News

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the PennEast Pipeline Project and it finds that any environmental impact of the proposed pipeline would be “less-than-significant” based on its review of the project.

Of course, this latest conclusion is just one more blow to the credibility of extreme anti-fracking activist groups aligned with “Keep It In The Ground”  who have been actively targeting the FERC process in their bid to end all fossil fuel development.

The PennEast Pipeline would run mostly underground from northeastern Pennsylvania to a connection terminal in Mercer County, New Jersey, fulfilling what the DEIS says is a lack of “capacity for existing pipeline systems to transport the required volumes of natural gas.” As energy demands in the region increase, the PennEast Pipeline would:

“Have an estimated $1.6 billion positive economic impact during design and construction alone, supporting approximately 12,160 jobs and an associated $740 million in wages according to a separate study by Econsult Solutions.”

As part of the application process, the project is reviewed by FERC to evaluate its environmental impact. The DEIS released on July 22^nd not only found that the proposed pipeline would not have any significant environmental impact, but would also “contribute to a cumulative improvement in regional air quality” by increasing the region’s ability to use more natural gas.

A spokesperson for PennEast hailed the progress in the federal approval progress as a “major step forward,” saying:

“Today’s announcement by FERC is another major step forward in the review of the PennEast