Power Line Project Makes Progress, Despite Sandy

It's been about three months since Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) started preperation work on upgrading the Susquehanna-Roseland power line, and since then officials have been making progress, after getting delayed about a month from Superstorm Sandy.

The power line, which has been a controversial project, is a 500,000-volt transmission line that will go through Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey, including Montville. Pre-construction activities began in September in Montville, including survey work and site preparation on Ward Witty Road, Boonton Avenue, Stoneybrook Road, Schneider Road, Abbot Road, Old Lane and Main Road.

As of this week, preparation work for the power line project was continuing.

"Right now it's still site preparation, grading, excavation, and road work," PSE&G Project Director John Margaritis said.

Margaritis said the company does not have the schedule as to when the new towers will be up, but said "it's going to be a while."

Specifically in Montville, the project has been met with some opposition by township residents. The Montville Township Board of Education reached a $1.5 million settlement with PSE&G in December of 2011 regarding power lines projected to be placed near the Robert R. Lazar Middle School.

New Jersey’s Sierra Club released a statement Thursday that said they joined other national and local environmental groups in filing a preliminary injunction to stop the project. They claim the project was "inappropriately rubberstamped" and will destory scenic vistas and natural resources "all to carry more polluting coal-fired power to eastern markets."

"The Susquehanna-Roseland line will cause irreparable harm and permanent damage  to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area," Director of the NJ Sierra Club Jeff Tittel said. "This destruction cannot be mitigated and that is why we are seeking an injunction. We cannot allow one of the biggest violations of the public trust and the National Park Service to go forward."

The Susquehanna-Roseland Power Line has been deemed necessary by PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of electricity through 13 states and the District of Columbia.