“No Adverse Impact on Public Use and Enjoyment”

Existing Tennessee Gas Pipeline Right of Way. View looking west into Wawayanda State Park, from ridge near Terrace Pond (West Milford, July 30, 2010).

Earlier this year, I blasted the Christie Administration for failure to negotiate full public compensation for the Tennessee Gas Pipeline easement across state parks and environmentally sensitive lands – see: Christie DEP Cuts Sweetheart Deal With Gas Industry.

That lease gave away state park land at about $65 per acre/year ( $45,000 lease, for 29 acres, over 24 years).

But, in fairness to Christie and DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, I just learned that they were not the first to cut a bad deal with Tennessee.

The existing Tennessee Gas Pipeline was bult in 1955. The 50 year lease (right of way easement) for the original line expired and was renegotiated by the Corzine/Lisa Jackson DEP in 2007.

The Corzine/Jackson lease for a segment of the Tennessee line through High Point State Park was for $85,500 – 19 linear acres disturbed along 16,760 linear feet, for a 20 year term. That amounts to  $225 per acre/year – still a very bad deal, but about 3.4 times higher rate than the Christie/Martin deal.

Is High Point 3.4 times more valuable than Wawayada? If not, what explains the difference?

I also just learned from the same friendly source that former DEP Commissioner Campbell also played in the Tennessee sweetheart deal lease sweepstakes.

But the McGreevey/Campbell’s 2003 deal makes Campbell look like a strong negotiator!

The Campbell deal gave Tennessee only a small piece of High Point State Park (0.189 acres), but he got Tennesseee to cough up $5,291 per acre! No, this rate is not 20 times more than Corzine/Jackson, because the lease term is “to have and to hold .. forever”, so there is no way to convert that to $/acre/year to compare to Christie and Corzine deals.

Take a look – how could DEP determine that granting these kind of easements would have no adverse impacts on the public’s use and enjoyment of State parks? And forever is a long time.

compressor station - Waywayanda State park off Clinton Road (West Milford, NJ)

A friendly sign along the trail