South Jersey Gas pipeline gets OK

Regulators in New Jersey have given the green light to South Jersey gas to construct a 22-mile pipeline that will run through the federally protected Pinelands preserve.

South Jersey Gas said the pipeline, which will run underground in Cumberland and Cape May counties, will serve more than 140,000 customers in Cape May and Atlantic counties.

"The careful construction of this pipeline will address the energy demands of 142,000 customers in Cape May and Atlantic counties, protect and create jobs, and provide a meaningful opportunity to significantly reduce air emissions while supporting the state’s Energy Master Plan."

The project is expected to improve energy reliability for those customers. The Pinelands Commission approval came Friday morning as a sizeable crowd of activists opposed to the construction gathered for the vote.

The hotly contested pipeline construction has been a years-long debate in New Jersey, where the plan failed to win enough support from the Commission in 2014.

The Associated Press said in the years since it was defeated, Gov. Chris Christie "replaced several Pinelands commissioners with supporters of the pipeline."

Environmental groups are expected to file a lawsuit to fight the decision – a tactic used several years ago when the commission's executive director decided in 2014 to grant approval despite the commission's vote denying the project from moving forward.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal