This is a press release sent by the NJ Sierra Club
Pilgrim Pipeline Threatening Landowners With FALSE Legal Claims
Eastern Environmental Law Center (EELC), on behalf of the NJ Sierra Club, sent a letter to Pilgrim’s attorneys, DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole, to cease and desist making false claims to property owners. The DeCotiis law firm and other agents of Pilgrim are sending homeowners letters and visiting homeowners along the right-of-way (ROW) falsely claiming that the company has the right to use eminent domain under New Jersey and federal law and that the Pilgrim pipeline is already approved by the Governor. EELC’s letter clearly states that Pilgrim, their lawyers and other agents do not have the right to force access onto private property. Additionally the letter calls on DeCotiis and Pilgrim to stop using “wrongful legal and factual claims” to pressure landowners into signing agreements with the company. At a public meeting in Kinnelon last month, Pilgrim officials stated they have survey permission for about one-third of the pipeline ROW in New Jersey.
“This is part of a harassment and intimidation campaign by Pilgrim and their attorneys that is morally wrong, legally false, and is being done to try and threaten homeowners and property owners to allow them onto their land when they have no right of access. They are deliberately misrepresenting the facts and the law. They do not have a right to come on your property,” said Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club. “They do not have the right of eminent domain and they do not have a right to threaten people and property owners. This is an outrageous form of intimidation and harassment.”
Pilgrim Pipeline LLC is a private company, not a public utility. Oil pipelines, called common carriers in the industry, do not typically receive a public utility designation in New Jersey. The New Jersey statute that Pilgrim has referenced for conferring eminent domain rights requires them to obtain public utility status and/or obtain other approval as a public use. Pilgrim has not applied for nor received such a designation from the NJ Board of Public Utilities or any other public agency. Thus Pilgrim’s legal claims that they have “the power to condemn” are false.
“Pilgrims lawyers and agents are making false claims to homeowners that they have the ‘power to condemn’ when they know they do not. This is frightening homeowners and chilling debate about the environmental costs of their plans,” said Aaron Kleinbaum, legal director of Eastern Environmental Law Center who is representing the Sierra Club.
This is the basis of our constitution, the John Locke philosophy that people have natural rights which are life, liberty, and property. The purpose of government is to uphold these rights. By sending out these letters and telling people they have a right to come on their property and use eminent domain, they are attacking one of the basic premises of our government and people’s rights. The US Constitution says the government cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Pilgrim is a private petroleum corporation and does not have that ability.
“What they have done is outrageous and shameful, trying to threaten and intimidate people. This is Big Oil going after small landowners. If they can deliberately lie and misrepresent the facts when it comes to what powers that they have, how can you trust them to protect the environment or public safety with this pipeline? How could you trust them to do a proper environmental review of the project or follow safety or environmental laws?” asked Jeff Tittel.
Pilgrim Pipeline LLC is proposing to construct two new pipelines to connect Albany, New York, with Port Reading and Linden, New Jersey. The pipeline would cut through both communities that are overburdened by pollution already and environmentally sensitive areas critical for drinking water supply. The infrastructure would transport Bakken shale oil, produced by fracking in North Dakota, and refined petroleum products. The Bakken oil is highly explosive and pipeline transportation would threaten local communities with the risk of spills and accidents. The source of the oil and its consequences for our climate, along with the environmental impacts of the project’s construction and operation, will have long-term, negative effects on both states.
The Pilgrim Pipeline would cut through important water supply watershed and near water supply aquifers. The pipeline will run through the Ramapo River Watershed in New York and New Jersey. This system serves Mahwah, Ramsey, Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Allendale, Pompton Lakes, Wayne and 8 more towns in New York as well as a backup to the Wanaque and Oradell Reservoirs during times of drought. The pipeline will pass through or near the Chatham aquifer, tributaries to the Hudson River, and the Catskill and Delaware aqueducts which provide drinking water to New York City.
“We cannot trust this pipeline company with what they say, represent, or do. We cannot trust them to cut through environmentally sensitive areas and drinking water supplies with this pipeline,” said Jeff Tittel.
Local municipalities along the route have been actively opposing the project. Parsippany, Montville, Watchung, Oakland, and Madison have all passed resolutions against the pipeline.
“All this pipeline will do is increase the amount of dangerous Bakken crude oil coming into our state. But the Pilgrim proposal is especially alarming because they want to bring this fuel through some of the most environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas in the state. Landowners are right to oppose this project and deny survey permission. It is shameful that Pilgrim is threatening and misrepresenting facts and legal statutes to people that want to protect their land and communities from this hazardous pipeline project ,” said Kate Millsaps, conservation program coordinator, NJ Sierra Club.
The public can learn more about the project at 3 upcoming education forums hosted by the Sierra Club and other organizations in the Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline:
Woodbridge: November 17th at 6:30 PM
Woodbridge Library- Main Branch
1 George Fredrick Plaza, Woodbridge
Watchung: December 2nd at 7:30 pm
Watchung Borough Hall, 15 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung, 07069, 2nd Floor
Roselle: December 4th at 7pm
Heard A.M.E. Church
310 E 8th Ave, Roselle, NJ 07203