Another top division head in Luzerne County government out of job

Students of the month at Kennedy Elementary

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Concerned residents near the path of a proposed natural gas pipeline have formed a group opposing the $1 billion project as the deadline to mobilize against the plan looms.</p><p>The Plains Township Citizens Against the Pipeline formed this week to help prevent the construction of the 114-mile pipeline, the group announced Tuesday. The group believes the pipeline&#8217;s alleged benefits outweigh the cost to residents, who perceive the project as a threat to their homes and businesses and fear it will diminish property values.</p><p>&#8220;While federal regulations require that pipeline companies make every effort to avoid impacting communities and minimizing the harm they cause, PennEast appears to have done little work in this area. The routes they have proposed appear to be motivated by least-cost to PennEast, with little thought given to least-harm,&#8221; according to a signed petition that this week will be presented to U.S. Reps. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, and Mike Carroll, D-Avoca.</p><p>The group, which has about six members, formed just days before Thursday&#8217;s deadline to intervene in the project. Such a declaration will provide the right to be included on all pipeline-related communications while reserving the right for signees to be involved in potential hearings.</p><p>Intervenors can be municipalities, agencies or individuals.</p><p>Lori Pascucci Leggio, Plains Township Citizens Against the Pipeline secretary, said while the group is currently small in numbers, she hopes more will join in as the project drives forward.</p><p>&#8220;We just started this,&#8221; said Leggio, whose residence on Jumper Road in Plains Township is in the pipeline&#8217;s latest path. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been meeting in small groups to start in the summer and the small group was just family. From family we got more involved in other people and then we started to go to the communities and get more involved.&#8221;</p><p>In what officials called a &#8220;milestone&#8221; in the project, PennEast on Sept. 24 submitted a formal application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC), an independent agency that will review PennEast&#8217;s request to build, operate and own the pipeline.</p><p>The 36-inch, underground pipeline is slated to originate in Luzerne County near Dallas High School, cutting through parts of Kingston Township, West Wyoming, Wyoming, Jenkins Township, Plains Township, Laflin and Bear Creek before continuing southeast and eventually terminating in Mercer County, New Jersey.</p><p>The committee will review the request over the coming months, officials have said.</p><p>The group asserts that the pipeline is &#8220;unnecessary,&#8221; stating the 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day slated to be delivered to New Jersey from the is more than the Garden State needs. Furthermore, the group believes stakeholders have ulterior motives. Namely, shipping the gas overseas.</p><p>&#8220;We believe PennEast should not be allowed to invoke federal eminent domain on our private property for a project that will not materially benefit Pennsylvania residents. Instead, the natural gas may be shipped overseas and sold to the highest bidder where it is selling for 3 to 4 times the price in the US,&#8221; the petition reads.</p><p>PennEast has stated there are no plans to export natural gas through the proposed pipeline.</p><p>Construction is slated to be completed in 2018.</p><p>To sign up as an intervenor, visit http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Deadline to intervene in $1 billion project looms</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Plains Township citizens form group opposing ‘unnecessary’ pipeline project