Following a public hearing on the PennEast Pipeline, Bethlehem City Council members unanimous passed a resolution opposing the 110-mile gas pipeline at the March 17 meeting.

The pipeline would pass through the city's watershed land in Carbon County and cross over a city water transmission line.

Mayor Bob Donchez and the Bethlehem Authority have also written letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee to express concern about the pipeline and to request a change of route. The Bethlehem Authority oversees the city's watershed area.

Council member Michael Recchiuti said the Bethlehem Authority has hired an engineer to study the potential impact of the pipeline on the watershed area and has directed its solicitor to appear before the FERC to discuss the pipeline. "We've had the watershed for 75 years," he said.

Council President J. William Reynolds said, "This isn't just about a pipeline; this is about Bethlehem. It is our most valuable land environmentally," he said of the watershed property. "I think it's ridiculous that it goes through our land. Find a way to move it to less environmentally sensitive land," he said.

City residents also supported the council's resolution opposing the pipeline. Frank Baran said, "I'm concerned about this. It is a very high priority for the city." He urged council to become more deeply involved in the process and to hire an attorney specializing in environmental law to intervene. Lower Saucon Township has already done this, Baran said.

"We have a lot more at stake than our land and businesses," Baran said. "We have our water at stake."

Resident Peter Crownfield said the pipeline is "an environmental disaster" and added it is also a danger to public health.

Other municipalities that have also passed resolutions against the pipeline include Lower Saucon and Moore townships. While passing through Northampton County, the line would go through Moore, Upper Nazareth, Lower Nazareth, Bethlehem, Lower Saucon and Williams townships.

In other business, council members voted to amend a Zoning Ordinance on maximum impervious coverage in residential zones. Council member Eric Evans proposed changing the maximum amount of impervious coverage to 50 percent in the RR Zone. Council members approved the change and will vote on the amended ordinance at the April 7 meeting.

Finance Committee chair Recchiuti said the committee will discuss amendments to the city's Community and Economic Development budget at the March 31 meeting.

Council members also took a moment to remember longtime city paramedic Billy Guth Jr., 57, who died at home on March 14, less than three months after his retirement from his 30-year career as a Bethlehem paramedic and EMS supervisor. "He was a great man," Council member Cathy Reuscher said.