LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a report published today, UNITE HERE outlines the numerous political and regulatory obstacles facing the Ares-backed Pilgrim Pipeline, a roughly 170-mile bi-directional oil and refined products pipeline from Linden, NJ to Albany, NY.
A copy of the report is available at pecloserlook.org.
The report raises several concerns, including:
- In New Jersey, Pilgrim has missed two of its own target dates for submitting necessary permit applications with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
- The Pipeline is opposed by all of the municipalities in the proposed route in New Jersey and both houses of the state’s legislature.
- Opponents have raised questions about Pilgrim’s customer base. Bayway, the largest refinery near the pipeline’s end in Linden, NJ has stated that the pipeline “is not a strategic fit.”
- In New York, where village and city boards reportedly have “veto power” over pipelines crossing their borders under the state’s Transportation Corporations Law, the project is opposed by 20 municipalities along the proposed route.
- A New York Assemblyman recently filed a resolution asking the New York Thruway Authority – the largest landholder along the route – to deny the use of its right-of-way. Pilgrim has stated that alternate routes off the Thruway are not feasible.
“What will happen if Pilgrim is unable to secure the necessary approvals?” asked UNITE HERE research analyst Marcos Feldman.
As of June 2015, Ares Energy Investors Fund (EIF) IV had committed $195 million to phase 1 of the project, which has a projected cost of $980 million. Future phases represented a “potential combined additional investment opportunity of $350 million,” according to an Ares investor presentation.