Victory!

The proposal for a $5 billion experimental coal and chemical plant, called PurGen, was recently shut down at a Linden City town council meeting. We'd like to thank our members and the coalition of organizations who have come together to stop PurGen from being constructed, as well as the council members who voted no on the proposal: Council President Bunk and Council Members Kolibas, Koziol, Davis, Sadowski, Yamakaitis, Puschel. In addition, we'd like to thank gubernatorial candidates Chris Christie and Chris Daggett for publicly opposing the proposed PurGen plant. Governor Corzine still remains silent on this issue.

While we applaud the town council vote as a win for public health, the environment, and renewable energy, we know that the fight is not over. Although the memorandum was voted down, it is very likely that the proposal has not been completely shelved. That's why we need the public to keep the pressure on the Linden Mayor/City Council and Governor Corzine to ensure only truly sustainable energy development takes place in New Jersey.

Take Action!

Please take a moment to write a letter to Linden officials and Governor Corzine. Please thank the council members who voted no and ask that the Mayor and Council oppose the PurGen plant. Ask Governor Corzine why he has remained silent on this issue and urge him to publicly oppose the plant. .

What is PurGen?

The PurGen coal plant is the first and the largest of its kind in the world - making the people of Linden and surrounding towns, subjects in a big experiment. The company, SCS, plans to process the coal in Linden and then send a trillion pounds of pressurized, liquid carbon dioxide waste via a 100-mile pipeline through the Raritan Bay and out into the seabed off Atlantic City. They say it will stay their forever. In addition, the plant will also produce chemical fertilizer.

Why Oppose PurGen:

• The plant invests in unsustainable energy: Coal is the most polluting and most environmentally damaging energy source in the world. In Appalachia, a million
  and a half acres of mountain tops, rivers and lakes have been destroyed
  because of coal mining. In addition, the PurGen plant would increase our dependence on foreign and fossil fuel when we need to be doing just the opposite given global warming and national security.
• The same $5 billion invested in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects would produce more energy and more jobs than PurGen. Sequestration is horribly energy inefficient - the entire process would use 1/3 of the plant's electrical output. In addition, a study by the Rutgers Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy and by KEMA, Inc. concluded that affordable energy efficiency measures can eliminate the need for 4,186 MW of new power plants in NJ between 2004 and 2020.
• It will increase your taxes: PurGen is expecting taxpayers to help foot the bill, to the tune of $200 million a year!
• Carbon capture and sequestration (CSS) is an experimental process and is unproven technology with the potential to trigger earthquakes. In addition, when carbon dioxide is concentrated in gas or liquid form it is deadly. In 1986 an earthquake in Africa released a CO2 bubble from a lake - which blew through nearby villages at 50 mph, asphyxiating 1,700 people in a 12-mile radius.
• The plant will produce toxic byproducts. During a 30-year operating lifetime the plant can be expected to produce 450,000 pounds of arsenic, 480,000 pounds of toxic lead, 14 million pounds of barium, 900,000 pounds of chromium and 1.4 million pounds of manganese. In addition, it will spew hundreds of tons of dirty soot into the air each year. The NJDEP says that soot already kills 1,900 people every year in New Jersey.
• It is an environmental injustice. Linden is a community already facing numerous environmental injustices including a one of the highest rates of asthma in the state. In addition, the closest neighborhood to the site - Tremley Point - is already overburdened by industrial developments such as oil refineries, the New Jersey Turnpike, and an airport.
• It will harm fish and wildlife. The creation of the pipeline, maintenance of it, and the potential for carbon dioxide leakage all pose threats to the fisheries on the Atlantic Coast.

Additional News:

• Saving Our Planet
• Linden votes 'no' on plan for coal-to-gas plant
• Linden Council Votes Down Plan for PurGen Coal Plant
• Lawmaker Seeks Review of New York City Power Plant, (SCS Energy's Astoria Power Plant is violating federal air regulations. SCS is the company that wants to build the PurGen coal plant in Linden)
• Linden Clean Coal Plant - NJN News Environment Report 

Organizations opposed to PurGen include:

• BlueWave NJ
• Clean Ocean Action
• Cornucopia Network of NJ
• Edison Wetlands Association
• Environment New Jersey
• Environmental Research Foundation
• Essex County Green Party
• Green Party of Monmouth County
• Jersey Coast Angler's Association
• NY/NJ Baykeeper
• New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJ Chapter of Clean Water Action)
• New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
• NJ PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
• NJ Sportsman Federation
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
• People's Organization for Progress, Central Jersey
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Sierra Club, NJ Chapter

Get more information about the latest efforts to stop the PurGen power plant.