Residents say the compressor station would be too close to homes and schools
CHESTERFIELD -- Dozens of residents packed a Chesterfield meeting this week to voice their concerns and opposition to a proposed compressor station they say would be too close to homes and schools.
"Why would anybody in their right minds allow you people to come in here and put a compressor in an area with residents and schools," Vince Carabin said. "It's insane."
Oklahoma-based Williams Co., which owns and operates the Transco pipeline, has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a 30,500-horsepower electric-powered compressor that would take gas from its Trenton Woodbury line and send it into a 30-inch pipeline being proposed by New Jersey Natural Gas.
The pipeline, which would span 28 miles across several Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean county towns, has also drawn opposition.
Williams' officials said compressor stations are needed at intervals along a pipeline to pressurize the gas and keep it moving.
"The overall line pressure is not increasing, but the capacity to transport gas at the specific delivery point is increased by this project," project manager David Martinkewiz said.
The Garden State Expansion project also includes plans for an adjacent meter and regulating station in Chesterfield and improvements to a compressor station in Lawrence near Terhune Orchards.
Chesterfield Mayor Jeremy Liedtka said Williams misrepresented the size and scope of the project when the township sold a 14-acre parcel next to the New Jersey Turnpike to them last October for $860,000 -- only eight of which was usable.
"That's a lot different than the close to 40 acres you own now," he said, referring to the other 26 acres Williams bought in January. "No where did you mention that the new pipeline would be built through our community or possibly buying a neighboring piece to build the compressor station on."
Though officials said the project would have a negligible impact on neighbors and the environment, residents still expressed concerns ranging from its safety and effects on air, water and noise pollution to decreased property values.
"There is nothing that you can do or say that can tell us that this anything positive that will be any kind of good change to our community," Jean Spector said. "Put yourselves in the shoes of all these people here tonight that do not want this here, that have no way to stop it and all of you people are going to go home to your safe houses ... where you're not breathing any of this in. So why should we want it here?"
Belinda Blazic, a resident fighting the compressor station and pipeline through a group called Responsible-Pipeline, listed people living near compressor stations who have reported chronic sore throats, headaches, nosebleeds and other ailments.
"These infrastructures are a massive burden to our community and are all for corporate profit," she said. "They offer no benefits whatsoever to our community ... and if approved, we will be forced to live with the adverse impacts to our health, environment and safety."
Russ Markowski, senior operations manager, said he lives a half-mile away from the company's station in Branchburg.
"I work around them on a daily basis, my crew of 34 in four locations work around them on a daily basis and I do believe that they're safe," he said.
Officials said the company currently operates more than 40 miles of pipe in Burlington County and has done so safely for decades.
Markowski anticipated that over the course of the year, there would be between five and 10 planned "blowdowns" during which crews will oversee a controlled release of natural gas. The gas is directed through a filter to remove the mercaptan -- a compound that is added to gas so that leaks can be detected -- and a silencer to reduce the noise.
He said unplanned "blowdowns" are highly unusual.
But Patty Cronheim, a member of the Hopewell Township Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline, said she knows someone who lives near the Lawrence station. She played a recording of the loud humming noise coming from the compressor and said this past winter, the neighborhood was evacuated because the smell of mercaptan was so strong.
"There was no warning, no heads up," she said. "I don't think you're being very forthright when you tell people that there's no sound and that these blowdowns are infrequent because there seems to be a lot more going on in Lawrence than you're letting on."
Other residents worried about what would happen if there's a leak or an explosion.
"When we have this thing for 20 years, rare as leaks are, something's going to happen," Michael Howes said. "There will be a leak at some point and a leak at 800 (pounds per square inch) is not the same as a leak from my kitchen.
"How are we going to prepare our community when we have a compressor station 45 feet from a home?" he continued.
Chesterfield school board member Andrea Katz, who read a resolution opposing the projects, asked how the elementary school would be evacuated when buses would have to be brought in.
Markowski said the same safety measures in place on Day 1 are in place 25 years later to prevent a catastrophic event from happening. The site will be staffed by a 10-man crew Monday through Friday and remotely monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"If things start happening, the units shut down, the valves close and things stay stable," he said. "I'm not in agreement that we're going to have a catastrophic event in 25 years."
Liedtka on Friday said he will introduce a resolution opposing both the compressor station and pipeline at the next township committee meeting Dec. 10. He also said that the township and individual committee members have filed motions to intervene with FERC.
Those granted status as intervenors can request a new hearing by the commission and challenge the decision in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.