By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — The deadline is looming for residents opposed to a natural gas compressor station to have their opinions documented.
Williams Partners L.P. operates the Transco natural gas pipeline that transports natural gas from south Texas to New York City. Williams is proposing the installation of a compressor station for connection to the Transco pipeline on a portion of the Trap Rock Quarry property located near the intersection of Route 27 and Promenade Boulevard in South Brunswick/Franklin Township to supply the Brooklyn and Rockaway areas of New York at the request of its customer, National Grid.
Williams announced last month that Transco filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking authorization for its Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, which would create 400,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm transportation capacity to markets in the northeastern United States for the 2019-20 winter heating season.
The proximity of the property to 377 single-family homes and townhomes in the Princeton Walk development, 100 individual homes in the Preserves and 198 townhomes at the Woods at Princeton Walk is the resounding concern of neighbors because of safety and noise issues.
The deadline for residents to file any concerns with FERC is 5 p.m. April 27. Residents Against Compressor Station 206 (RACS) is encouraging residents to declare themselves as “intervenors” so that they will be able to object to the pipeline and compressor and take part in any legal action against Williams or FERC.
“If you don’t declare yourself as an intervenor, you can’t challenge FERC and they can ignore your comments. You still have the right to comment as a non-intervenor, but FERC can choose to ignore your comments at will. Most importantly, if FERC issues a decision that impacts you and you don’t like it, you can only effectively protest if you are an intervenor. Non-intervenors are locked out of critical portions of the process,” according to information provided by RACS 206. “Being an intervenor costs nothing, involves no lawyers, places no burden and you can unsubscribe from receiving emails on the project. Registering on the FERC website as an intervenor means that you have a stake in the process. It does not obligate you to anything but gives you the right to stay informed of the developments.”
Upcoming intervenor workshops include:
– 10 a.m. to noon April 22 at the South Brunswick Senior Center, in the municipal complex, 540 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick.
– 4-6 p.m. April 22 at the Princeton Walk Recreation Center, Princeton Walk Boulevard, Princeton
– Noon to 3 p.m. April 23 during the South Brunswick Earth Day celebration, Reichler Park, 540 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction. In the event of rain, the meeting will be held at the Senior Center.
The Township of South Brunswick filed a docket on April 12, considering itself to be an intervenor.
If the plan is approved by FERC, the NESE project will consist of approximately 10 miles of 42-inch pipeline looping facilities in Pennsylvania; three miles of onshore 26-inch looping facilities in New Jersey; 23 miles of offshore 26-inch looping facilities; the addition of 21,902 horsepower at an existing compressor station in Pennsylvania; a new 32,000 horsepower compressor station in Franklin; and related appurtenant facilities, according to Williams.
The certificate application reflects an expected capital cost of $926.5 million and a target in-service date of Dec. 1, 2019. Consistent with Williams’ practice for financial planning, the capital cost and in-service target are further risked to $1.01 billion and May 2020, according to the company.
For more information on the compressor station project, visit www.northeastsupplyenhancement.com.
To join as an intervenor, visit ferconline.ferc.gov/eRegistration.aspx
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@newspapermediagroup.com.
