Electric Power Project Sparks Residents' Outrage

Residents of a quiet mountaintop neighborhood dumped their frustrations on the Sparta Township Council last week, complaining that their hilly, private streets had become an extension of the nearby construction site where PSE&G is building a new electric transmission line.

By Wednesday, their complaints had reached the ears of power company officials, who met with residents that afternoon, said public relations manager George Sous.

Sous said the company reached out to its suppliers and contractors on that site to mitigate the intensity of the delivery activity, modify delivery schedules, emphasize hours of operation, and focus on safety.

Still, he said, the work at the Hopatcong station is an intense construction project on a tight deadline. As a project designed to improve the reliability of the power grid, the goal is to get much of the construction done before the high-use summer season begins, Sous said.

The work at the Hopatcong station is scheduled to be completed in June, he said.

PSE&G is rebuilding the Hopatcong switching station located near Tomahawk Lake Park as part of the Susquehanna-Roseland reliability project, a $1.2 billion project to built a 146-mile 500-kilovolt power line through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Construction began last fall resulting in what the residents said Tuesday were “100 to 200 trucks a day” rumbling through the area.

The residents’ chief spokesman, Matt Camfield, who lives on New Star Ridge Road, said the trucks arrived as early as 7 a.m., operated late into the evening, and on Saturdays and Sundays, destroying the neighborhood peace.

According to Camfield, work did not even stop for Easter Sunday.

He asked the council if the noise caused by the trucks might be a violation of the township’s noise ordinance. He said that the Sparta police officers posted on the street during the day have not responded to the noise complaints.

Camfield said the presence of the large construction trucks have made it unsafe for neighborhood children to ride their bikes, walk to neighbors’ homes or to the school bus stop. He said at least in one instance, a truck failed to stop while a school bus was being loaded with children.

“This is a real safety issue,” he said.

Camfield said they came to the council because talks with PSE&G officials have proved fruitless.

“There has been a blatant disregard of childrens’ safety,” Camfield said. “My home value dropped and my neighbor was told by her Realtor to take the home off the market because it won’t sell.”

Socrates Platides, another New Star Ridge Road resident, said, “I am very angry right now. I want to stop this project now.”

He, too, cited  concerns about the presence of the large trucks when children were waiting for the school bus, walking to neighborhood homes or riding their bikes.

“This has to stop,” Platides said.

Councilman Jerry Murphy said the municipality has little control over the project that has state and federal approval, and no control over the construction taking place across the border in Hopatcong.

Murphy said the township accepted funds, which Camfield said was $205,000,  in payment from disturbances to township property. All towns along the project also accepted the payments.

Township Administrator David Troust said a letter had been sent to the power company regarding potential enforcement issues, and at the behest of Mayor Gilbert Gibbs, said he would arrange a meeting with PSE&G officials.

Sous on Wednesday said residents were told that delivery and work schedules would be modified ,and that the company would do a  better job of communicating with the residents about the project’s progress.

“It is a matter of needing better communication,” he said.

The work, however, has to continue, he said.