The pipeline would run through several Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean county towns
TRENTON -- The state Board of Public Utilities has approved the construction of a much-opposed natural gas pipeline that would run through several Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean county towns.
The board's 5-0 decision on Wednesday followed three public hearings and a review of more than 1,000 written comments and 19 alternative routes, the board said.
The 28-mile, 30-inch pipeline would begin in Chesterfield and continue through North Hanover, Upper Freehold, Plumsted and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst before connecting to New Jersey Natural Gas' system in Manchester.
Company officials have said the $130 million Southern Reliability Link project would add supply diversity and provide greater reliability should there be a supply interruption or system failure.
"The Southern Reliability Link will provide the necessary reliability and resiliency improvements needed to protect the natural gas service of about 452,000 NJNG customers," BPU president Richard Mroz said.
The board's approval is contingent on NJNG getting permit approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the affected towns and counties and the Pinelands Commission.
The board still has to decide whether NJNG can have local zoning and planning board approvals waived.
Since its inception, the project has faced stiff opposition from residents, officials and environmental groups.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, called the pipeline unnecessary.
"This pipeline is not for resiliency; it is for growth and development along the coast," he said. "The pipeline will cause an ugly scar through the Pinelands ... affect the safety of communities and farming viability in the area and ... add pollution to our air and water and promote climate change, putting our environment, our health and our safety at risk."
Tittel said that residents' concerns have been ignored.
"The BPU does not listen to the people, they just do what the utility companies want," he said. "Putting in this pipeline will be like putting a blowtorch in people's backyards."
Also of concern is a proposed compressor station awaiting federal approval that would take gas from Williams Co.'s Trenton Woodbury line and send it into the NJNG pipeline.
"The BPU is putting the cart behind the horse because ... they've approved the pipeline before there is anything for it to even connect to," Tittel said.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.