An experimental coal and chemical plant that will cost taxpayers millions has been proposed for Linden, New Jersey.

A Massachusetts-based company named SCS is proposing to build an unnecessary coal power plant with a fertilizer plant attached. In an attempt to bury carbon dioxide below the ocean floor, they also plan to construct a 138 mile long pipeline through the ocean. The pipeline will carry a trillion pounds of pressurized, liquid carbon dioxide waste from the plant and bury it a mile and  half into the seabed.  This experimental technology would be the first of its kind and poses a number of serious health and environmental safety concerns.

The selected location for the 750 MW coal plant is the former 98-acre DuPont chemical site along the Arthur Kill. The Arthur Kill is a ten-mile long waterway separating Staten Island and New Jersey.

The coal plant’s 24 inch carbon dioxide pipeline will run down the Arthur Kill, into the Raritan River, out the Raritan Bay, along the Jersey Shore, and into the sea floor off the coast of Atlantic City. PurGen projects they can inject 90 percent of the carbon dioxide into the seabed off Atlantic City. The carbon dioxide won’t be in a container, just the ground.They claim the weight of the bedrock will seal in the carbon dioxide. This is all speculation. A project of this magnitude and scope has never been attempted.

Any leak would release the carbon dioxide which could harm marine life and acidify ocean waters.

This unproven technology would put residents of Linden, Staten Island, Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and other communities along the waterfront in danger. It will harm fish and fishermen off the coast, and will increase global warming pollution in New Jersey.

Furthermore, developers hope to use taxpayer money to build it; current estimates show the plant will require $200 million dollars of federal tax subsidies per year. It is obvious developers have their eyes on federal money set aside for energy as well as funds from the state. In short, the taxpayers will be paying for this experiment which will threaten their health and lives.