Wright compressor station comment deadline approaching

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

Residents have less than a month to get comment to federal regulators on the environmental impacts of expanding the natural gas compressor station in the Schoharie County town of Wright.

Iroquois Pipeline, under an agreement with Constitution Pipeline, is seeking approval to build a new transfer station to house two 10,900-horsepower turbine compressors, natural gas coolers, gas filters and an emergency generator, according to a notice that was posted Tuesday in the Federal Register.

Iroquois currently operates a compressor station at its facility off of Westfall Road in Wright — the terminus of the 122-mile natural gas line Constitution Pipeline is seeking approval to build from northeast Pennsylvania to Schoharie County.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing that application.

Communication between the two gas transmission companies led to an agreement for Iroquois to upgrade its facilities, thereby eliminating initial plans to build a new compressor station somewhere near the Iroquois facility in the event FERC approves the request submitted by Constitution Pipeline.

The new compressor station would stand 58 feet tall and would measure 70 feet wide by 100 feet long.

Plans also call for building a 40-by-25-foot gas cooling structure on Iroquois’ 53-acre property.

The notice posted in the Federal Register this week alerts concerned members of the public of the scoping process in which the FERC learns and addresses concerns the public may have regarding the proposal.

Specific topics the FERC will delve into during its review include geology and soils, land use, water, fisheries, wetlands, vegetation, wildlife and cultural resources.

Comments, according to the FERC notice, “should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact.”

People can provide input online, via email or by regular mail and should reference the project’s docket number, CP13-502.

The FERC’s eComment feature can be found under Documents and Filings on the agency’s website, www.ferc.gov.

The agency’s eFiling feature, also found on www.ferc.gov, is another avenue.

Those who wish to handwrite a letter should address it to Kimberly D. Bose, secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

FERC and Iroquois Pipeline could not be reached for comment Wednesday.