growing list of other communities to voice their opposition to this proposed pipeline and serve as a collective voice for the millions of people who could be impacted by it. Those in the position to approve this pipeline project must be made to understand that millions of people across the region value clean water and a healthy environment over the profits to be made through a pipeline that brings no value to the communities that it passes through.”

Since 2010 there have been 37 releases of more than 1,000 barrels of oil across US.[1] Additionally there are significant safety concerns as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) or its state partners have inspected only one-fifth of the national pipeline system since 2006.[2] And when spills do occur, they are more likely to be detected by residents in the community than detection or monitoring systems often after the leak has been ongoing for substantial periods of time. The Wall Street Journal found that of the pipeline portions with detection systems, less than 20% of oil spills were discovered by the monitoring controls since 2010.[3]

“I am so pleased that our Township officials supported our community. This pipeline is not necessary in our state. There’s no guarantee it will decrease the rail and barge transport, it will probably only increase production and profits for the companies involved,” said Mahwah resident Peggy Bost. “This oil will not even be distributed in New Jersey. New Jersey residents would bear all of the risk - loss of properties through condemnation, loss of preserved lands, damage to our environment and decreased property values - with no benefits.”

Mahwah residents are already reeling from the impacts of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion project, which has disrupted the bucolic communities in the Ramapo Mountains. Tennessee Gas is also using its powers of eminent domain to take private property and homeowners here have been exhausted financially and emotionally fighting the losing battles in court for the past two years. These activities have been joined with failed promises to protect existing infrastructure. Based on letters Pilgrim has sent to residents in other communities, Pilgrim seems poised to use similar tactics.

“I am so proud of our residents and our Council for supporting this resolution. But it’s not over,” said Mahwah resident Anne Powley. “Pilgrim Pipeline may be a small, newly formed company, but it is led by former Koch industry executives, has employed Bracewell Giuliani as its lobbying firm, and has retained Halliburton for remediation efforts should a spill occur. This is Big Oil, with deep pockets. But I don’t doubt that citizens have the power to make a difference.”

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/25/north-dakota-oil-pipeline-spills-secrecy

[2] http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130911/exclusive-pipeline-safety-chief-says-his-regulatory-process-kind-dying

[3] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304834704579401353579548592