Petition to stop fracked gas export on the Delaware River

DRBC Commissioners

New Fortress Energy and subsidiary Delaware River Partners are planning to build a port terminal to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) and natural gas liquids (NGLs) on the Delaware River in Gibbstown, NJ. This is about 15 minutes south of Philadelphia, 2.7 miles from Chester, PA and adjoins the back yards of people in Gibbstown, NJ. Trains and trucks would carry dangerous and potentially explosive LNG over 200 miles from Wyalusing, PA, where New Fortress is building a LNG processing plant from regional fracked gas to Gibbstown through communities who don’t even know about it.

LNG would be transferred from trucks and rail cars directly to enormous ships 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The ships would travel down the river, past Wilmington and other Delaware and New Jersey bay communities, overseas to Puerto Rico, Ireland and other foreign ports where New Fortress hopes to make their fortune. We want to let the world know about this massive project that threatens our entire region and would worsen our climate crisis by adding more greenhouse gas to the planet!

Sponsored by

To: DRBC Commissioners
From: [Your Name]

Plans are moving forward in New Jersey for a massive new fracked gas project that will threaten our climate, environment, and public health. New Fortress Energy and Delaware River Partners want to expand the deepwater port terminal in Gibbstown, Gloucester County, NJ across from Chester, PA to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas for sale. Shale gas would be extracted from fracking wells in PA and piped to a New Fortress processing plant being built in Wyalusing, Bradford County, PA on the Susquehanna River. Tank trucks and/or trains would carry this hazardous LNG over 200 miles through populated areas to Gibbstown daily. Huge shipping vessels would transport it down the river, passing Delaware and NJ and through the Bay to ports proposed by New Fortress in Ireland, Puerto Rico, and beyond.

This project would be a disaster for Delaware River communities. Every day, up to 1,650 truck trips and/or 100 rail cars would come into Gibbstown, worsening air pollution in a region that doesn’t meet EPA standards for ozone. LNG will be loaded onto ships continuously, 24/7, 365 days per year, putting communities at risk from explosion. And water quality, endangered species, such as Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, and rare, vulnerable habitats for many animals and plants are threatened by the terminal and dredging.

The entire New Fortress scheme is an untested, convoluted project that will only serve special private interests, will cause destructive pollution every step of its way and will increase methane emissions that will worsen our national and global climate crisis. We call on the Delaware River Basin Commission to put a stop to this disastrous plan now!