The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Submitted by the Franklin Township Task Force on CS206 & NESE.
We’ve worked for years to stop the NESE Project, and now we are in the home stretch. We are calling on Governor Murphy and the NJDEP to deny the water permit applications so that Compressor Station 206 and pipeline near and under Raritan Bay are not constructed.
In honor of Black History month and our fight to stop NESE, think about what Robert F. Kennedy said in 1966: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
With the actions listed at the end of this letter, we encourage everyone to speak up to protect our health, safety and well-being, as well as that of future generations and the environment we love in this area of NJ, from the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project that includes the proposed Compressor Station 206.
Now, with the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the NESE Project, it’s predictable that Williams/Transco will be given FERC’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity anytime between the end of February and late April 2019.
The NESE Project can be stopped if NY or NJ denies required water permits.
Today’s letter addresses the risks from construction near Superfund and other toxic sites as well as the potential harms from erosion and flooding on our groundwater and drinking water.
- Plans to address flooding dangers at Compressor Station 206 have not been adequately designed to protect us.
- The Higgins Farm Superfund Site, next to the proposed CS206, still has EPA actions to eliminate the contaminated groundwater.
- Construction of the onshore pipeline in Sayreville/Old Bridge threatens release of toxins from nearby sites as well as release of sulfuric acid.
- Onshore pipeline construction fluid releases could impair nearby wetlands.
For more information about the impacts of the NESE Project on groundwater and water supplies (and more), see the Action Alert – Our Health And Safety Are Not For Sale & Urge Governor Murphy & NJDEP to Deny Water Permit Applications for CS206 – on the website, www.scrap-NESE.org.
Earlier letters in this series addressed risks from increased greenhouse gas, toxic airborne emissions, construction in Raritan Bay, and potential for fires and explosions from NESE. Our last letter to the editor will include information about how the NESE Project is not of benefit to NJ or NY:
- NESE is not in the Public Interest
- There is a questionable need for this added gas; and
- ESE thwarts NJ & NY clean energy goals.
WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO GET THE ATTENTION OF GOVERNOR MURPHY AND THE NJDEP?
- A letter to download/print, sign and mail to Governor Murphy and the NJDEP Commissioner can be found on the website, www.scrap-NESE.org. Share it with your family, friends and neighbors to ask them to do the same.
- Look for online petitions to the Governor and NJDEP with a message to them asking for denial of the permits. One can be found at: https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/act/deny-nese-permits
- You & your friends can also call the Governor at 609-292-6000 often and let him know that you are counting on the NJDEP to scrutinize the applications and hold Williams-Transco to the high environmental requirements of NJ with the expectation that the permits will be denied. Tell him why you care. Remind him of what he said in August 2018: “Being responsible stewards of the environment is not a campaign promise, it’s a moral, philosophical, and economic obligation that we have to ensure a strong economy and quality of life for all New Jersey residents today and for generations to come.”
Contact the Franklin Township Task Force on CS206 & NESE if you need copies of the letter, have ideas, or want to get involved – stopFTcompressor@yahoo.com. You can also find updated information on our website, www.scrap-NESE.org & on the NY coalition’s website, www.stopthewilliamspipeline.org.
