Posts by Chris Mele
PennEast Pipeline pauses land acquisitions in Pennsylvania
The proposed PennEast Pipeline announced an abrupt halt to legal proceedings to secure needed property easements for its 118-mile Pennsylvania-to-New Jersey natural gas pipeline, a move that raises new questions about the project’s future. PennEast cited a desire to clear regulatory hurdles before resuming the court cases to secure the approximately 70 properties it needs…
Read MorePlan pushed to make Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area a national park
Legging out at 38 letters, “Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area” does not exactly roll off the tongue. Now, instead, imagine a moniker like “Delaware Water Gap National Park and Preserve.” Even though that name is longer – at 39 letters – it features the marquee words “national park.” That’s a phrase that members of…
Read MoreNew obstacles loom large for Wyalusing-Gibbstown LNG project
A contentious plan to export liquified natural gas from a Delaware River port faces new political, economic and environmental headwinds that raise questions about its future. A new White House administration, a global market that was once white-hot that has considerably cooled in the past two years and pandemic-related workforce disruptions cast long shadows over…
Read MoreMeg McGuire, founder of Delaware Currents, is honored by PennFuture
Meg McGuire, the founder, publisher and editor of Delaware Currents, an online news magazine dedicated to covering the Delaware River and its watershed, has been named PennFuture’s 2021 Woman of Environmental Media, Marketing and Communications. The recognition honors a person who has established herself as “a credible source for presenting the public with information about…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of PennEast Pipeline’s Use of Eminent Domain
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a company behind a proposed Pennsylvania-to-New Jersey natural gas pipeline has the authority to use eminent domain to acquire lands controlled by New Jersey for the project. The justices ruled 5-4 that the PennEast Pipeline can initiate condemnation proceedings against the state for the 116-mile project, which…
Read MoreFederal judge dismisses fracking lawsuit brought by 2 Pa. state lawmakers
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by two Pennsylvania Republican state lawmakers against the Delaware River Basin Commission in which they claimed a moratorium the agency imposed on fracking for natural gas was a regulatory overreach. The suit, which was brought by state Senators Gene Yaw and Lisa Baker, said a 2009 moratorium…
Read More
Gibbstown LNG Dock 1 got Coast Guard’s “Letter of Recommendation”
Letter dated Dec. 18, 2019
A port in Gibbstown, N.J., that will play a pivotal role in a plan to transport liquified natural gas from Pennsylvania and export it to foreign markets via the Delaware River has gained a critical endorsement from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2019, Delaware Currents has confirmed. The Coast Guard’s “Letter of Recommendation” for the…
Read MoreFirst Responders: Prepared for LNG Emergencies? The Evidence Is Not Reassuring
Hazardous materials regularly roll through Northeastern Pennsylvania communities by rail and road and it’s left to local first responders to be ready for when things go wrong. Haz-mat incidents vary in degrees of danger, records show. Commonly, crews are called to overturned trucks leaking diesel fuel. Infrequently, there are more serious incidents, such as a…
Read MoreLNG From Pennsylvania to New Jersey: 400 Tanker Trucks a Day
A plan to bring liquified natural gas from Wyalusing, Pa., to a port in Gibbstown, N.J., has focused largely on the potential hazards of transporting as much as 3 million gallons of the highly flammable product at a time by rail. But the project sponsor also has plans to send as many as 400 tanker…
Read MoreOpponents of Pennsylvania-New Jersey LNG Plan Cheer Federal Ruling
Critics of a plan to transport liquefied natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to a port on the Delaware River in New Jersey welcomed a recent federal ruling that they say could put up significant regulatory speed bumps – or possibly derail the project altogether. The ruling, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, involved an LNG facility…
Read More