Seven New Jersey residents filed a lawsuit Monday in state Superior Court alleging the PennEast Pipeline Company violated their rights by surveying their property without permission.

Two opposition groups, Homeowners Against Land Taking - PennEast Inc. (HALT PennEast) and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation joined in the lawsuit, which asks the court to prevent further surveying and disallow PennEast from using information it gained through the alleged illegal surveying.PennEast is proposing a 36-inch, 118-mile pipeline running through Kidder, Penn Forest, Towamensing and Lower Towamensing townships in Carbon County.According to an NJ.com article, the lawsuit states "unless illegally obtained survey data is deemed inadmissible, the harm from previously conducted unlawful surveys will become irreversible once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission completes its environmental review."Around 70 percent of New Jersey landowners along the pipeline route have not granted PennEast access to survey their property.Developers of the $1.2 billion pipeline said they believe the lawsuit is meritless."While the opposition tactic of filing a lawsuit is not unique to PennEast, it clearly demonstrates the great lengths that those opposed to the project will go to try to discredit the many environmental, practical and economic benefits the PennEast Pipeline project will deliver to local families and businesses," PennEast spokeswoman Pat Kornick said."When PennEast receives the lawsuit, PennEast will review it and take the appropriate next steps to defend itself against what we believe will prove to be a meritless, frivolous lawsuit and is confident the courts will find in PennEast's favor."Several Carbon County property owners said earlier this year their properties were staked for the pipeline or surveyors had set up equipment on their land, despite having posted no trespassing signs.Paul Shinsec, Towamensing Township property owner, was surprised to find that the surveyors set up their equipment directly over his signs, according to a news release from Save Carbon County, an anti-pipeline group."He called the state police and they were forced to move but Paul said now they have the information they want even though they got it illegally," the release states.Helicopters surveying from the air have spooked Diane Conner's livestock more than once, she reported.Kornick said if there were helicopters overhead, they were not sent by PennEast."Despite the ongoing, intentionally perpetuated misinformation by those opposed to natural gas development, PennEast is not using helicopters for surveys," she said at the time.FERC, who will make a final decision on the pipeline, plans to have its final 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.As for surveying questions, PennEast urges landowners to call the company if it feels there is a trespassing concern."Though most instances have involved public rights of way, which PennEast has the right to occupy in the course of its survey activities, PennEast again urges landowners to contact PennEast if they believe an infraction is occurring," Kornick said. "There is certainly no systemic pattern of PennEast violating landowner property rights."