ROUTE B: The Proposed 45-mile long Electric Transmission Line across northern New Jersey

Current Status (12/29/08)

• PSEG, citing time constraints imposed by PMJ, decided to file for project approval with the NJ Board of Utilities rather than work with each township along the transmission line corridor.

• The NJ Highlands Council has provisionally recommended against the project, but their jurisdiction on the exemption issue only extends to the conservation area. The Council may issue a final decision at its next meeting on January 15th @ 10am.

• The NJ DEP must decide if the electric line can be built through the Highlands Preservation area.

New

TC Viewshed Analysis of entire Route B corridor

• Viewshed map 1 showing visual impact of current electric towers
• Viewshed map 2 showing visual impact of proposed towers
• Viewshed map 3 showing increase in visual impact only
• Map explanation

These maps were submitted to the NJ DEC and NJ Highlands Council as each decides whether to allow the project to move forward in the preservation and conservation areas respectively.

Brief Background

PSE&G’s 45-mile long Susquehanna-Roseland electric line will be built along an existing transmission route and is planned to pass through 15 different New Jersey municipalities.  New transmission towers would be built next to the current 80 foot towers, but the new towers would rise to heights of almost 200 feet.  The route of the proposed 500-kilovolt electric line will cut right through one of the state’s most precious resources—the 860,000 acre Highlands Region. 

PSE&G says the higher towers are designed to minimize electric and magnetic fields, and the proposed route minimizes the amount of vegetation that would have to be cut and crosses the smallest amount of forests and wetlands.  The company says the $750 million line, scheduled for completion by 2012, is needed to avoid future power outages.  Environmentalists and local municipalities disagree and believe the proposed transmission line poses many questions that must be answered before the project can begin to move forward.

SE&G originally intended to work individually with each of the 15 municipalities that will host the transmission line.  However, after much resistance from the municipalities and environmental groups, PSE&G changed its strategy and is now going directly to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and bypassing the municipalities altogether.  This move has further outraged both the municipalities and the environmental groups that are vehemently questioning the need for this electric transmission line.

Because the PSE&G project traverses New Jersey’s Highlands Region, the NJ DEP will need to determine whether or not to grant a special exemption for the transmission line. 

Links

PSE&G's Susquehanna-Roseland Project page

NJ Highlands Council

NJ Highlands Coalition

Route B Information Website (w/instructions to join mailing list)

Stop the Lines

V3 Last updated: December 29, 2008   Copyright © 1996-2008  New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Privacy Statement.