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Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Area Catholic Schools hold a coat drive to support St. Vincent dePaul Clothes Outlet

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BB&T Bank contributes to MMI Preparatory School

Both the Back Mountain and Wilkes-Barre chambers of commerce have sent letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, endorsing the proposed PennEast Pipeline Project. This 36-inch, high-pressure natural gas pipeline would carry natural gas from Dallas, through the Wyoming Valley, to New Jersey.Are the members of these chambers of commerce endorsing the power of eminent domain that the pipeline company can use against unwilling private-property owners along the pipeline route? Those who do not want a natural gas pipeline only feet or yards from their home will be powerless to prevent it. Are the members of these chambers of commerce endorsing the other major natural gas pipeline planned for the Back Mountain, the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline? And would they endorse future pipeline projects? As many as 30,000 miles of new pipelines will be built in Pennsylvania over the next 20 years, according to Gov. Tom Wolf&#8217;s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force.Are the members of these chambers endorsing the Back Mountain as a pipeline hub? Because the Back Mountain is home to the Transco interstate pipeline, three new pipelines, the Williams, Regency and UGI Energy Services lines, have been constructed in the last few years. The proposed Atlantic Sunrise and PennEast pipelines would bring the number of pipelines running through the Back Mountain to six. How many pipelines are too many pipelines in the Back Mountain?Is this really the way to enhance and promote our quality of life in order to retain our own young talent, to attract professionals, executives and doctors, and to attract high-tech businesses to our region?Have we learned nothing from our coal mining legacy?Are we going in the wrong direction?Diane DreierDallas

Letter to the Editor: Let’s not make Back Mountain a hub for natural gas pipelines