For the better part of a month there was no word from PennEast Company regarding the proposed natural gas transmission pipeline in contentious discussion through several Pennsylvania counties. And as soon as he remarked about such, authority Executive Director Steve Repasch was inundated with calls and emails from the company to reestablish momentum.

Repasch said PennEast is still working on the proposed route, geothermal drilling and mapping the current work footprint. Because certain clearances may take far longer than they’d like, PennEast officials are now leaning heavily toward an eastern route which scales Blue Mountain and crosses authority water lines in two places.

Repasch said a meeting to discuss the technical details in approaching, but officials wish to speak with authority members before their next meeting to keep plans moving.

The authority does have another idea to shore up its influence, however. Solicitor Wendy Nicolosi said her firm with Jim Broughal is seeking a deal with PennEast similar to the one the Game Commission has; offering a license to use the property rather than an easement. An easement typically involves some form of ownership by the entity other than the actual property owner, but a license would only allow use of land by PennEast while the authority retains ownership and more control of its land.

Repasch and board member Vaughn Gower said they favor the license approach.

The board also talked about the long-running wind energy project, the agreement for which has just passed its three-year anniversary March 6.

Repasch said Iberdrola subsidiary Atlantic Wind was to submit the zoning application for construction of giant turbines in Penn Forest Township. The company is running an ongoing testing period using massive sensor towers and a plethora of environmental studies to determine the impact and viability of an array of turbines in the city’s watershed.

With said testing deeply under way and subject to any number of governmental entities before the proposal can actually break ground – perhaps in 2018 – the project is not a sure bet. When pressed about the actual appearance of the towers, Repasch said the chosen locations ensure they won’t be darkening anybody backyard. “You really have to see the property to understand where the turbines are going to be,” he said. Gower agreed; “It’s remote.”

Repasch added Iberdrola continues to pay the authority for using the land during the long-running studies, and estimates the proposal may eventually include a total of 30-35 turbines, earning the authority between $280,000 and $525,000 per year.

Repasch said he will plan for Iberdrola officials to meet with the board this year to answer questions directly.

The next meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. April 14 at city hall.