The Latest: Sides face off at hearing on Pinelands pipeline

PEMBERTON, N.J. – The Latest on a hearing on a proposal to run a natural gas pipeline through the New Jersey Pinelands region (all times local):

3:40 p.m.

Supporters and foes of a proposal to run a natural gas pipeline through the New Jersey Pinelands faced off during a contentious public hearing in a packed room.

Dozens of people were denied entry to Tuesday’s meeting in Pemberton when the room reached its capacity of about 250.

A leader of the Food and Water Watch environmental group was escorted from the room by state police after she began yelling at commissioners to protest that so many people were being made to stand outside in a cold rain.

Pipeline foes unfurled a large banner that read “Stop The Pipeline” before the hearing but removed it soon afterward.

The fragile Pinelands is home to an aquifer estimated to hold 17 trillion gallons of some of the nation’s purest water.

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9:50 a.m.

A public hearing is underway on a hotly contested proposal to run a natural gas pipeline through the New Jersey Pinelands region.

The pipe would supply a power plant in Cape May County that’s switching from coal to natural gas.

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission rejected the plan in 2014. The commission’s executive director then unilaterally approved it, but environmentalists got a court to order a new vote, which could come next month.

The proposed pipeline has been the biggest jobs-versus-environment clash in recent New Jersey history. With a pro-energy administration in power in Washington, its fate is sure to be closely watched by national energy and environmental groups.

The fragile Pinelands is home to an aquifer estimated to hold 17 trillion gallons of some of the nation’s purest water.

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12:35 a.m.

A hotly contested plan to run a natural gas pipeline through New Jersey’s federally protected Pinelands preserve is getting a do-over.

A public hearing on the proposal by South Jersey Gas to build the pipeline will be held Tuesday in Pemberton.

The pipe would supply a power plant in Cape May County that’s switching from coal to natural gas.

The New Jersey Pinelands Commission rejected the plan in 2014. The commission’s executive director then unilaterally approved it, but environmentalists got a court to order a new vote, which could come next month.

The proposed pipeline has been the biggest jobs-versus-environment clash in recent New Jersey history. With a pro-energy administration in power in Washington, its fate is sure to be closely watched by national energy and environmental groups.