A Haddonfield resident requested that the borough’s board of commissioners pass a nonbinding resolution in opposition to a liquified natural gas development plan and offered her own draft for consideration.
“Basically, this plan would take liquified natural gas in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, and transport it over land by rail and truck on its happy way to the Delaware Bay Shore (to a Gibbstown Logistics Facility),” said Janet Goehner-Jacobs at a commissioners’ meeting earlier this month.
“And that’s where I think the problem really impacts Haddonfield in particular,” she added. “Because we are nestled comfortably within one mile – some places, two miles – from the proposed routes.”
The resolution – on which the commissioners took no action – highlights the risks of New Fortress Energy’s transportation of liquid natural gas (known as liquid methane) by truck on public highways and by rail cars from Wyalusing to Gibbstown. They include ignition of an inextinguishable and dangerous thermobaric explosion described as a “catastrophically powerful bomb.”
“From a fossil-fuel perspective, 1,650 trucks and two 100 rail cars would be transporting the methane through our area every day,” Goehner-Jacobs added, citing the amount of fossil fuel that would be created by the transport alone.
Approving the ordinance would mean borough opposition to the plan, and in its present form, the measure would call on the state to rescind the permit and transition away from fossil fuels, as well as requesting that the Army Corps of Engineers perform an environmental impact statement.
Goehner-Jacobs noted that if Haddonfield approves the resolution, it would join 14 other municipalities that have already passed measures opposing the transport project, including neighboring towns like Haddon Township, Barrington and Voorhees.
The commissioners also reviewed action items to be voted on at a meeting later this month, including the amended parking ordinance that clarifies regulations for street parking: how long cars be parked in certain places, what streets have metered parking, which lots require permits and the permitting process. The draft ordinance is available for viewing at the borough website, at https://bit.ly/3j1Mpud.
Other ordinances up for second reading:
- An emergency appropriation to prepare the borough’s master plan
- Amendments to an ordinance with regulations for off-duty requests and deployment of police service programs, as well as fees for law enforcement
An ordinance on outdoor eating and seating has been tabled until the January meeting where it will be reintroduced.
In other news, Administrator Sharon McCullough estimates the borough will have live streaming capabilities as soon as February.
The next board of commissioners meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in borough hall.
This article has been updated Dec. 16.
