Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:3-11, the Mayor and Borough Council
of the Borough of Branchville hereby grant to Pivotal Utility Holdings,
Inc., doing business as Elizabethtown Gas, a corporation of the State
of New Jersey (hereinafter "Elizabethtown") with principal offices
located at 300 Connell Drive, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 07922,
its successors and assigns, a nonexclusive consent, right and privilege
for the use, without impairment of, or obstruction to the public use
of, the roads, streets, parks, avenues, ways, and other public places
of the Borough of Branchville to construct, lay, maintain, and operate
for a period of 50 years the necessary mains, conductors, pipes and
concomitant appurtenances for the purpose of conveying, storing, supplying
and distributing natural and mixed gas for heat, power, light and
other purposes for public and private use and consumption along, in,
or under the following described service area: all the streets, avenues,
alleys, parks, parkways, highways, or other public places within the
Borough as they now exist or may be hereinafter be laid out by the
municipal authorities of the said Borough or dedicated to said Borough.
The municipal consent granted herein is expressly conditioned
upon the following:
A. The written acceptance of Elizabethtown of the terms and conditions
of this municipal consent ordinance within 30 days of its final adoption.
B. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (hereinafter "N.J.B.P.U.")
approval of the consent herein granted and the issuance of such other
grants or approvals as determined by the N.J.B.P.U.
C. Elizabethtown shall satisfy all statutory requirements of N.J.S.A.
48:13-1 et seq. regarding the proper organization and operation of
public utilities engaged in the distribution of natural and mixed
gas, and shall remain subject to the jurisdiction of and comply
with all rules and regulations of the United States Department of
Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety, and the N.J.B.P.U. as well
as the ordinances of the Borough of Branchville.
D. Elizabethtown shall construct and continuously maintain and operate
their distribution line within the service area in a safe and efficient
manner and maintain such gas distribution lines in a state of good
operation and repair, and including all streets, roads, and public
rights-of-way within the Borough of Branchville wherein its lines
are located.
E. The construction, operation and maintenance of the gas distribution
system within the rights-of-way of the Borough of Branchville shall
in no way place any obligation, financial or otherwise, or any liability
of any kind, upon the Borough of Branchville, and no obligation is
to attach for the construction, operation and maintenance of the said
gas distribution system to the Borough.
F. Any and all regulating pits and venting structures or like facilities
shall not be located along the public rights-of-way comprising the
service area.
If the provision of any article, section, subsection, paragraph,
subdivision or clause of this ordinance shall be judged invalid by
any court of competent jurisdiction, such order or judgment shall
not affect or invalidate the remainder of any such article, section,
subsection, paragraph or clause, and, to this end, the provisions
of this ordinance are hereby declared to be severable.
This municipal consent ordinance shall become effective upon
adoption and publication according to law, and only upon written acceptance
of this municipal consent by Elizabethtown, which written consent
shall be filed with the Clerk of the municipality within 30 days of
the date after which Elizabethtown receives notice of the passage
of this ordinance.