The PennEast pipeline is an unnecessary infrastructure project that will only benefit the companies who own it, and whose costs will be borne by residents in the area. In response to the PennEast threat, we formed HALT PennEast. We are average citizens who have joined forces to stop this pipeline.
Positive News – September 23rd, 2020
POSITIVE NEWS
A dose of positive news today regarding easements for the now failed Constitution pipeline courtesy of our attorney, Anne Marie Garti.
“On September 17, the judge in the condemnation cases for the now dead Constitution Pipeline issued a decision and order dissolving BOTH orders he issued in 2015: Partial Summary Judgment (granting Constitution the right to take land for the Constitution Pipeline) and the Preliminary Injunction (granting immediate access to that land). He further ordered Constitution to record the decision and order in the Office of the County Clerk. That means the title to the properties will now be free of the pipeline easement.
Even though I only submitted briefs making these arguments on behalf of my clients, he applied his decision to all of the remaining condemnation cases.
However, this decision does not apply to the landowners who accepted money from Constitution for the easement. They made a binding agreement that travels with their deed to subsequent owners. Constitution can sell the easements without informing those landowners.
This outcome proves that the perseverance of landowners can pay off at the end of a successful fight against pipelines – but only if compensation has not been paid.”
If you have received compensation from PennEast, you should consult with your own attorneys as your terms may be unique to you alone.
September HALT Update – September 7th, 2020
FERC Deadline Reminder – August 29th, 2020
August HALT Update – August 12th, 2020
Supreme Court Update, NJCF Statement, and Tolling Orders Update— July 1st, 2020
Request for Homeowners to Submit a Comment to FERC–May 5th, 2020
APRIL 2020 NEWSLETTER– April 26th, 2020
HALT’s February 26, 2020 Meeting Summary–March 4th, 2020
An Important Time To Have Our Voices Heard: Move To Intervene By March 4, 2020–February 16th 2020
PennEast Update — January 11th 2020
PennEast Seeks Supreme Court Review–November 19th 2019
Where Things Stand At This Time–November 4th & 5th 2019
NJDEP Denied PennEast’s Submitted Application–Oct 11th 2019
Tell NJDEP to Reject PennEast Now!–September 18th 2019
Putting Together Our Game Plan — August 29th 2019
PennEast Application Resubmitted to NJDEP — August 12th 2019
Meeting Highlights — June 19th 2019
Governor Murphy & NJDEP Deny Permits To Build Contested Pipeline — June 8th 2019
More Uncertainty for PennEast and FERC — March 20th 2019
Please Intervene By March 8, 2019 — February 24th, 2019
Homeowners Claim PennEast Official has Major Conflict of Interest — February 21st 2019
HALT Letter to Attorney General & Hunterdon Freeholders Support — February 2019
Homeowner Update From Judge — January 17th 2019
PennEast Discussions With Lawyers — January 16th 2019
Court Order Entered — January 11th 2019
Keeping directly impacted homeowners informed — February 7th 2018
Confirmed the nominations of FERC Commissioners McIntyre and Glick — November 3rd 2018
HALT & Homeowner’s Legal Actions — 2017
FERC Nominees Are Confirmed — August 3rd 2017
NJDEP Denies PennEast’s Request for a Permit Application Extension! — 2017
The HALT organization has been very lucky to have Ava Helmer volunteer as our webmaster for the past two and one-half years. During that time she has added interest and a logical organization to our website. She has kept the website up to date with the latest information for our members. The website is the public face of our organization and we are grateful for her help. When she began her tenure as a volunteer webmaster, Ava was a high school student. Now, she is in college and is ready to turn the reins over to our new webmaster, Kitty Evans. The HALT Board of Trustees would like to extend our sincere Thanks to Ava for her contribution to the fight against PennEast and we welcome our new webmaster.
Comment from Ava Helmer:
It has been my pleasure to be HALT’s Webmaster for these past two years. When I first began my position with HALT, I was a junior in high school looking for a side-gig that related to the communications field, as I had just decided I wanted to pursue communications in college. HALT was a natural fit for me: I value conservation efforts, it was local and it allowed me to attend some in-person meetings, and I was looking for experience in managing communications for a non-profit.
My first tasks at HALT involved renovating the website to make it more user-friendly, organized, and engaging. I added rotating content to the homepage so website visitors could find the most pertinent information on PennEast and HALT’s current legal proceedings, a tab specifically for the monthly Report to Stakeholders/Homeowners, as well as specialty posts such as short documentary videos, art, and photos relating to HALT’s mission. After the renovation, I managed upkeep for these pages and adapted to posting recordings of video-chat member meetings once the pandemic hit. In June 2020, I began training my replacement Webmaster, Kitty Evans. I know Kitty will do a great job maintaining the website and add her own personality in HALT posts in her new role as Webmaster. I wish her all the best as she takes on this new position!
Currently, I am a sophomore at the S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Data Analytics. My monthly emails communicating with HALT executives and learning how to manage the website taught me great basic skills that I continue to utilize in my college courses and will eventually use in my career. It has been a joy to follow HALT and connect with the executive board and members. This position has allowed me to grow as a professional and it will remain on my resume showcasing my web-work literacy, my dedication to important non-profit organizations and issues, and my commitment to my community for years to come!
Thank you HALT and everyone who helped me during my time as Webmaster.
Sincerely,
Ava Helmer
Learn more about Ava at avahelmer.squarespace.com
NEW! September 2020 Report To Stakeholders
September 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “On Sept. 17th , the judge in the Constitution Pipeline eminent domain proceedings ordered
the reversal of condemnation orders…”
August 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “On Sept. 2nd the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concluded the
opportunity to comment on the Environmental Assessment for the new Phase 1 (PA
only) pipeline project.“
July 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro has issued a Grand Jury Report that concludes that
Pennsylvania regulatory agencies have failed to protect the public from the negative
impacts of fracking for gas.”
June 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “The Supreme Court has finally taken action on the PennEast appeal of the State of New Jersey case. The Court has asked the Solicitor General to submit a brief.“
May 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “The original PennEast pipeline has two important permits that have yet to be granted by the PADEP. The Chapter 102 Permit concerns erosion and sediment control.”
April 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “As reported earlier, on January 30th PennEast filed an application for a new Pennsylvania-only pipeline which they call “Phase I.”
March 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “All local Carbon County governments along the pipeline route and the County government have signed on as intervenors except Kidder Township.”
Febuary 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “PennEast has created a new project that they are calling Phase 1. FERC has accepted the application and granted a new docket number (CP20-47). This is a project to build 68 miles of the original route through PA. This is a PA-only pipeline that follows the originally proposed route but ends in Bethlehem Twp. where it will connect to the Adelphia Gateway Project which is another pipeline project with a separate docket number (CP18-46).”
January 2020 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “As noted in last month’s report, PennEast Pipeline has asked FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for an extension of two more years in which to get the project operational. FERC has not yet scheduled a hearing on the extension request.“
December 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “Today, the PennEast Pipeline asked FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for an “extension of time.” […] If they manage to complete the pipeline by 2022, it will be five years behind schedule.“
October 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “Yesterday, the Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 383,000 gallons (9,120 barrels) of oil into wetlands in North Dakota. The leak is already the eighth-largest pipeline oil spill of the last decade.”
Sept 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “On September 10th, a three-judge panel of the 3rd District Appeals Court, overturned an earlier ruling and upheld the State of New Jersey’s appeal.“
August 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “PennEast resubmitted its application for a certification under the Clean Water Act to the New Jersey DEP on August 8th.“
July 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “Save Carbon County has been approved for a $1,000 Sierra Club grant to help fund our efforts in fighting the pipeline.“
June 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “When we started our efforts to defeat PennEast, we hoped that delays in the project would provide time for the market for gas to plunge.”
April 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “As noted in the March report, PennEast filed for approval of a route change on 2/19/19 and asked for FERC approval of that route change by 7/1/19.”
Mar 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “PennEast filed for important approvals with both the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this month.“
Feb 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “According to a reports filed with the PA Dept. of State, pipeline companies have spent more than $37.7 million on lobbying our representatives in Harrisburg.”
January 2019 Report To Stakeholders
Excerpt: “On Dec. 14th, landowners in NJ received a final judgement in their Eminent Domain hearing.”
HALT NJCF Meeting August 2020
HALT NJCF August 2020 from Gary Brackenridge on Vimeo.
“We hope that everyone will share these findings with the public, with your members, and with decision-makers evaluating natural gas pipelines and infrastructure in the Delaware River Basin and beyond. They tell an important story regarding the significant environmental and social costs of these projects, and the horror stories from construction of Mariner East 2 show how real the risks are, and how damaging these projects can be to our water resources, and impacted landowners and communities!”
—Tom Gilbert–Campaign Director for Energy, Climate and Natural Resources, New Jersery Conservation Foundation
This painting is a response to the threat of the proposed PennEast pipeline. It is a threat to our community, our environment, our agricultural and cultural resources as well as global climate. I call it “The Climate Change Apocalypse.” It depicts how the places we call home, such as the Rosemont Valley, our global home, including Manhattan, and the glaciers and seas will be impacted by climate change if we cannot stop the use of fossil fuels and the proliferative infrastructure it brings.
Our community is fighting to defend our “peaceable kingdom.” This is why we are working together to stop PennEast and climate change before it is too late.
Alix Bacon.
