By Tom Johnson from NJ Spotlight

The federal government yesterday approved a new natural-gas pipeline project through portions of central New Jersey, a proposal much opposed by environmental groups and towns, which argued that it would go through environmentally sensitive lands, forests, and critical habitats.

But the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission endorsed the $738 million project, of which 13 miles would traverse land in New Jersey, and another 16.5 miles in Pennsylvania. The project’s cost escalated because of the number of compressor stations to be built, which pump gas faster through the pipeline.

While modest in comparison to as many as 11 other natural-gas pipeline projects pending in the state, it still provoked hostility, primarily because it would go through protected public land and farmland, as well as the Sourland Mountains.

The proliferation of new gas and other pipelines has become a big issue in New Jersey, largely because many of the projects that have been approved go through lands set aside with taxpayer funds for preservation, including the New Jersey Highlands and the Pinelands Preservation Area.

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