This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, we look at the route between Milford and Frenchtown.

As always, the 400′ survey corridor is in smokey gray, the pipeline 50′ permanent easement line is in red, and the light blue areas are temporary construction zones. There is also a 100′ construction right of way not shown here.

This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, we look at the Appalachian Trail crossing of the project in Pennsylvania.

As always, the 400′ survey corridor is in smokey gray, the pipeline 50′ permanent easement line is in red, and the light blue areas are temporary construction zones. There is also a 100′ construction right of way not shown here.

In the video, we approach the trail from the South East.  Just as it approaches the upgrade, the route turns sharply to the West, paralleling the trail for some distance.  All of this portion is green field development through old growth forest.  No co-location in site.

It then turns north again and climbs up the mountain (again all through old growth forest).  Near the top is a 700 HDD section (visible in the video where there are no light blue temporary work spaces), the one sop given to the trail.

It then follows some of the Blue Mountain resorts roads for a bit along the ridge, then plunges seemingly straight down the mountain side.

Don’t let the HDD portion fool you.   The AT corridor in this area will be permanently scarred by the 100′ clear cut route of the pipeline on either side of the trail, and the use of HDD means the part closest to the trail will have the greatest impacts (due to HDD entry and exit sites requiring a lot of space).  Trail walkers along the ridge will see the permanent scar running parallel to the mountain to the north and south, thanks to PennEast’s brilliant routing.

This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, we start at Route 78 near the Lehigh River, follow the HDD there, then we proceed on to another HDD, this one emerging in the middle of a Lowes Shopping Center parking lot (!). We continue on showing a very skinny zone between some PADOT facilities and Route 33.

As always, the 400′ survey corridor is in smokey gray, the pipeline 50′ permanent easement line is in red, and the light blue areas are temporary construction zones. There is also a 100′ construction right of way not shown here.

For the record, no, I don’t know how in the world PennEast thinks this is safe or reasonable.  The traffic and lifestyle impacts in this area are going to be horrendous.

This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, we do a flyover of the route through starting at the Delaware River and heading North West through Durham and Williams Township PA.

As always, the 400′ survey corridor is in smokey gray, the pipeline 50′ permanent easement line is in red, and the light blue areas are temporary construction zones. There is also a 100′ construction right of way not shown here.

You can see the pipeline route snaking through pristine farmland through much of the area, and then heading into more mountain areas where it’s going through forest terrain. The vaunted co-location of the project is no where to be seen.

This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, we do a flyover of the route through Hopewell Township, NJ.

The video starts at the Goat Hill Natural Heritage Priority Site, and proceeds to show the route going through several farms in the Valley Road area. We follow the HDD under Moore’s creek, and the HDD staging site up on Baldpate Mountain.

The route then continues on Baldpate, not co-located at all, but creating a new area of devastation to the West of the power line cut, all in areas of dense old growth forest and steep slopes. And, of course, this whole area is designated an Important Bird Area.

It continues through several more farms and through Jacob’s creek, another long HDD under the municipal area around Scotch Road, and then on through more farmland and increasingly residential areas. Then onto the Shoprite shopping center, under Route 31, and on to the terminus in Pennington.

This is part of the 3D flyover video series of the PennEast routes. In this installment, I like at one of the so-called “IBA-Avoidance” routes, in this case the Baldpate IBA Avoidance Route.

There has been a lot of confusion about these routes (mostly engendered by PennEast), but in reality it’s pretty simple.  The US Fish & Wildlife (USF&W) service asked FERC to ask PennEast to avoid what are called Important Bird Areas, or IBAs.  In response to this, PennEast came up with a number of routes to miss those IBAs entirely.  PennEast claims that the impacts of these routes are too large so FERC should ignore them, but that’s not how this game works.  In reality, these are official alternatives before FERC, and we’ll have to wait and see what FERC does with them.  They are clearly lousy routes, but they’re out there now.

Because the Baldpate IBA is so long (25 miles!), I’ve broken it into two pieces . Well, really three, but the third piece is fairly uninteresting (if anyone wants it please give me a shout and I’ll get it captured and published).

These route maps were created by overlaying the very crude and high altitude PennEast maps into Google Earth, and then tracing the map route with a Google Earth Path.  As such we have no real detail, just a fairly wide zone where  the pipeline could go.  Mostly this is tracking existing pipeline routes and/or electric lines along the way.  The potential route is in red of course.

Part 1 starts in Lambertville, and goes west under the Delaware River and into Bucks County PA.  At 57 seconds you can see it going into the Giant shopping center, going between the liquor store and the Giant.

Part 2 continues where part 1 left off, and shows it going through many residential areas.  And then it gets weird.  At 1:37 we see not one, but two quarries.  The pipeline is routed right at the very edge of two yuge quarry pits.