While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission weighs the pros and cons of the PennEast Pipeline, one area business weighs in, too.

Barbara Green, the corporate executive and president of Blue Mountain Resort, sent a letter on Tuesday to Kimberly Rose, secretary of the FERC, supporting the plan.The resort has been sitting on plans for a new spa/hot springs/water park for several years.To create hot springs, the resort needs natural gas to heat the water. Blue Mountain could tap into another gas line running near Little Gap Road, which is more than 2 miles away and would require “crossing a stream and building a regulator station,” or tap into the PennEast pipeline slated to run close to the area where the hot springs spa would be located.The proposed natural gas pipeline would run from Luzerne County through Carbon, Northampton and some of Bucks counties before it reaches New Jersey, where it would interconnect with an existing pipeline in Mercer County. The 36-inch diameter pipeline would be about 114 miles long.“The PennEast Pipeline is vital to our expansion; the water park alone will result in $30 million in local construction, 22 full-time employees, 692 part-time jobs and up to 3,000 visitors a day during the summer,” Green said in the letter.She added, “The PennEast pipeline will fuel a new combined heat and power facility, allowing us to produce our own electricity and hot water for our new pools and buildings. The CHP plant is more efficient and cleaner than many utility power plants. During the spring, summer and fall, we will export electricity from the CHP plant to the grid, making the grid more efficient and cleaner.”Opponents of the pipeline say it will tear up previously undisturbed grass lands, cross three rivers, numerous waterways and wetlands and possibly destroy the habitats of the bald eagle, harrier hawk, blue heron, ospreys, bobcats and many more animals.Last week, state Sen. John Yudichak sent a letter supporting the pipeline. According to the PennEast pipeline website, FERC is expected to issue its final decision this year.