First off, a big thank you to all of you who have reached out via comment, email, phone, etc. We truly appreciate all of your concern and support.

The concept of a private company being able to tear up your property against your will in order to dump a hazardous monstrosity on it is a tough one to swallow. It is life altering and the uncertainty of the future makes it tough to navigate the day-to-day right now.

I already see the kids looking out the window suspiciously at any vehicle that enters the street and I’m having a hard time enjoying my beloved garden now that the future is murky. No more long term planning or new garden beds to dream of.

But I digress …

To catch you all up on what is going on and where things stand, here is a summary:

• The proposed natural gas pipeline from PennEast Pipeline Company would run from NE Pennsylvania, under the Delaware River, into NJ (Hunterdon County) and would terminate in Pennington, NJ (Mercer County).  A total of 110 miles.
• The pipeline will carry natural gas on a continual basis through a 36 inch diameter pipe that would be buried at least 3 feet in the ground.
• The easement that would house the pipeline would be 50-100 feet wide.
• We will not be tapping into or benefiting in the future from the use of the natural gas as we will continue to use propane.
• Word of the pipeline first emerged in October 2014. The first proposed route also emerged at that time. We were not directly in the line of the pipeline then but it was still less than a 1/2 mile from our home. As of this past Friday, the proposed route has changed, for reasons unknown, and we are now directly in its path.
• FERC is scheduled to render their decision in 2016 with construction starting some time in 2017.
• There has been an incredible fight by the community from the get-go and the fight has never been about the location of the pipeline but the fight to defeat its existence at all.
• We’ve attended town halls and other meetings along the way and have become well educated on fracking, the ways of the pipeline companies, what to do if you are contacted by any of the companies even loosely affiliated with PennEast and of course, all of the concerns that come with the pipeline (well contamination, safety, destruction of farmland/preserved land, etc.). Color us concerned.
• PennEast has been conducting/attempting to conduct property surveys for months now. Only 1/3rd of property owners have allowed the company to survey and that has created a bit of a roadblock for obtaining the necessary permits.
• We’ve just received our official letter requesting a survey …  and I’ll leave it at that.

Obviously, a lot more to come with this and I’ll continue to document along the way. It somehow helps me deal with the gravity of the situation and just maybe it helps spread the word a bit.

If you want to know more about this pipeline and concerns with pipelines in general, I highly recommend checking out this blog:

The Cost of the Pipeline

And finally, I would love for you to sign the following petition which asks the federal government (FERC) to add additional public meetings where all of the people can be heard with their concerns in regards to the PennEast pipeline.

Come to me, DRBC

Thank you