Pipeline will go through Eldred

A Monroe County municipality is now in the path of a proposed natural gas pipeline under the latest route revisions.

PennEast Pipeline officials said the line, which would run from Luzerne County to the Trenton, New Jersey, area, is reduced by a mile under the changes.

The project is now slated to be 116 miles, but adds Eldred Township to the list of pass-through municipalities, which already includes Kidder, Lower Towamensing, Towamensing and Penn Forest townships.

“PennEast has identified four modifications to the Pennsylvania portion of the project design, route, workspace, and construction methods that will enable it to further minimize impacts of the project,” project manager Jeff England wrote in PennEast’s application for an amendment to its Certificate of Public Necessity received from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January 2018.

“With the exception of one realignment related to crossing the Appalachian Trail, the workspace for all other changes to the Pennsylvania portion of the Project proposed herein is within 0.25 mile of the route approved in the certificate order.

“Incorporation of these changes would result in an overall net decrease in pipeline length and a net decrease in the acreage of land required for project construction and operation.”

The modifications include a different location for crossing the Appalachian Trail, which the company said is in response to state and federal agency requests and to implement changes to related aboveground facilities that are needed to effectuate the new alignment.

One mile of the proposed 5.5-mile deviation is located in Monroe County. Within Monroe County, the realigned route crosses two properties, one of which is the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which Penn­East said requested the change. The closest residence is approximately 875 feet from the proposed workspace, according to the application.

PennEast is asking FERC to act on the amendments by July 1.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an organization that has actively opposed the pipeline project, is asking FERC to extend the March 8 deadline for public comment on the proposal.

“The materials provided are voluminous, detailed, and highly technical,” Maya Van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, said.

“In addition to the sheer volume of documents and information that need to be reviewed by interested parties, there is a clear need for parties to identify and commission technical expert reviews and reports – three weeks is not enough time to secure relevant expert review and reporting.”

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network is also requesting a minimum of three public hearings on the proposed permitting.