Russ Zimmer

@RussZimmer

Over the raucous objections of opponents who chanted slogans and jeered the decision, the Pinelands Commission on Friday approved the development of a natural gas pipeline through 15 miles of the protected forest.

The 9-5 decision is a coup for South Jersey Gas and the B.L. England power plant, and a setback to environmentalists who see the pines as an untouched swath of green space in New Jersey and view new investment in fossil fuels as a fool's errand.

The conservationists in the crowd did not take the defeat quietly. The meeting frequently was derailed, at one point for more than 15 minutes, as the crowd chanted "Do the right thing."

Commission Chair Sean Earlen banged on the gavel, pleading for quiet, to no avail. Watch the video above for a taste of what it was like.

New Jersey state troopers stood in front of the stage where the commission and its staff conducted the regularly scheduled meeting at an irregular location, the ballroom inside the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill. The audience, which numbered above 400 and was decidedly anti-pipeline, was raucous and frequently shouted down members of the commission, but no violence was observed.

When the vote was tallied, the pipeline needed eight votes to pass and it got nine: Chairman Sean Earlen, Vice Chairman Paul Galletta, Alan Avery, Jr. (who was appointed by the Ocean County Board of Freeholders), Bob Barr, Joe Chila, William Brown, Jane Jannarone, Edward McGlinchey and Gary Quinn (an Ocean County man appointed by Gov. Chris Christie). Commissioners Candace McKee Ashmun, Edward Lloyd, Mark Lohbauer, Richard Prickett and D'Arcy Rohan Green voted no. Frank Hays abstained.

South Jersey Gas has pitched the pipeline as minimally invasive to the Pinelands, as well as a source of cleaner burning fuel for the B.L. England coal power plant and a reinforcement of the gas grid for 142,000 customers in the region.

SOUTH JERSEY GAS PIPELINE: What you need to know

Opponents of the project had been pinning their hopes on one simple paradigm: Projects that were not primarily for the benefit of the Pinelands and its people traditionally have been been rejected, as this pipeline was in January 2014 when it failed to get the necessary eight votes for that very reason.

But the board has changed since then. Bob Jackson, a "no" vote, was swapped out for Barr, who told the Ocean City Gazette last week of his plan to vote for the project. Christie engineered that switch, although Barr, a Democrat, had the support of influential Democrats in the Legislature.

EARLIER: Live coverage of today's Pinelands pipeline hearing

Christie also removed Lohbauer as chairman in 2016 and replaced him with Earlen. The Governor's Office has denied this was done as response to the 2014 pipeline vote.

Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg had recommended the commissioners approve the project in a 24-page report released last week.

Environmental leaders told the Asbury Park Press before the meeting that they expected the measure to pass. They were prepared to send the matter back to the courts, saying that Wittenberg was misinterpreting the "primarily for the benefits of the Pinelands" directive.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said it more succinctly to the commissioners after the vote: "We sued you once, we're going to sue you again!"

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com