PPL power line moves forward

Opposition and obstacles remain

By FRITZ MAYER

PENNSYLVANIA & NEW JERSEY — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has approved the proposed 101-mile power line that would run between Berwick, PA and Roseland, NJ. The move came in a binding vote by commissioners on January 21, and endorsed the earlier finding of an administrative law judge that the line is needed to help strengthen the power grid in the region, and to prevent overloads on the grid that might begin as early as 2013.

The decision, however, was not unanimous. PUC commissioner Tyrone Christy opposed the approval, in part, because the process did not require PPL and PSE&G, the two organizations that will build the line, to study alternatives to the massive project, such as new generating plants in New Jersey where the need for more power is the greatest.

The project has also seen opposition from local groups and residents along the proposed route of the line, which runs through Wayne and Pike counties, and which would cross the river at the Delaware River Water Gap to link up with the proposed New Jersey section of the line.

Residents of Saw Creek Estates, an upscale development in Pike County, have been especially critical of the route because, according to residents, over 147 homes will be seriously impacted by the line and, they say, property values will be harmed. PPL already owns a line that runs through the community, but the new one will feature towers that will be 175 feet tall, more than twice as high as the current towers, and the line would carry three times as much electricity.

The move by the PUC is not the end of the process. The New Jersey portion of the line project must still be approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), and a public hearing has been scheduled for February 2 in Newark to hear more testimony on the need for the project. Like opponents in Pennsylvania, those in New Jersey say the line will harm the environment and possibly cause illness to people living near it.

Additionally, the National Park Service (NPS) must grant a permit to PPL and PSE&G before construction can begin because the proposed route runs through three units of the National Park System: the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

NPS has scheduled three meetings to determine the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS) it will prepare before issuing the permits. The first meeting is set for February 16, at the Fernwood Hotel on Route 209, in Bushkill, PA at 6:00 p.m.

The EIS process is not scheduled to be complete until the spring of 2012.

Go to www.parkplanning.nps.gov/parkHome.cfm?parkId=220 for more information.