PennEast Pipeline opponents balk at new FERC public-comment process

A federal agency that is reviewing the contentious PennEast Pipeline project has upset some activists by rolling out a public-comment process aimed at limiting opportunities for raucous demonstrations.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an obscure agency that approves interstate pipeline projects, is collecting public comments at six sessions this week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey on its draft environmental-impact statement for the natural-gas pipeline. But pipeline opponents and supporters who turned out Monday night prepared for a public drama were deprived of a stage.

Shunning the town hall format that it says denies some speakers a chance to comment, FERC ushered participants into private rooms to deliver their testimony to agency employees and stenographers. The comments will be posted on the agency's website later.

"We thought this would be a more efficient way and convenient way for people to provide their comments," said Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokeswoman. "We've received very positive comments from people who were left out before."

An organizer of anti-pipeline activists, Maya K. van Rossum, the head of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said many people who turned up at a session in Bethlehem on Monday night departed after realizing there was no group activity.

"It seems clearly designed to undermine community participation in the process," said van Rossum, who described the FERC process as "a faux public hearing."

Private testimony does not capture "the power of the raw emotion" pipeline opponents say they feel about the project, she said.

The 119-mile PennEast project would deliver Marcellus Shale natural gas from Northeastern Pennsylvania mostly to New Jersey utilities. The $1.2 billion project is sponsored by a subsidiary of UGI Corp. of Valley Forge.

FERC, whose oversight of interstate energy-transmission systems was typically conducted in relative anonymity in the past, has become the focus of an increasing amount of attention from climate activists seeking to block pipelines and power lines.

Young-Allen, the agency spokeswoman, said the new format is aimed at enhancing participation, not restraining it.

"The audience may express one way of thinking, and if you have an opposite point of view, you may feel inhibited from standing up to the mic to talk" she said.

Rather than conducting three-hour public hearings, FERC is having four-hour public-comment sessions, each with two private interview rooms.

"This maximizes the number of people who can participate in the process," Young-Allen said.

The public can comment online, at the public sessions, or through the postal service, she said.

"Under the National Environmental Policy Act, we're just required to receive public comments," she said. "It doesn't tell us how to do that."

Public sessions were planned for 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, and at the Holiday Inn in Clinton, N.J.

Sessions are scheduled for Wednesday night at the Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre and at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton.

Written comments can be submitted to FERC by Sept. 12.

amaykuth@phillynews.com

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