Business and Labor Groups File Amicus Brief in Support of South Jersey Gas Cape Atlantic Reliability Project

Winslow, NJ - A coalition of groups representing thousands of businesses and dozens of labor groups urged the Superior Court of New Jersey to uphold a key decision on the South Jersey Gas Cape Atlantic Reliability Project, which ensures energy reliability for thousands of residents and businesses in Cape May and Atlantic counties, and reduces the environmental impacts by converting an aging coal-fired generation facility to cleaner natural gas. 

The brief filed yesterday outlines the legal support for the Pinelands Commission's approval of South Jersey Gas' Cape Atlantic Reliability Project earlier this year. The groups have extensive experience and expertise in economic development, job creation and balancing those activities and needs against environmental impacts. In 2016, the same Court affirmed the project is "reasonably necessary for the service, convenience, or welfare of the public."

The Cape Atlantic Reliability Project will provide the former B.L. England electric generation facility in Beesley's Point, Cape May County, with the natural gas supply needed to discontinue the burning of coal at its facility, a major goal of New Jersey's Energy Master Plan. The pipeline will also reinforce the area's access to safe and reliable energy by providing a critical back-up supply route for natural gas to more than 142,000 customers in Cape May and Atlantic counties who are currently served by a single line. The new pipeline will make them far less vulnerable to a service outage in the event of an accident or natural disaster.

"We continue to fight for this long overdue project because it is necessary to help improve our air quality and ensure safe, reliable energy for Southern New Jersey," said Michael Egenton, executive vice president of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. "In addition to providing a reliable, affordable supply of natural gas to the region, the B.L. England plant is located in a critical electric congestion area and is the only major electricity generator in Southeastern New Jersey. Ensuring that this plant continues to generate electricity, and doing it in a more environmentally friendly way, is critical to meeting the needs of this region's residents and business owners."

"We applaud the focus on critical infrastructure improvements that the Cape Atlantic Reliability Project represents for our region," said William Pauls, president of South Jersey Building Trades Council. "Projects like this provide South Jersey residents the energy needed to heat their homes and to power the local economy."

"This project was designed and studied for over four years and will meet or exceed the most stringent state and federal regulations for safety," said Dan Cosner, president of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council. "It is time to put a stop to the delays and move forward with improving the air quality by converting the B.L. England facility from coal to cleaner natural gas."

The Building Trades Councils have 19 member unions with a combined total of 35,000 construction workers that live and work throughout Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties.

"The Cape May County Chamber of Commerce remains firmly in support of this much-needed project. We understand the environmental and energy reliability benefits it will have for the businesses and residents of this region, and we are proud to do our part in making sure the project moves forward without any further delay," said Vicki Clark, president, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce.

The following list represents individuals and groups who filed the brief:

• New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce
• Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council
• South New Jersey Building Trades Council
• South Jersey Mechanical Contractors Association
• Southern NJ Development Council
• Cape May County Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce