County airs frustrations over pipeline

Carbon officials again aired their frustrations over reports that PennEast still isn’t playing nice with property owners who will be affected by the proposed pipeline.

On Thursday, Commissioner William O’Gurek said he received an update from Linda Christman of Save Carbon County, who said that since the commissioners reached out to PennEast last month, nothing has changed.

“The least PennEast can do is communicate with the people,” O’Gurek said. “It’s disappointing. It’s sad nothing has happened.”

O’Gurek said that through discussions with officials from UGI PennEast he hoped communication with homeowners would improve.

But Christman told the commissioners that there were rulings and changes to the project that would affect other properties, and no one has been contacted who will be affected.

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do a project,” Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said.

“To come in and have total disregard for a property owner and take their property, I’m 110 percent opposed to that.”

Save Carbon County has been fighting to save their land since the pipeline route was announced.

Construction for the pipeline, which is supposed to travel from Luzerne County to Mercer County, New Jersey, is slated to begin this year.