To the editor:
Pipelines sure are making headlines these days. Seems like once a week or so I hear about another one exploding or leaking, including recent incidents in Trenton, Paterson, and just over the bridge in Pennsylvania, all within the last month alone. So why are we considering allowing a new one — PennEast — to be built near our homes and through one of the most beautiful parts of the state?
Don’t people realize that PennEast would be the highest pressure pipeline in the state of New Jersey; and, with those higher pressures equate to a larger blast zone, endangering the many residents, schools and businesses that will reside within this new danger area.
I’ve also read that we already have more than enough pipeline in New Jersey to supply our gas needs for decades to come, and that a new one is just not needed. Plus, pipelines are an expensive infrastructure proposition, and who do you think is going to pay for it? I’ll tell you: It’s consumers.
We’re already facing gas tax hikes in New Jersey. If PennEast is built, we will pay more on our utility bills, too. The mail that PennEast sends us tries to appeal to our pocketbooks, saying the pipeline would contribute tax revenues to our towns. Nice try, PennEast. New Jersey homeowners certainly know the pain of high property taxes. But we also know that PennEast’s tax contributions would be short-term. Long-term, taxpayers would be left with a massive, toxic pipeline running through their communities.
It’s pretty simple. If PennEast is built, New Jerseyans lose on every front. Don’t buy into the hype.
Maude Tatar
Hopewell Township
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