For Immediate Release – April 16, 2019
MIDDLETOWN, NJ – The Middletown Township Committee unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Williams/ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Raritan Pipeline at the Monday, April 15th Township Committee meeting. This proposed 23.5 mile methane natural gas pipeline through Raritan Bay and Lower New York Bay poses serious environmental concerns to the Bayshore coastal communities as well as negative impacts to safety and the economy.
“This project will in no way serve the interests of the State of New Jersey or its residents and will only supply natural gas to New York,” said Mayor Perry. “Since the late 1990s, our communities have worked diligently to improve our beaches and our fishing industry is at its best— this pipeline would negate all that we have revitalized.”
The Williams/NESE pipeline will adversely impact industries important to the New Jersey Bayshore communities, disturb commercial and recreational fishing and shell fishing activities, and potentially damage the $9 billion tourism industry. Despite being directly affected from the proposed pipeline, there has been no public hearing within the Bayshore.
“This pipeline would introduce tons of toxic sediment into our waters and not only affect the Bayshore area from an environmental standpoint but also greatly threaten the shellfish and fishing industries,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. “We cannot risk all that has been improved along the Bayshore, which is why our organization is extremely grateful to Mayor Perry and the Middletown Township Committee for their quick opposition to this pipeline.”
The Middletown Township Committee urges the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to deny any permit application for the project and any other pipeline and urges its representatives of the New Jersey Legislature, United States Congress and United States Senate as well as the Governor of New Jersey to oppose this pipeline application.
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