expansion through North Jersey won a victory last week when an appellate court said state officials should reconsider the project.
The language of the Highlands Act, while somewhat ambiguous, allows for public utilities to do work inside the ecologically-sensitive Highlands Preservation Area as long as the projects are considered “routine.” “Once this ruling came down, the DEP had all the information that it needed to issue a stop work order,” said Matt Smith, the New Jersey director of Food and Water Action. “The burden of proof is no longer on the public.”
“Now, the NJDEP needs to stop Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s illegal construction going on,” she said. “More importantly, Gov. Murphy must clearly see that this project is not needed and shut it down.” According to the Kinder Morgan website, Tennessee Gas wants to increase its capacity to meet the needs of ConEdison customers in New York. To do that, the company needs to modify its two existing compressors and build a new one with its own power station on a piece of land off Route 511 and Burnt Meadow Road in West Milford.
Adopted in 2004, the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act is a sweeping land-use bill that covers 88 municipalities and parts of Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. The goal of the legislation was to contain sprawl and protect the water supply used by half of New Jersey’s residents.
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