The PennEast pipeline will not be built after all. A Lehigh Valley landowner reacts.
Written by Victoria Scialfa on September 30, 2021
The PennEast pipeline will not be built after all. A Lehigh Valley landowner reacts.
By Megan Frank
September 30, 2021
This week, PennEast Pipeline said it would stop developing a proposed pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
The route included parts of the Lehigh Valley.
It’s the latest in a series of natural gas companies to halt plans due to legal and regulatory challenges.
Linda Christman started fighting PennEast’s plan seven years ago in order to protect her family’s 100-year-old farm in Lehighton. To do it, she founded the group “Save Carbon County.”
“We’re a group of impacted landowners and environmentalists,” Christman explained at a July rally in Trenton, N.J.
But, the pipeline will not be. PennEast says it didn’t receive required permits, including a water quality certification in New Jersey.
Today, Christman says she’s very happy with their decision to pull out.
“We didn’t think we could enjoy our property knowing that there is a 36-inch natural gas pipeline carrying explosive gas that close to the house,” Christman said.
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