Area citizen and environmental groups and local legislators have submitted comments criticizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s assessment of the pipeline project proposed for an environmentally sensitive stretch of the Princeton Ridge. FERC’s Environmental Assessment of the plan, which is part of the Williams Transco Leidy Southeast Expansion Project, stated that it would not result in any significant environmental impacts.

FERC issued its 474-page assessment of the project last month, and members of the public had 30 days to respond. The New Jersey Sierra Club is among those groups to register a protest, saying the assessment was incomplete and in violation of federal law. The groups favor a more comprehensive examination, known as an Environmental Impact Statement, prepared by the federal agency.

“Once again, FERC ignores the public when it comes to the impacts of these pipelines,” wrote Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, in a statement. “What is worse, they are ignoring the environmental and health and safety impacts, and also now the law.”

The Sierra Club says FERC is violating federal law by reviewing the pipeline’s many loops separately and not doing a thorough enough review on its cumulative impacts. “The report ignores the additional fracking the pipeline will encourage in the areas the projects connect to by expanding capacity as well as the cumulative regional impacts resulting from other projects such as Transco’s recently completed Northeast Supply Link project,” the statement reads. “Sierra Club is calling for a full Environmental Impact Statement to be prepared for the project.”

The Princeton Ridge Coalition, which has monitored the pipeline proposal since it was first announced, is also challenging the assessment’s “Finding of No Significant Impact.” The group calls FERC’s description of the portion of the project based on the Princeton Ridge “based on incomplete and insufficient data and incorrect analysis,” making it impossible for the agency to properly measure the safety and environmental impacts.

A joint letter last week by Representative Rush Holt, Senator Robert Menendez, and Senator Cory Booker urged FERC to address the widespread concerns. “We believe a meeting among FERC, PHMSA (the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration), Transco, and the Coalition would be productive and beneficial to all,” the letter reads.

Princeton Council passed a resolution in July encouraging FERC to reject Williams/Transco’s construction plan, which calls for the installation of a new pipeline loop through Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties as well as two counties in Pennsylvania. The local portion is part of the Skillman Loop. An existing natural gas pipeline built in 1958 is not sufficient to handle current production demands, the company has said.

FERC’s assessment says that the project will not cause significant damage to the environment. The Princeton Ridge Coalition, the Sierra Club and others question that finding since the pipeline would cross streams, woods, and important habitat.

“This dirty infrastructure will cause irreparable harm here at home in the Princeton Ridge, Sourland Moutains, and other protected and environmentally sensitive areas,” the Sierra Club statement quotes Kate Millsaps, conservation program coordinator. “FERC is not only ignoring and writing off these impacts, but also the damage this project will have on the region by allowing fracking operations to move more gas to market and increase production. As a result of this pipeline the communities the infrastructure runs through and those near drill sites will see more air and water pollution.”

The Princeton Ridge Coalition is not opposed to the pipeline and does not want to see it pushed into other communities. “We do expect regulatory agencies to comply with federal laws governing the approval and operation of pipelines,” said Barbara Blumenthal, the group’s president. “The failure of the Environmental Assessment to seriously consider alternatives is particularly troubling. “

The Coalition would like FERC and Transco to consider the use of horizontal drilling to tunnel under the ridge, “which would reduce safety risks and lessen environmental impacts,” Ms. Blumenthal said.

“There is no need for this pipeline,” said Mr. Tittel of the Sierra Club. “The purpose is to promote fracking and the burning of fossil fuels that impact clean water and promote climate change. This pipeline is going to go through environmentally sensitive areas creating an ugly scar, adding to pollution, and putting people at risk. Just ask the people of Bellingham, Washington; Burlingame, California; and Edison, New Jersey. This line not only threatens the neighborhoods it passes through but threatens our environment.”