The Gas Pipeline and CRDA Reshuffle – Monday’s Roundup

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Further Scrutiny For PennEast Pipeline

The Pinelands Commission – a state authority that oversees an area of South Jersey bigger than Rhode Island – has decided to put off any decision on a $1 billion pipeline proposal presented by a consortium that includes South Jersey Gas. The commission – which isn’t really known for leadership or transparency – failed to give details on exactly what it will do, but there will be some kind of public comment period, NJ Spotlight reports. The PennEast Pipeline, which is supposed to stretch from Luzerne County, PA to Mercer County, NJ, and bring the area cheaper gas, has already been held up by federal authorities after late route changes. It’s not clear whether the Pinelands Commission’s review could further hold up the pipeline project, along with another one that was proposed by New Jersey Natural Gas.

CRDA Reshuffle

It’s old news that the outgoing director of our other local state authority, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, will get a golden parachute of a quarter of a million dollars, or one year’s salary. But it’s got Assemblyman Chris Brown in a tizzy and – as we say in the news business – the story seems to have legs. Expensive legs. Anyway, NJ.com has this look at the incoming director, Christopher Howard, who apparently will earn less. One thing that we’re kind of hooked on at Route 40 is questioning CRDA’s legacy. There’s an awful lot to question when you look at an authority that’s spent more than $2.1 billion on projects that have ranged from the ludicrous (laser lighthouse, ’nuff said) to the well-intentioned, but with an arguable return-on-investment, (Bass Pro). Given that the state is in the process of overtaking the parts of the city that it didn’t already control through CRDA, it’s interesting to think about what the authority’s reshuffle might mean for the city at large.

The rest of today’s headlines include news on the internet gaming expansion in North Jersey, a shooting outside Atlantic City’s Tropicana, and the imminent breaking of ground on Pauline’s Prairie.

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