Compressor for Buckingham?

Posted 8/21/12

A company called Linden Energy Services (LES), which was created with the stated purpose of building pipelines and compressor stations to serve the gas fields of Pennsylvania, says on its website …

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Compressor for Buckingham?

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A company called Linden Energy Services (LES), which was created with the stated purpose of building pipelines and compressor stations to serve the gas fields of Pennsylvania, says on its website that the proposed development of oil, natural gas and liquid natural gas in the region will require $200 billion in “midstream investments,” and they plan to get some of that action.

They have been talking with the supervisors of Buckingham Township about possibly purchasing a 35-acre parcel from the township, which would allow for the construction of a compressor station, and allow gas from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania to be transferred to the Millennium Pipeline in New York.

At a township meeting in October, some of the town’s residents registered their opposition to the proposed compressor station. If the compressor station does come, it is quite likely—based on the experiences of other residents of the region who live near newly constructed compressor stations—there will be many problems.

As journalist Jessica Cohen pointed out in an article about the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) gas power plant planned for Wawayanda and the Minisink Compressor Station, after the compressor went online a doctor was employed to survey residents. They displayed symptoms similar to those uncovered by environmental health expert Wilma Subra. She “typically finds symptoms such as “asthma, allergies, coughs, nosebleeds, dizziness, weakness and rashes among 90% of residents and workers in a two- to three-mile radius of gas infrastructure.”

Since the facility has gone online, several residents have sold their homes at steep losses and others have simply walked away from their homes.

Another compressor station was built on Hungry Hill Road in the Town of Hancock. A press release from Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy (CCSE) released in July 2015 said homeowners living near the compressor, “have seen the value of their homes decline by as much as 50% since the industrial facility was constructed in the midst of what used to be a quiet, rural community.”

Several homeowners sought to have their assessment lowered as a result, but town officials denied them.

CCSE appealed and in August 2014, “small claims hearings were held in the Hancock Town Hall. Two homeowners, a certified real estate appraiser and a representative of CCSE, testified that the compressor station was responsible for heavy truck traffic, noxious odors, persistent low-level vibrations and air contamination.”

In light of that and other testimony, the tax assessor “agreed to decrease the assessed valuation and real estate taxes on two homes by 25%. The assessed valuation and taxes on a third home, one that had been physically damaged, were cut by 50%.”

There is also the matter that if there is a disagreement between the company building the compressor station—LES—and the residents of the area, the agency that regulates compressors—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—will always choose the alternative that is best for the company’s bottom line, rather than the one that is best for the health and welfare of nearby residents.

This was clearly demonstrated as a third compressor station was under construction in Milford, PA. Opponents claimed the station would spew emissions equivalent to 100 idling school busses. The emissions could be reduced by the use of electric turbines rather than gas turbines to push the gas through the pipeline. According to the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, “The industry best practice for compressor stations as determined by the Natural Gas Star program, a partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency and pipeline companies, is to eliminate emissions by using electric engines and capturing vented gases.”

But the owner, NiSource, has refused to use electric turbines, because the company claims it will create more pollution than gas turbines. While that may be true for the global climate, depending on how the electricity is generated, it is certainly not true for people who live near the facility and who have to breath the air at that location. NiSource clearly does not factor the health of the residents who live near the compressor into their plans. Further, FERC could mandate that NiSource use electric turbines rather than gas ones, but in this case, as in Minisink and Hancock, FERC sides with the company, not with the residents who live in the area.

The supervisors of Buckingham have a choice about whether they want to invite a compressor station into the community. We urge the residents there to let their elected officials know how they feel about that.

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