PEOPLE OVER POLLUTERS – WE WON FOR NOW

PEOPLE OVER POLLUTERS – WE WON FOR NOW

The concerns of the public were heard, and NJDEP did its job by holding Williams/Transco to the standards of New Jersey’s regulations designed to protect our environment, health and safety.

On June 5, the NJDEP denied all applications for water permits for the NESE Project without prejudice to any future re-application by Williams/Transco.  The NJDEP considered the application documents, extensive public comments, and requirements in their regulations to reach this decision.

Following the May 15 denial without prejudice by the NYSDEC for permits, Williams/Transco re-applied two days later.  

Chris Stockton, spokesperson for Williams, issued the following statement on June 6, 2019 at 12:56 pm:  “We are currently assessing the discrete technical issues raised by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection related to our application for water quality certification. We believe that we can be responsive to the issues raised by the agency and intend to resubmit the application to the agency in a timely manner to maintain the customer’s in-service date requirement.”

Those “discrete technical issues” include Williams/Transco’s lack of fully demonstrating: 

  1. a compelling public need for NESE that meets State regulations or, in the alternative, the existence of an extraordinary hardship that warrants granting a permit for the compressor station as detailed in the applications; 
  2. that there is no practicable alternative to the proposed construction of and access to the compressor station that would avoid or minimize impacts to freshwater wetlands and exceptional value resource areas at this site; and 
  3. how construction of the Raritan Bay Loop’s dredging and redistribution of toxic sediment from the floor of the bay would avoid or minimize adverse impacts to surface water quality to ensure compliance with surface water quality standards. 

We’ll wait to see what is in the new application.  

We will continue to act to protect our environment, health, safety and well-being.  Remember what Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful concerned citizens can change the world.  Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”