The proposed Penn East natural gas pipeline we blogged about last week will be a significant large-scale earth moving
project with impacts to numerous communities, waterways, and public and private lands along its
108-mile route. Here, we've covered some of the how and why of getting involved in this process.
Q: What's a scoping meeting?
FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) will host public meetings on the Penn East pipeline called scoping meetings (we'll be at the one on Thursday, February 12 in Wilkes-Barre). These meetings are a key opportunity for concerned citizens, affected landowners, conservation, historical, and environmental organizations, and any members of the public, to speak and offer input about the impacts and scope of the project, and to identify what environmental issues should be studied further.
From FERC: "The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could result...and to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals.The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the important environmental issues."
Q: I'm not an expert. What kind of comments can I provide?
Whether you walk along the banks of the Susquehanna River, paddle or hike one of the affected state parks or forests, or are concerned about the cumulative impacts of gas infrastructure, keep in mind that the pipeline company and FERC don't know your community and waterways like you do. You can review the maps and documents, note concerns, and document them. Your input can be a written submission or spoken (3-5 minutes at the public meetings) and it becomes part of the formal record of the project that FERC must consider. And this is the first of several opportunities to weigh in throughout the FERC process.
Q: Does my voice matter?
Yes! It's why we do what we do -- we're all stakeholders in our communities. As our friends at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) like to say: "As in nature, we have strength in numbers." Our legal and policy staff will be submitting comments about what the scope of the EIS should be. If you search using the FERC docket number below, you can scroll through the numerous comments already submitted. Remember: it's your voice.
Relevant documents:
Notice of Intent
Docket No. PF15-1-000, PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC. The first .pdf document is the entire 333-page filing along with route maps.
FERC FAQs on gas pre-filing process
E-comments page for individuals submitting comments. If you are an organization, you must use the e-filing form.
Kate Gibbons is the northeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Wilkes-Barre.
