Feds approve $128 million gas pipeline plan in Meadowlands and upper Bergen County

Federal energy officials have approved a controversial plan to build a half-mile natural gas pipeline in the Meadowlands and upgrade existing pipes to carry more fuel. 

The 46-page certificate issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appears to be the final hurdle to be cleared for the $128 million project by energy giant Williams.

In its 4-1 approval, FERC said the project would have minimal impact on the environmentally sensitive wetlands. 

But environmentalists blasted the project, saying it would damage marshes that are still recovering from decades of pollution and development. They also argued that the pipeline would allow more greenhouse gases to be pumped into the atmosphere. 

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Christopher Stockton, a Williams spokesman, said Thursday that the company has obtained all the permits it needs to move forward. Construction is slated to begin early next year and be finished by late 2019 for the winter heating season.

“The demand for clean, reliable and low-cost natural gas continues to climb, particularly in northeastern markets like New Jersey and New York City,” said Michael Dunn, chief operating officer of Williams.

The new project, called Rivervale South to Market, would upgrade more than 10 miles of pipeline through Bergen County to allow about 10 percent more gas to be pumped to northeastern customers for heat and electricity generation. With the increased capacity, the pipeline would provide enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of about 1 million homes, Williams said.

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In the Meadowlands, the new 42-inch pipeline, called a loop, would be built on property the Oklahoma-based company owns along Metro Road near its two large gas storage tanks in Carlstadt. It would be placed parallel to two existing pipelines east of Williams' tanks to relieve pressure on them from the increased flow of gas.

In its certificate issued on Aug. 10, FERC said the project’s direct impacts to wetlands, water and other environmentally sensitive areas would be "minimal and would not contribute to adverse cumulative impacts."

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, criticized the approval, saying FERC did not address a plan to build a gas-fired power plant in North Bergen near the Williams facility.

The proposed North Bergen Liberty Generating plant, which is still being reviewed by state environmental regulators, would need to hook into Williams' Transco pipeline and use the gas as fuel to generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity that would be sent via underground cable to New York. 

A decades-long effort to rehabilitate the Meadowlands has succeeded in making the more than 5,000 acres of wetlands cleaner, attracting fish and birds back to what was once a wasteland but remains a key stop on the Atlantic bird migration route. 

Bill Sheehan, director of Hackensack Riverkeeper, said the pipeline proposal is a step back for the region. "FERC isn't on the ground here," he said. "They don't see what we see, and so the deck is stacked against us."

The pipeline loop will be built next to a section of protected wetlands called a wetlands mitigation bank, where state regulations force developers or government agencies to purchase and restore wetlands when their projects  affect wetlands elsewhere.

Williams' project also calls for construction on the western side of the Oradell Reservoir, a source of drinking water for 800,000 residents of Bergen and Hudson counties. A key valve needs to be replaced in an area between the Emerson Golf Club and property owned by Suez, the operator of the reservoir, according to Williams' documents.

A bald eagles nest was found in the area this spring and reported to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. “We hope they take that into account when construction starts,” said Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society.

Williams wants to use water from nearby Lake Tappan to test the strength of the pipeline, but no water would be discharged after testing, according to FERC's approval. 

FERC has been criticized by many environmentalists for approving several pipelines in recent years to carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey, including a controversial pipeline built through a protected area of the Highlands.

One FERC commissioner, Richard Glick, dissented on the Williams' plan. He said the commission did not fully consider the effects the project would have on climate change. While natural gas is a cleaner fossil fuel than coal or oil, power plants that burn it produce large quantities of carbon dioxide and methane that contribute to warming the atmosphere.