A New Jersey judge last week tossed a trespassing lawsuit filed by a group of residents who claimed the PennEast Pipeline Company trespassed on private property while surveying for a proposed $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline.

The group of homeowners, who call themselves Homeowners Against Land Taking, or HALT, PennEast, asked the court to prevent further surveying and disallow PennEast from using information it gained through the alleged illegal surveying.Judge Margaret Goodzeit, however, rejected both requests, claiming the group did not prove ""there is continuing and ongoing trespass, which would entitle them to an injunction against further trespass."PennEast is proposing a 36-inch, 118-mile pipeline from Luzerne County to Mercer County, N.J. It would run through Kidder, Penn Forest, Towamensing and Lower Towamensing townships in Carbon County."We respect the rights of every landowner, and have worked tirelessly to engage in a respectful dialogue that has, in many instances, resulted in modifications to the route and reduced landowner impacts," said Pat Kornick, spokesperson for PennEast. "Unfortunately, some outside interests are willing to say or do anything to mislead the public. We're pleased the court agreed with PennEast and dismissed the claims. It's unfortunate that HALT has wasted the court's time and taxpayer resources with this filing."In her ruling, Goodzeit said her court has "no power to address" HALT's efforts to block PennEast's permit for the pipeline, which she said was the driving force behind the lawsuit.While PennEast hails the ruling as a victory, posts on the Stop The PennEast Pipeline Facebook page indicate not all was lost for the project opponents."The judge found most of the trespassing claims were valid," according to the post. "She just couldn't offer the damages the plaintiffs wanted."Earlier in the lawsuit proceedings, Goodzeit struck down a temporary injunction which would have kept PennEast from conducting land surveys, stating there was no evidence the company had conducted illegal surveys in the preceding five months.Around 70 percent of New Jersey landowners along the pipeline route have not granted PennEast access to survey their property.Kornick said the claims made by HALT leading up to the dismissal of the lawsuit are "symptomatic of other actions taken by similar extreme groups, such as a separate frivolous lawsuit brought by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network."The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already stated should be dismissed because of a fundamental misunderstanding of FERC's operations and funding," Kornick said. "Yet another frivolous complaint was filed with FERC by the Eastern Environmental Law Center, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association requesting an 'evidentiary hearing' of market need, which is duplicative and already covered by FERC's multiyear review. Even the New Jersey Sierra Club objected to their actions and said the lawsuit could easily be dismissed."Though the focus of the lawsuit, complaints of trespassing were not limited to New Jersey residents.Locally, several landowners submitted comments to FERC, alleging PennEast violated their rights."Properties have been repeatedly trespassed upon despite "no trespassing" signage and PennEast's so called "zero tolerance" policy," said Linda Christman of Towamensing Township. "At times, the public right of way has been exceeded resulting in trespass. At other times, property has been entered while the owners are not home. Finally, "no trespassing" signs and "stop the pipeline" signs have been systematically removed from private property."Paul Shinsec, a fellow Towamensing Township property owner, wrote to FERC in November that he "found the surveyors on the corner of my property for the fourth time.""They had set up their tripods right next to my sign instructing then not to trespass or survey," Shinsec said. "After asking the person baby-sitting the equipment if he couldn't read and receiving no reply, I proceeded to the state police to complain about the trespassing by PennEast. The responding trooper took his information and was told the surveyors (whom he called) would be there in 10 or 15 minutes to move the equipment. It took closer to 45 minutes, but it got moved."They should know whose property they are on and if they don't have permission they should come to the house and ask. They know what the answer will be since I've sent two letters to PennEast denying them permission to my property. So they just repeatedly set up until they are chased. This blatant lack of respect for private property seems to be their normal operating procedure.FERC, who will make a final decision on the pipeline, plans to have its environmental impact statement for the project completed by Dec. 16.Other federal agencies whose approval is needed have until March 16, 2017, to make their decisions.