Power companies plan to begin work in the Delaware Water Gap Sept. 3, but environmental groups say it will "permanently scar the landscape" of three national park units.
Conservation groups say the Susquehanna-Roseland power line will blight the scenic views of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. A coalition of environmental groups has asked a federal judge to forbid the start of new power line construction in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area until a judge decides a related lawsuit.
PPL Electric Utilities and Public Service Electric & Gas Co. officials plan to begin construction of the new Susquehanna-Roseland power line Sept. 3, PPL spokesman Paul Wirth said. The power companies will remove the existing 85-year-old power line and erect new poles and wires across four miles of the park, Wirth said.
A coalition of environmental groups last week filed a request for an injunction to prevent the clearing of vegetation, construction of access roads or the start of other work in the park while their lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of the Interior is pending.
There’s no reversing putting a transmission line across the park, said Hannah Chang, senior associate attorney for Earthjustice. Earthjustice is the law firm representing the environmental groups.
"If the work starts in the park before a decision comes out, then really our lawsuit would have been completely fruitless," Chang said.
The related lawsuit, before a judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges the federal government’s decision to issue a permit allowing the power line through national lands. The environmental groups requested an expedited hearing, which would be set within 21 days of the filing, Chang said.
The power companies joined the government to oppose the lawsuit and injunction, Wirth said. The work on the new line will primarily occur along the right-of-way - a cleared path - from the existing line, he said. Wirth said workers will need to build some access roads so construction equipment can reach the right-of-way in some remote areas of the park.
Millions of customers will have more reliable power once the new line is activated in 2015, Wirth said.
The National Park Service is still reviewing plans to determine what safety measures -- including road and trail restrictions -- will be required during construction, spokeswoman Kathleen Sandt wrote in an email.
The companies, as required, are avoiding certain work, changing work methods and providing $66 million to purchase land nearby to mitigate the impact of the work, Wirth said. The money will also go toward the care of wetlands and cultural resources, he said.
New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said the power line poses a threat to birds, particularly eagles and hawks. More than 100 species of birds come to the park, he said. The removal of forests for access roads will increase runoff, and the new towers and line will blight the view across the forest, Tittel said.
The companies will build about six new towers per mile across 4.3 miles in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap, according to the motion for an injunction. It’s one issue to put power lines on private land, but the federal lands are held in the public trust for future generations, Tittel said.
“It’s sort of our Yosemite and Yellowstone, and these power lines do not belong there,” he said.