Pipeline Spokesman Says Sound is 'Comparable to a Refrigerator'

South Brunswick, NJ - A spokesman for The Williams Companies, the energy company looking to build a highly controversial natural gas compressor station off Rt. 27 at Promenade Blvd., talked to Patch Tuesday.

However, Princeton Walk homeowner and board member Kevin Corcoran was one of the 60 people who attended a Williams-hosted open house Tuesday morning in Bridgewater, and he said his concerns about the project have hardly been alleviated. If anything, Corcoran said he's even more worried. There will be another open house Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

Why do they want to build this compressor?

Williams operates the Tranco Pipeline, one of the nation's largest natural gas arteries, which carries gas from the Gulf of Mexico — and increasingly from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania — to the Northeast. Tranco delivers about half the natural methane gas used in New Jersey (to companies such as PSE&G, which then delivers it to homes) and half the gas used in New York City. Since the 1960s, there have been two Tranco pipelines that run underground through Franklin Township.

"Most residents probably never even knew they were there," company spokesman Chris Stockton said.

Williams now wants to expand that pipeline to deliver even more gas directly to one place: New York City. As part of its push to lower emissions, New York is transitioning to use more natural gas than oil — gas burns much more cleanly than home heating oil, and is cheaper. Expanding the pipeline would allow Williams to deliver more gas to National Grid, New York City's main energy supplier. This is a big planned expansion: Once complete, Williams hopes to be able to push through enough extra gas to heat an additional 2 million homes a day.

Building a compressor station in Franklin Township is part of that expansion, and is necessary to push gas through those two existing underground lines, he said. Methane gas normally will not flow through a pipe; compressor engines are often needed to help it move.

What about noise and safety concerns?

Residents are extremely concerned about noise from the compressor, and even vibrations. But Stockton said those concerns are unfounded.

"The compressor will be in a fully enclosed building. It's not a large, outdoor engine. It's a fully enclosed turbine, and we're putting in nine inches of sound insulation," he said. "Essentially, people will not hear this."

A Williams-owned compressor station in Somerset County is shown above. The Rt. 27 one won't look exactly like that, but similar, he said.

Williams would build the compressor in a fenced-in lot in a wooded area and Stockton says "most people won't even realize the compressor facility is back there."

"It will be 55 decibels from the fence line, which is the equivalent of a refrigerator. If you were to walk through the woods and stand on the property line, what it would sound like is a household refrigerator," he said. "We're putting in a tower for communications (he compared it in size to a cell phone tower), but we're going to leave a wooded buffer around the site. You won't hear anything at all, and you also largely won't see it."

But Corcoran, the treasurer of the Princeton Walk Homeowners' Association, brought up the issue of "blowdowns," which occur when gas pressure must be released from the pipeline, either so routine maintenance can be performed, or during emergencies.

"People who live near these elsewhere have described it not as refrigerators humming, but as a jet taking off close by — a sound well in excess of 55 decibels," he said. "And my understanding is they have to do these blowdowns several times a year."

"If we are doing maintenance, yes, sometimes we do need to perform blowdowns, and it can be loud," Stockton admitted. "We try to control it with mufflers. But it's infrequent and it's not something we can predict — it's maybe once a year, or maybe one year we never need to do it. It's not like we do a blowdown every month."

Stockton said the compressor would not run 24/7, and would usually only constantly run during the winter and summer months, when demand for heat and AC is high.

Gas pipeline explosions are not unheard of, but adding a compressor station does not increase the risk of an explosion, he added.

"The main cause for gas explosions is people digging and accidentally striking the line," he said. "The two pipes that already run through Franklin have never had a safety issue, and we have 500 additional miles of pipe running just through New Jersey alone. Most people never even know they are there."

The compressor station would be manned by two staffers during normal business hours.

"It is a true possibility that an accident could occur at this proposed location and it is obvious many lives would be in harm's way," said Princeton Walk homeowner Azra Baig. The compressor station would be right across Rt. 27 from Princeton Walk, where an estimated 1,000 people live.

Two locations for compressor station being considered

Williams is currently deciding between building the compressor off Rt. 27, or a location farther north in Franklin Township, off Rt. 518. Both areas are zoned for industrial use.

However, the Rt. 518 location sits near a property that has already been designated a Superfund site, making the Rt. 27 site slightly more favorable, he said.

"Yes, the other site is farther from residents, but it would require more inspections and has more environmental concerns," he said. "The Rt. 27 site has less unknowns and less risk."

Both properties are owned by Trap Rock Quarry, and Williams has reached an agreement with the company to buy whichever property it selects. Stockton said he was not at liberty to disclose the selling price.

Williams would likely file its application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the spring of 2017, and the federal government then spends about a year evaluating the application. Once the federal government gives the green light, additional permits are usually approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection and Somerset County.

"It's our understanding that they don't need Franklin Township's approval, but we are confirming that," said Mark Healey, Director of Planning for Franklin Township, who said the township only recently learned of Williams' intentions.

If approved, construction would start some time in the summer of 2018.

"Resident feedback does go into the selection of the site," he said. While residents weren't exactly "rolling out the red carpet" Tuesday at the open house, Stockton said he thought people left the meeting well informed.

"Our reservations remain and in fact have strengthened a little bit," Corcoran said. "This is far too close to a significant residential development (Princeton Walk) and that's basically the position of the board."

The compressor station will be discussed at a South Brunswick Council meeting scheduled for July 12.

Photos provided by Azra Baig and Chris Stockton