NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The utilities'
chosen route for the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission project is the best
alternative for the power line needed by millions of electric
customers in the region, the companies building the project told
the National Park Service in formal comments filed today.
Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and PPL Electric Utilities
Corp. also provided more details on their proposal to mitigate for
unavoidable impacts of the project by preserving thousands of acres
of land to enhance public enjoyment of natural resources in the
area.
Below is a summary of key points in the utilities' comments:
Other NPS alternatives would have more impact: Other
alternative routes proposed by the National Park Service would
require the companies to cut new corridors through forests and
communities in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. This would require
significantly more forest clearing. The companies' route – already
approved by regulators in both states – uses a corridor that
already exists.
Utilities' route follows existing power line corridor through
NPS areas: There already is a transmission line through the
three areas of the National Park Service. The line was there
decades before the park units were created. Using the pre-existing,
cleared corridor for the Susquehanna-Roseland project makes the most sense to limit
overall regional impact.
"No-action" alternative does not prevent impacts: If the
National Park Service chooses the "no action" alternative, the
utilities still will need to rebuild the 85-year-old transmission
line that now crosses the three NPS units. This reconstruction
project will have the same construction impacts as the utilities'
chosen alternative, and will replace the current lattice-style
towers with steel poles between 130 feet and 160 feet high, as
required by today's design standards. In addition, "no action"
could lead to reliability problems in the Northeast power grid.
Utilities already have property rights through NPS lands:
The companies have an existing property easement through the three
National Park Service units that provides the legal right to
rebuild the existing power line. The line must be rebuilt because
it is nearing the end of its useful life.
The Susquehanna-Roseland project does not require significant
widening of existing right of way: The current utility corridor
through the three National Park Service units is four miles long
with widths of up to 200 feet. The only additional right of way and
clearing needed by the utilities to build the Susquehanna-Roseland line is 50 feet of additional right
of way for 0.7 miles where the corridor is now 100 feet wide. The
draft environmental impact statement incorrectly states that the
existing cleared corridor would have to be much wider.
Additional information on mitigation
The utilities also provided additional detail on their
proposal to mitigate for unavoidable impacts of the Susquehanna-Roseland project, if the National Park Service
approves the utilities' chosen route.
First, the utilities will avoid and minimize impacts by using
best management practices during construction of the power line,
including measures identified by the National Park Service in its
draft environmental impact statement. The best way to minimize
impact is to use the existing corridor rather than cutting new
corridors in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, the comments said.
Recognizing that building the Susquehanna-Roseland line would have unavoidable impacts,
the utilities have proposed as compensatory mitigation the purchase
or preservation of thousands of acres of land – identified as
priorities by conservation groups – to expand public landholdings,
to support the mission of the National Park Service and the U.S.
Department of the Interior, and to enhance the enjoyment of the
public.
Areas and agencies that would benefit directly from these
purchases would be:
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
- Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
- Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River.
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania state land conservation
agencies.
- Other natural, conservation and recreational agencies and
interests.
The companies already have identified parcels on the market, and
have matched this list to the priorities identified as particularly
important to the mission of the National Park Service, the U.S.
Department of the Interior, and other conservation agencies and
groups.
The final value of the mitigation package will depend on the
final assessment of impacts determined by the National Park
Service. The utilities believe, based on their own estimates at
this time, that the cost of land purchases would be $30 million to $40 million.
The utilities would establish and endow the Middle Delaware
Mitigation Fund, to be administered by a nonprofit organization.
Monies from the fund would be used to preserve, restore and enhance
the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Appalachian
National Scenic Trail, the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge,
and the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River.
The utilities would provide half the money for the fund when
construction begins in either the Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area or across the Appalachian Trail, and would provide
the balance of the funds when construction is complete and the
Susquehanna-Roseland power line is placed in service.
"We have made a compelling case that our chosen route is the
overall best path to provide for the needs of electric customers
while minimizing impacts," said Ralph
LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of PSE&G,
and David G. DeCampli, president of
PPL Electric Utilities, in a joint statement.
"Our mitigation proposal would provide significant benefits for
the public, and would more than offset unavoidable impacts of this
needed project."
The National Park Service has said it will announce its decision
on the route in March.
The new Susquehanna-Roseland
power line is being built to maintain the reliability of the
electric grid for millions of people in the Northeast region. In
addition, it will save consumers more than $200 million per year by relieving congestion on
the power grid, which will reduce electric bills for some
customers.
The new power line will run from Berwick, Pa., to Roseland, N.J. The independent regional power
grid operator, PJM Interconnection, ordered the new line to prevent
violations of national standards for the operation of the nation's
electric power grid. PJM recently reconfirmed the need for the
line. Construction of the line will create thousands of jobs for
the region.
More information about this project is available on PSE&G's
project Web site at http://reliabilityproject.pseg.com.
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is
New Jersey's oldest and largest
regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving nearly
three-quarters of the state's population. PSE&G is the winner
of the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system
reliability. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise
Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a diversified energy company
(www.pseg.com).
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SOURCE Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G)