PEMBERTON, NJ — Cape May County officials are backing a plan to build a natural-gas pipeline through the protected Pinelands reserve to refuel an old coal-fired power plant. Sort of.
The county’s freeholder board passed a resolution Tuesday night in support of a plan by South Jersey Gas to build the 22-mile pipeline to connect with the BL England plant in Upper Township.
But board members also left themselves considerable wiggle room by adding a clause saying their support is for a pipeline plan that adheres to the state Pinelands Commission’s management plan for the forested area.
The proposed pipeline plan does not fully comply with those guidelines, which is why it has caused such a dispute between environmentalists, who oppose it, and construction workers and residents concerned about affordable, readily available energy.The proposal could be further discussed at Friday’s commission meeting, but a final vote is not expected until Jan. 10.
South Jersey Gas says the pipe would go under or next to existing roads. But environmentalists say the work would still damage the fragile reserve of woods and wetlands that are protected by federal and state laws.
Georgina Shanley, an Ocean City environmental activist who is spearheading the opposition to the pipe plan, said she and other opponents asked the freeholders not to support a memorandum of agreement between the Pinelands Commission and the Board of Public Utilities to permit the pipeline to be built.
She said the proposal violates the comprehensive management plan governing what can and should be built.
The freeholder board then agreed to insert a clause saying it supports the agreement, consistent with the commission’s management plan for the area.
South Jersey Gas would pay $8 million, most of which would fund land preservation. It also would build an educational conservation center for the state Pinelands Commission.