PennEast Receives Major Water Quality Certification

PennEast Pipeline Project Continues to Advance, Bringing Low-Cost, American Energy One Step Closer to Families, Businesses

PennEast Pipeline Company received notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) that the Company’s request for Water Quality Certification, as required by section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act, has been granted, marking receipt of a significant state permit.

PennEast received notification on February 10 from the PA DEP that it certified “the construction, operation and maintenance of the Project will not violate applicable State water quality standards set forth in 25 Pa. Code Chapter 16, 93, and 105…” The 401 permit approval follows the July finding of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the PennEast Pipeline can be constructed with minimal impacts on the environment. The Water Quality Certification comes approximately two months before the anticipated April 7 issuance of FERC’s final Environmental Impact Statement on the PennEast Pipeline Project.

“PennEast Pipeline Company is pleased to have received its 401 Water Quality Certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,” said Pat Kornick, PennEast spokesperson. “Pennsylvania’s Water Quality Certification is a significant step in the regulatory review of the PennEast Pipeline Project, which continues to progress through a comprehensive, multi-agency review process led by FERC.”

Water Quality Certifications are required under the Federal Clean Water Act as a prerequisite to receiving a federal license or permit for activities that involve waterways. The Water Quality Certification acknowledges that PennEast has effective measures in place to minimize impacts on streams and other waterways during the construction, as well as long-term operation, of the PennEast Pipeline.

“This is great news for all those who use natural gas, especially for the region’s energy-intensive chemical industry and the more than 80,000 Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents the industry employs,” said Jeff Logan, president of the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council. “Pipelines like PennEast that deliver low-cost natural gas are spurring billions in American chemical industry investment, thereby creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. PA DEP’s recent certification for PennEast is additional proof the PennEast Pipeline can be built safely, and in turn soon spur a chain reaction of economic growth for years to come.”

“The Department’s year-long review and conclusion provides additional assurance that PennEast can protect the environment, specifically water resources, while delivering much-needed affordable, abundant and reliable energy that will reduce electric and gas bills across the region for decades,” added Kornick.

In addition to the largest electric grid in the world stating that PennEast can enhance grid reliability, every major business and labor organization from across the region has endorsed the PennEast Pipeline.