The PennEast pipeline will no longer go forward, the project’s developer announced today, just three months after landing a key win before the Supreme Court.
PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC said it did not have the necessary permits to continue with the 116-mile project, which was designed to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
The developer had not been able to get a water quality certification and wetlands permits under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act in New Jersey, even though it had secured approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said project spokesperson Pat Kornick.
"[T]herefore, the PennEast partners, following extensive evaluation and discussion, recently determined further development of the Project no longer is supported," Kornick wrote in a statement to E&E News.
"Accordingly, PennEast has ceased all further development of the Project."
The decision to stop the pipeline comes shortly after PennEast had reached an agreement not to acquire 42 parcels of state-controlled land in New Jersey to build the project. The company had proposed a similar agreement to stop condemnation in Pennsylvania (Energywire, Sept. 23).
In June, the Supreme Court found that PennEast had the legal right to sue New Jersey to take the state-owned lands.
