Newsletter: Pipeline Issues

By Diana Stanczak

To the residents of Mahwah:

In recent months, you may have heard about plans to install a pipeline in our town. Proposed by the Tennessee Gas Company, the pipeline would run through our forests, destroying some of our town’s—as well as the state’s—most scenic wood landscape.

But the aesthetic details are only the beginning of the negatives that would affect our town if we allow this pipeline to cut through Mahwah. The safety and health of not only our generation, but also generations to come, may be at risk as well.

The pipeline would run across the Ramapo fault, an earthquake fault in Mahwah that according to some seismologists has the potential to initiate a major, destructive earthquake. Heavy construction has the power to induce an accidental man-made earthquake and cause massive destruction.

Another health risk that will come with the pipeline is possible contamination of our drinking water. The pipeline itself would be surrounded with chemicals, and the possibility of runoff contaminating our water sources is high.

There are two sides to every story. The Tennessee Gas Company has told us the sugarcoated fairytale version; it is up to us, the residents of this town, to spread the other half. Spread the word. Attend town meetings. Don’t let this pipeline tear us apart.