National Park Service Opposes New Power Lines in the Delaware Water Gap

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

November 25, 2011 | 5:27 PM

Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images

Towers carry electricity from the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Plans for new high-voltage power lines through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have hit a snag with this week’s release of the draft environmental impact statement by the National Park Service. The statement says canceling the project would be the best option to preserve “the biological and physical environment,” and protect “…the historic, cultural, and natural resources,” of the Water Gap Recreation Area.
The proposed 145-mile line would run from Berwick, Pa., to Roseland, N.J. It would run through existing rights of way, but would replace the current 85-foot towers with 200 foot towers. The plan would also widen the existing rights-of-way, and construct new access roads in the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area, the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River and National Recreation Water Trail, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
Costing about $1.2 billion dollars, the proposed transmission line would carry electricity from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa., running through Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties before crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey. The line would be built by PPL Corporation and PSE&G and run by PJM Interconnection. Proponents say the new transmission line is needed to reduce congestion, preventing electricity disruptions in heavily populated areas.
Environmentalists say New Jersey should rely more on alternative energy sources like wind and solar. The Obama Administration decided to fast-track the project last month, saying it would create 2,000 jobs. The National Park Service’s draft environmental impact statement includes a 60-day public comment period. Their final statement should be completed by the fall of 2012.