Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

PennEast Gas Pipeline Gets Feds' OK, To Apply For NJ Permits

Marie Cusick
/
StateImpact Pennsylvania
FERC's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A $1.1 billion pipeline designed to bring Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to New Jersey has received federal approval, although the project lacks important permits in New Jersey.

PennEast Pipeline Company spokeswoman Patricia Kornick said Monday that she anticipates construction on the roughly 120-mile pipeline will begin this year and take about seven months. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave approval to the PennEast pipeline Friday over the protests of environmental groups, who say it would irreversibly damage the landscape.

The pipeline is designed to deliver enough natural gas to serve nearly 5 million homes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

However, Kornick couldn't immediately say whether construction will begin before the project receives pollution-control permits in New Jersey designed to protect wetlands and waterways. The pipeline consortium plans to apply.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.