**More related news stories added at 2:20 p.m.**
**Related news stories added at 2:20 p.m.**
On a 7-7 vote this morning, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission rejected a staff-recommended natural gas pipeline that had the support of Gov. Chris Christie’s
Department of Environmental Protection and the state’s Board of Public Utilities.
Four previous governors opposed the proposal under which the South Jersey Gas Company would pay the Commission $8 million for environmental projects in return for an exemption to a long-standing ban on new transmission pipelines through the forest area, a zone where most development is prohibited.
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Many will speculate whether the result would have been different had the vote come prior to the so-called "Bridgegate" political scandal that has engulfed the Governor, forcing him to fire a key member of his inner circle and accept the resignations of two high-level appointees at the Port Authority of NY/NJ.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below.
NOTE: We’ll be updating this post throughout the day with print and video stories on the vote.
Related environmental news stories:
Panel Rejects NJ Pinelands Natural Gas Pipeline – ABC News
Pinelands pipeline plan rejected – Asbury Park Press
Fighting a Pipeline, but Feeling and Fearing Christie’s Influence
Critics link bridge scandal to Pinelands gas pipe vote – Asbury Park Press
Bridget Anne Kelly: The aide at the center of the storm
Pinelands pipeline rejection a rare win for N.J. environmentalists
Rachel Maddow Presents New Chris Christie Bridge Scandal Theory
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