Natural Gas Pipeline Proposed for Raritan Bay

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By Joseph Sapia
The Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company is proposing a $1 billion expansion of its natural gas distribution system between southeastern Pennsylvania and New York City, including laying a pipeline to parallel an existing one under most of Raritan Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean off Sandy Hook.
The Raritan Bay portion would run about 14 miles from the Morgan section of Sayreville to just off the tip of Sandy Hook, where the new line would continue for about 8 miles under the ocean to an existing 3-mile connector to New York City at the Rockaways.
“New York City is consuming more (natural) gas,” said Chris Stockton, a spokesman for Williams, the Oklahoma-based parent of Transcontinental (Transco). “They’ve adopted clean air mandates.”
This means a conversion to what proponents say is cleaner-for-the-environment natural gas, rather than fuel oils.
“Most people don’t realize this infrastructure is underground,” Stockton said.
But coastal environmentalists have expressed their opposition, saying renewable energy should be on the plate and raising concerns about the pipeline’s effect on the ecosystem.
“Why do we need another pipeline, especially one that’s going through Raritan Bay? We’re not going to see the gas (in New Jersey),” said Jamie Zaccaria, outreach coordinator for the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club environmental group.
“It’s a lot of money, time, effort on something you don’t need,” said Joe Reynolds, co-chair of the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council. “I don’t see any plan or drawings New Jersey’s going to get any of this natural gas.
“We should be transitioning to renewable energy, not fossil fuels,” Reynolds said. “Why is New Jersey slave to fossil fuels?”

Fran Donnelly, left, and Joe Reynolds, both co-chairs of the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council, attend an information forum on a proposed natural gas pipeline crossing Raritan Bay.
Fran Donnelly, left, and Joe Reynolds, both co-chairs of the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council, attend an information forum on a proposed natural gas pipeline crossing Raritan Bay.

The environmentalists attended a gas company information session Wednesday, June 22, in Old Bridge.
The Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, as the proposal is known, is “early in the process,” Stockton said. In May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) OK’d a pre-application, opening up to comments by the agency and public on the proposal.
Transco is in the process of conducting various surveys – engineering, environmental and community – for the project. It expects to formally apply to FERC in March.
FERC would then conduct a public hearing process. If Transco gets approval, construction is to start sometime in the second half of 2018, with gas being delivered on the line in the winter of 2019-2020.
The 26-inch-diameter, steel pipeline, carrying 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, would be buried 4 feet under the bay or ocean bed in general areas and 8 feet below the assigned maintenance depth of shipping channels.
In the Two River area, the line would generally run about 3 to 5 miles offshore, but less than 1 mile off the tip of Sandy Hook. It would run parallel by 25 feet from an existing line, also carrying about 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, in place since the late 1960s.
The Sierra Club supports renewable energy, such as offshore windmills.
“New Jersey has the potential for an incredible amount of wind power,” Zaccaria said.
“How many times do you have to say no to these lines?” Reynolds said.
Reached after the meeting, Andrea Leshak, staff attorney for the New York-New Jersey Baykeeper, reiterated the concern about using fossil fuel, rather than renewable energy.
“We’re concerned putting in another pipeline would continue our reliance on fossil fuels,” Leshak said. “We think we should be heading toward more renewable (energy).”
Leshak also raised concerns about how pipeline construction would disrupt the ecosystem – clam grounds, for example – and recreational fishing and boating. Also, Leshak said, there is a concern for a break or a leak in a pipeline.

The public attends an information forum in Old Bridge on a proposed natural gas pipeline across Raritan Bay.
The public attends an information forum in Old Bridge on a proposed natural gas pipeline across Raritan Bay.

“There’s a lot of talk about overbuilding pipelines,” Leshak said.
But Stockton said pipelines are running at 100 percent capacity, showing there is a need for growth.
Information on the project is available from Transco at 866-455-9103 or 866-254-4106, or PipelineExpansion@williams.com,
The public can comment to Kimberly D. Bose, secretary, at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. NE, Room 1A, Washington, D.C., 20426, or through the FERC website, www.ferc.gov. Information is available at 202-502-8258 or efiling@ferc.gov.
Williams has about 500 miles of natural gas line in New Jersey, or about half of the natural gas lines in the state. In the United States, Williams has about 10,000 miles of natural gas line, through which it sends about 10.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day.