Standing at a Mount Tammany overlook above the Delaware River. (Compass Points Media / flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/compasspointsmedia/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
We would act irresponsibly this week if Compass Points highlighted a pair of day hikes in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a well-visited 70,000 acre park astride of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, without talking about an ongoing dispute among park officials, conservationists and energy suppliers.
And by the way, the older I get, the more I realize that few trails exist in areas not the subject of some dispute over how best to use the land.
In this case, we’re talking about existing power lines in Delaware Water Gap and proposals to build taller towers to carry them. From NorthJersey.com:
The (project) is a joint venture of PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania and Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) in New Jersey. It would build 500-kilovolt transmission towers along an already existing path of smaller 230-kilovolt towers that run through Warren, Sussex and Morris Counties, ending in Roseland, Essex County.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission have approved the project, but the (National Park Service) must also agree as the lines would run through federal parkland. NPS must produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as to how the project would affect the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
The towers would stand 200 feet high, or 20 stories. And that has drawn the ire of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter, local residents and the National Parks Conservation Association. From the NPCA:
When you gaze at the landscape at a national park, you expect to see trees, rock outcrops, wildlife, historic structures, or just wide open spaces. You DON’T expect to see steel towers 20 stories tall with giant cables stretched between them. But that is precisely what will happen at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail along the New Jersey and Pennsylvania border, if the National Park Service provides two energy companies with the necessary permits!
Although the park now contains a small power line and right-of-way that predates the establishment of the park, this new proposal would allow for the construction of the towers and power lines, as well as the expansion of the right-of-way to 350 feet wide–more than triple the width of the current right-of-way–through the most biologically rich area of the park.
Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter, called Delaware Water gap a “cathedral of nature” and said the power line project would be a “desecration of nature.”
Officials behind the project, though, say the area’s power grid needs a vital upgrade in the well-populated area, which includes north New Jersey and New York City as well as eastern Pennsylvania cities like Allentown. From NorthJersey.com:
Donald McCloskey, director of environmental policy for PSE&G, said his company understood their concerns, and would do everything possible to mitigate the impact on the environment. He said the project was necessary to avoid rolling brownouts and to maintain the integrity of the region’s electric grid. His statements were echoed by Sean McNamara, Manager of Federal Regulations for industry group PJM. McNamara said many alternatives had been considered, but this was the only way to ensure energy goals for the region would be met.
Hard to see this project not moving forward if only because as beautiful as this park is geologically and for its flora and fauna, a major interstate highway (I-80) runs through the southern portion of the park. You can’t hike up Mount Tammany and Mount Minsi without hearing among the blue bird chirps tractor trailers rumbling along. How can the park service deny the request when thousands of vehicles pass through the area every day?
On the other hand, when does human impact on a park like Delaware Water Gap become too much? If a highway already pierces the park, one could say that the line should be drawn there and not crossed by additional development.
Check out two ways to see Delaware Water Gap – Mount Minsi and Mount Tammany.
