BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer
A natural gas company showed options to the public this week for locating a new compressor facility in Old Bridge or Sayreville.
Representatives from Williams, a Tulsa, Okla.-based energy company that operates the Transco natural gas pipeline that runs throughout New Jersey, hosted a pair of public workshops this week in Old Bridge and Sayreville to allow residents to review maps, give feedback and learn about the site selection process.
Williams is in the planning stages for a northeast expansion project expected to be completed by 2007. The company wants to increase the capacity of its Transco pipeline through Middlesex County.
A new compressor facility will be required in the county, as well as the replacement of about two miles of existing pipeline located between the new compressor facility and Raritan Bay, according to the company.
Press materials indicate that Williams’ Transco natural gas pipelines deliver more than half the natural gas consumed in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. According to Joseph Sacko, a project liaison to Williams, the high-pressure gas being moved through the Transco pipes needs to be depressurized at compressor facilities before it can be delivered to the public.
“As demand continues to increase throughout the state, the need for more compressor facilities will also increase,” he said.
At present, the closest facility is located in Princeton.
The two sites in Sayreville fall within industrial areas. The first, dubbed the Hercules Alternative Compressor Station site, off Jernee Mill Road, was first identified as a place for possible expansion five years ago. The Roundabout Alternative Compressor Station site is located off Minisink Avenue, and was identified as a potential site two weeks ago.
The two Old Bridge locations, the Reclamation site off Bordentown Avenue, and the Cheesequake site off Cheesequake Road, were both identified as options five years ago.
Williams officials anticipate a location will be determined within the next month, and then a formal application will be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC has granted Williams’ request for a prefiling review of the proposed expansion, which is intended to gain input from the public.
“What we’re trying to do is inform the public what the process is, and receive feedback so that we can make a determination of what the preferred site is,” said Lauri May, senior environmental specialist with Williams. “Then FERC can initiate their review of that site. It’s very important to get the comments.”
According to May, some of the factors Williams considers when determining a site for a compressor facility include local zoning restrictions and physical constraints such as the proximity to existing pipelines, access to electric power, site terrain and site accessibility.
Though the two meetings were publicized in area newspapers and notice was given to residents within a 1-mile radius of the four proposed sites, only a handful of people attended Tuesday evening’s public workshop at the Sayreville Senior Center.
“I’m surprised they didn’t have more of a turnout,” said Sayreville resident Nelly Malet. “I think the time of 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. was not good. Maybe if it was later in the evening or on the weekend, there would have been more people.”
“Coming home from work at 5 o’clock, people are still sitting in traffic at that hour,” she added.
Dolly Wranovics, a Cedar Terrace resident in the Parlin section, noted that the two proposed Sayreville sites are in industrial areas, while one Old Bridge option would be close to the Laurel Park residential development.
“We’ve got 600 homes [in Laurel Park],” she said. “I don’t think it should be anywhere near residential areas. I’d prefer it to be in an industrial area. I’d rather it not be near ballparks and children.”
Willie Hrynyk, a resident of Zaleski Drive in the Oak Tree West community, was mainly concerned with potential noise issues from the proposed Hercules and Roundabout sites that would be closer to his home.
“The Transco compressor facility will be designed to minimize any adverse impact to surrounding communities,” Sacko said, noting that the proposed compressor facility would register only 49 decibels of sound. Materials provided by Sacko indicate that level is one decibel below the sound of a refrigerator and 11 decibels below that of normal conversation.
Though Williams officials told members of the public in attendance Tuesday that the facility would be safe, Wranovics was still concerned
“Accidents do happen, you never know,” she said.
Williams officials said they expect to file a certificate application with FERC in September, and to have a fully operational facility in place in the area by November 2007.
The 10,500-mile Transco pipeline is a major transporter of natural gas in the Northeast. Transco has operated in New Jersey since the company was founded in 1951. The pipeline has operated in the Old Bridge and Sayreville area since 1967.
The second public workshop was scheduled to be held last night at the Madison Park Firehouse, Cheesequake Road.