PRESTON TOWNSHIP, PA — The supervisors in Preston Township decided to postpone a decision on whether or not to sell an easement to Linden Energy Services to allow that company to build a pipeline. The line would run about 12 miles, mostly along old railroad easements that are now owned by Preston and neighboring Buckingham Township. But the project has sparked a backlash among residents, many of whom do not welcome the construction of a pipeline, and also object to the fact that the project will probably include a compressor station.

At a meeting in Buckingham Township, many residents appeared at the township meeting on May 2 to comment on the same topic. The meeting became heated, with one resident threatening to jump over the table at which the supervisors were sitting. The supervisors ignored repeated requests to postpone the decision on granting the easement, and voted to do it.

The pipeline would connect the Tennessee Pipeline in Pennsylvania with the Millennium Pipeline in New York, but to move forward the company would also need Preston officials to agree. Without agreement from the two townships, Linden would have to separately negotiate easement with multiple private landowners, which would be very costly and time consuming.