Delaware River Partners, subsidiary company of New Fortress Energy, has secured permission from the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for the construction of an LNG export terminal in New Jersey.
The project is intended to be a 1.300-foot-long pier along the Delaware River in Gibbstown, where the company is expanding the Gibbstown Logistics Center (GLC), which will receive and export several commodities like fuels, automobiles, and liquified natural gas (LNG).
The DRBC voted 4-0 with one abstention for the developing of the project.
It has representation form the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York governors, as well as representation by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Approximately 174 miles away, the company intends to build a new LNG plant, from which the cargoes will be sent to GLC. This new proposed plant will be developed in Branford County, in Pennsylvania by New Fortress Energy.
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Project faces pressure from Delaware environmental groups
The plant would produce natural gas from the Marcellus Shale; it will liquify the gas and sent it via rail or truck to the Gibbstown dock, and then exported to the Caribbean and other regions.
“Approval gives us the opportunity to continue to invest in and build new infrastructure that will create jobs and provide economic growth in the State of New Jersey and the surrounding region,” the company said in a statement.
This is not the first time the DRBC approves the Delaware River Partners project. In June, 2019, the project had already the greenlight, but it faced significant pressure from environmental groups such as Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) and the New Jersey Sierra Club (NJSC).
They argue that the project will pollute the river, and worsen climate change as it would prompt drilling in Pennsylvania for shale gas. They also consider that the LNG transportation from miles away is dangerous as it could explode.
“We are scandalized by the approval of this,” said Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the DRN. She said the vote was a “deadly blow” upon the river and she vowed to file an appeal to a federal court. “The DRBC has sold out the basin and sided with the fracking industry,” concluded Jeff Tittel, director of the NJSC.
