Rally Against Pinelands Pipeline Set For Saturday In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ -- Opponents of a proposal by New Jersey Natural Gas to build a pipeline into Manchester are planning to rally against the pipeline in the township on Saturday.

The New Jersey Sierra Club and People Over Pipelines along with other groups will be gathering about 10 a.m. to rally against the Southern Reliability Link pipeline. New Jersey Natural Gas is proposing to build this pipeline from a compressor station to be built in Chesterfield into Manchester.

"We are rallying to tell the Pinelands Commission that this pipeline will do damage to our environment, water supply, and the Pinelands as a whole," the Sierra Club said in a news release about the rally.

“We're rallying together to tell the Pinelands Commission to reject this unnecessary and illegal pipeline. Not only is NJNG’s application incomplete, but the commission’s public process was as well. They made up the process they put in place so there are no procedures for it. It’s simply made to limit public input and oversight."

The Pinelands is the largest open space on the Eastern seaboard and is recognized for its biodiversity by the United Nations, the Sierra Club said. The Pinelands also is the country’s first National Reserve and holds 17 trillion gallons of water in its aquifer.

An approval of the pipeline by Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg was overturned following a lawsuit and the matter sent back to the Pinelands Commission for a full commission vote. The Sierra Club and other groups have criticized the second go-round because just one public hearing was held, in late July in Toms River.

"Wittenberg is taking the side of the gas company over protecting the Pinelands. This pipeline would violate the Comprehensive Management Plan by going through the Forest Preservation Area without actually servicing anyone in the Pines. The commissioners need to do their job to protect the Pinelands and reject this pipeline,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

New Jersey Natural Gas officials contend the pipeline is needed to provide backup support for natural gas customers in the southern part of the state in case of another disaster that causes the kind of damage seen during Superstorm Sandy.

Those attending the rally are asked to meet on Tobias Avenue off Route 70 at 10 a.m.

A creek in the New Jersey Pinelands, by UrbanPromise, via Flickr under Creative Commons license