The team behind the proposed PennEast natural gas pipeline calls it a virtual guarantee that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will approve a route for its project and issue the required certificate of public need.

Though the proposed route of the 36-inch pipeline has gone through 60 to 100 modifications, PennEast spokesman Anthony Cox said it remains projected to snake its way through Kidder, Penn Forest, Towamensing and Lower Towamensing townships in Carbon County."It would be unprecedented with the demand for this project for FERC not to approve a route," Cox said while meeting with Times News staff recently."Projects aren't built on speculation. This one certainly is not. We are 99 percent contracted at this point."PennEast remains in the pre-filing stage and expects to make its formal application to FERC within the next few months.In the meantime, the company continues to meet with landowners along the route of the 114-mile pipeline, which would run from Wilkes Barre to Trenton, New Jersey.Cox said the current route impacts 31 landowners in Kidder, 61 in Penn Forest, 44 in Towamensing and 16 in Lower Towamensing.This month, PennEast held invitation-only meetings for those residents who may later be involved in right-of-way negotiations with the company, much to the dismay of others who wanted to attend.According to PennEast spokeswoman Patricia Kornick, landowners requested a private setting to ask their questions, unlike previous open houses which were open to anyone."A lot of the people who oppose this project are just simply opposed to fossil fuel development of any kind and sometimes they can pressure or intimidate the landowner in a public setting," Kornick said.Surveys andnegotiationsEarly in the process, PennEast has been asking property owners along the route to let representatives on their land to do a survey."Around 60 percent of Pennsylvania landowners in the pipeline's path have allowed PennEast to survey their land. That is significantly higher than in New Jersey," Cox said. "People in Pennsylvania have been educated over the last few years and understand the benefits and know why this isn't so scary."PennEast has been criticized for not developing an initial route with relevant local information."That's sort of impossible to do because until you get permission to go on someone's property, you don't learn about a septic system they have or a family cemetery they want you to go around," Cox said. "We have tried to work with all landowners who let us survey their property. That is why the route has changed so much."Cox said PennEast will be having right-of-way discussions with landowners for the next two months, but to this point has co-located the pipeline with existing utility rights of way when it is deemed safe.The company, through land acquisition agent Western Land Services, will first attempt to negotiate a right-of-way agreement with property owners.While the survey corridor is 400 feet, PennEast will only need about 75-125 feet for construction workspace and then a 50-foot permanent right of way, Cox said.What does the property look like with and without the pipeline? How much of an inconvenience has construction caused? Does money need to be included for repaving a driveway? What does the crop yield look like before and after the construction?"These are all things we take into consideration during negotiations," Cox said. "If the negotiations are going nowhere, we will start the condemnation process. There will be an appraisal done and it will go to the court to determine the damages paid to the property owner. We're always going to offer more than the court will award the property owner. We don't want to have to go through the court process. Nobody wins there except the lawyers."In some cases, pipeline companies have been asked to build a fence on the property or take down a tree. In Lancaster, an Amish farmer asked for the company to move his manure."It was easier for us to do it with our equipment than it was for him," Cox said.Construction processPennEast said if FERC grants approval, it will go to work the next day, describing the construction process as similar to an assembly line.Trees and shrubs will be cleared and a trench dug before the pipeline is lowered in and ground is restored."The pipeline will be built in four sections, but they will all be constructed simultaneously," Cox said. "There are three sections in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey. They probably won't be done by the same contractor. We're estimating seven months from start to finish with the hope we can be in service by November 2017."The compressor station will be located in Kidder Township, adjacent to Route 80 and north of Route 940.To passers-by, Cox said, it will look no different than a red barn."With it being close to Route 80, it will mitigate some of the noise issues because there will be road background noise anyway," he said. The property owners also own the golf course across the street and they're interested in keeping that area quiet. So are we. We want to be good neighbors."Potential benefitsWith a lateral in Hellertown and two in New Jersey, many local residents are concerned the area will get no benefit from the pipeline. The company acknowledged there are no current distribution points planned for Carbon County, but conversations are happening.The Tuthill Corporation, owners of Blue Mountain Ski Area, plans to build a Combined Heat and Power Plant, also known at a Cogeneration Plant, to produce clean energy."The utility distribution system starts in Palmerton and ends in Jim Thorpe," Cox said. "On cold days, that system is very stressed. Adding a big load at Blue Mountain without a new source of supply would really add to that. We feel we can help there."Kornick pointed out that natural gas customers aren't the only ones who could benefit from the pipeline."Natural gas is the predominant fuel for power generation," she said. "When the natural gas price goes high, electricity goes high. The increased use of natural gas means a decreased use of oil and greater oil availability means gasoline prices will go down. It's all related."OppositionLinda Christman, Towamensing Township, is one of many local residents who have spoken out at public meetings against the pipeline."Under eminent domain proceedings, landowners will receive a one-time payment based on current real estate values," Christman, a representative for Save Carbon County, said recently. "Those values are at historic low levels. Unlike cell tower companies, the pipeline company will not pay an annual fee. In future years, no matter how much profit the company makes, the property owner will receive nothing, although the pipeline will continue to negatively impact the value and use of the property."Unlike Cox's claim that a pipeline route is a near certainty, Christman said it can be moved, co-located, or stopped."It has not been approved by FERC and is in competition with a half-dozen similar pipeline projects in the region that may not be needed' she added. "The pipeline is still in its pre-filing stage. We urge landowners to join with us to oppose this taking of their land."Penn Forest, Kidder, Lower Towamensing and Towamensing townships have all passed resolutions opposing the pipeline. Mahoning Township, which is not in the path of the pipeline, also opposes it."I'm worried about the marketability of our properties," Mark Zakutansky of the Boulder Run Property Owners Association, said at a Penn Forest meeting. "We have one resident who has been trying to sell their home for over two years, and I'm just concerned about the impact this project could have."Other groups, like the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said the pipeline will negatively impact the environment."The pipeline would cut through 88 streams, 76 of which are within the Delaware River watershed," said Maya K. van Rossum, Riverkeeper Network spokeswoman. "It's hard to repair those waterways in a healthy way."