A route change announced this week for PennEast Pipeline Company's proposed 108-mile natural gas pipeline isn't the first adjustment and won't be the last.

Company spokeswoman Patricia Kornick said Thursday the latest update won't bring any additional Carbon County municipalities into play.The pipeline is slated to go through Lower Towamensing, Towamensing, Penn Forest and Kidder townships on its way from Wilkes-Barre to New Jersey."From the start, we have said we are looking at all options to identify the best route and this is certainly part of that process," Kornick said. "That is an ongoing process. This version won't be the final version."Why the change?On its website, PennEast said the refined alternative route came about after conversations with various stakeholders, a review of on-the-ground surveys and additional computer analysis."There are more than 50 factors that we look at that can drive a route change," Kornick said."They can range from environmental to sinkholes to seismic activity. There is not one specific thing that prompts a change. We want to be responsive to the stakeholders, who are agencies and landowners affected by this project. Our goal is also to minimize impact to the community and the environment."The new route brings the line closer to the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension where it crosses Bethlehem Municipal Water Authority land."Landowners who are no longer impacted are notified and vice versa after any changes we make," Kornick said."That has taken place for the most recent change."It is unknown if more or fewer landowners would be impacted by the latest route.PennEast submitted a landowner list to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, but it is considered confidential and not made available to the public.ChangesMeeting minutes from conference calls about the project indicate PennEast reviewed possible reroutes around landowners' planned developments, requests it received at open house meetings to look at the route by a bike trail that runs along the Delaware River in a former railroad easement, and an alignment that follows power rights of way in Hunterdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey.PennEast also evaluated a reroute in conjunction with St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem to avoid conflict with a planned development.According to a monthly status update submitted to the FERC in December, most of the comments PennEast has received so far have dealt with pipeline safety, impact to property values, and environmental impacts, wetlands, endangered species and groundwater impact.PennEast is planning to use a 100-foot-wide construction right of way for the 36-inch-diameter pipeline, affecting approximately 1,308 acres of land based on the length of the pipeline.Following construction, it would retain a 50-foot-wide easement for operation of the project.The pipeline is expected to transport 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas supplies per day to users in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.PennEast is currently in the pre-filing stage of the pipeline planning process. Kornick said it plans to make its final application to FERC in the third-quarter of 2015.If the schedule remains the same, tree clearing is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016 with construction starting in spring 2017 and a projected in-service date of Oct. 1, 2017.An interactive mapping tool at

www.penneastpipeline.com was updated on Monday with the alternative route.Under the current proposal, a 32,745-horsepower compressor station would be located near Blakeslee in Kidder Township."That won't change," Kornick said. "We are still looking at Kidder Township."Eminent domainIn regards to eminent domain, FERC officials said, "PennEast would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement with landowners if it needs an easement to construct the pipeline.""If easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation proceedings where compensation would be determined in accordance with state law."State law requires pipeline operators to pay the owner fair market value for the easement."We are going to work with landowners if an easement is necessary," Kornick said. "We do our best to utilize existing rights of way."Jim Thorpe meetingFERC is holding a public input session at 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Penn's Peak and will use the testimony as it prepares an environmental-impact statement on the pipeline.PennEast representatives will be present one hour before the meeting to answer questions about the project.Residents wishing to testify on Feb. 11 do not need to sign up in advance.The number of speakers will determine the time limit given to each person, but on average it is two to three minutes.Written comments can be submitted before Feb. 12 by using the E-Comment section of FERC's website,

www.ferc.gov, or by sending them to:Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426"When PennEast files its application with the commission, we will evaluate the progress made during the pre-filing process, based in part on our success in resolving any issues raised during the public input meetings," said Jeff Wright, director of FERC's Office of Energy Projects.Once we determine the application is ready for processing, we will establish a schedule for completion of the environmental document and for the issuance of all other federal authorizations."