For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities unanimously rejected JCP&L’s Monmouth County Reliability Project today. BPU agreed stated the project lacked information and agreed with Judge Cookson’s decision that the project did not meet the burden of proof for need. The 145 ft. 10-mile long project would clear-cut areas behind the NJ Transit right-of-way in Red Bank, Middletown, Hazlet, Holmdel, Aberdeen, and Matawan costing ratepayers $111 million to build. The Sierra Club was actively involved in this issue, testifying and commenting numerous times against the project. New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel, released the following statement:
“In a huge win for the families and residents of Monmouth County, BPU unanimously turned down JCP&L’s Monmouth County Reliability Project today. It’s a victory for the environment, protecting wetlands and wildlife from unnecessary and damaging power lines. The BPU agreed with Judge Cookson’s decision that JCP&L did not prove need for the project or properly look at alternatives deny JCP&L’s. This is good news for renewable energy and people who didn’t want to see these massive lines ruin the viewshed. We thank the BPU for standing up for the environment and the people of Monmouth County.
“This project was never needed and is less needed now. There are clear alternatives for energy efficiency, like putting the lines underground, non-transmission, smart grid technology, and/or demand response. This a major victory to the thousands of residents and families or Monmouth County who have been spending their time and money to beat JCP&L’s monster power line proposal. This also is a win for the threatened and endangers wildlife habitats of raptors, bald-eagles, and hawks that could have been affected by the power line project.
“The BPU has been rubberstamping for utilities for so long and today we took that away from them. The Monmouth County Reliability Project would have been a safety threat to communities it passed and could have caused unnecessary environmental damage. It’s important that the BPU listened to the overwhelming opposition from concerned residents and families of Monmouth county. This power line proposal has been turned down once before, and now the BPU has rejected it for good. We must remain vigilant, however and we must keep fighting. When you go up against the utilities, it can be David vs Goliath. But today, BPU’s rejection to JCP&L’smonster power line shows us that sometimes, the good guys can win.”