Pilgrim Pipeline Applies for Route through Rockland

MAP: Pilgrim Pipeline.com proposed route through Rockland County

Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings, LLC announced today that it has filed a use and occupancy permit application in New York to construct the Pilgrim Pipeline.

The proposed 178-mile pipeline project would consist of two separate, parallel underground lines running between supply and distribution terminals in Albany and Linden, New Jersey.

It would carry refined products like gasoline, diesel, kerosene and home heating oil to the north and crude oil southbound. The pipeline would handle an estimated 200,000 barrels in each direction each day (a total of 73 million barrels annually), which company officials say is roughly the amount of fuels currently transported along the Hudson by other modes of transportation.

“We are excited to begin the formal process of obtaining permits in New York for construction of the Pilgrim Pipeline,” said George Bochis, Pilgrim’s Vice President for Development, in a prepared statement. “This step begins a comprehensive process of review and public comment in New York. Applications for permits will be filed in New Jersey later this year.

“In an effort to be as transparent as possible with Hudson Valley residents, we have posted all the New York permit documents on the Pilgrim website, and we invite questions and dialogue with government officials and the public,” said Bochis.

The application was filed with the New York State Thruway. It includes a three-volume Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”) submitted in compliance with both the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) and the National Environmental Protection Act (“NEPA”).

As stated in the application, “The Pilgrim Pipeline was sited to minimize environmental impacts to the greatest extent practicable while taking into account pipeline design, construction means and methods, delivery points, and the continued economic viability and growth of the region. To this end, of the ±116 miles of the mainline in New York State, Pilgrim proposes to locate the vast majority (about 79%) within the New York State Thruway right-of-way.”

“There is more oil and natural gas being produced in the U.S. than ever before, providing greater energy security for the U.S.,” concluded Bochis. “The northeast is an increasingly important part of this new energy dynamic, and residents need to consider how best to transport these products to market. We are confident that the Pilgrim Pipeline offers people in New York and New Jersey a way to transport U.S.-produced energy products in a safer, more environmentally friendly, and more efficient manner than the other available options.”

Pilgrim Pipeline’s application and information can be found on the Pilgrim website.