Proposed natural gas compressor station is all the buzz

By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com

Dallas Township residents and activists are concerned about the effects of a proposed natural gas compressor station to be built approximately 1,345 feet from the Dallas School District campus.

Ted Wurfel, vice president of Environmental, Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Chief Gathering LLC, said the location for the construction on Hildebrandt Road is separated from the district campus by about 1,150 feet, and the actual natural gas processing facility would be 1,345 feet from the nearest school.

Chief Gathering LLC submitted plans to township officials on Jan. 21 to build the station on roughly five acres within 16 acres the company will purchase from property owner Robert Hayes.

Wurfel said a compressor facility pressurizes gas for transportation through the Transco pipeline. The station will include a metering facility, a building to house compressor engines, several tanks and glycol dehydrators, a 100-foot tall radio tower and a metering station.

Wurfel added that gas is taken from wells that could be anywhere from 10 to 30 miles away into a gathering line that leads to the compressor station. From there, the gas’s pressure is increased from 100 or 200 PSI (pounds per square inch) to up to 2,000 PSI, which is what the gas needs to be to enter into the Transco pipeline.

The company applied for special zoning exceptions to build the facility, and the township zoning hearing board will make a decision on Feb. 9.

Residents and activists are taking to the streets to raise public awareness of the plans. Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition (GDAC) members recently distributed flyers on the Dallas School District campus, and two middle school students created a Facebook page called “SOS” (Save Our School), calling attention to the issue.

Diane Dreier, GDAC member and Dallas Township resident, said people are mostly concerned about possible noise and air emissions that could result from such a structure. She also said there are other potential dangers associated with having combustible materials processed near the school.

Wurfel said the gas that will be processed at the compressor station will be dry, as opposed to wet, meaning the gas is mostly comprised of methane and ethane gases rather than BTEX, or benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene gases which could be harmful, depending on the amount and length of exposure.

He said the engines located within the building can be from 500 to 2,000 horsepower, and the noise will be insulated within the building to comply with the township noise ordinance.

Wurfel added that the proposed site was the gas company’s last resort – other locations fell through due to inability to get approval from landowners.

The fact that the location is in close proximity to the schools only causes the state-mandated safety regulations for the facility to be more stringent.

“I would say we’re always concerned about safety,” said Wurfel. “Because we’re located near the schools, we’ll pay extra attention to the requirements.”

Dallas School District Superintendent Frank Galicki said the school board has not yet taken a stance on the issue, citing a lack of information.

Officials from Chief Gathering LLC met with Galicki and Grant Palfey, district business manager, for 30 minutes on Jan. 12. District Solicitor Benjamin Jones III told Galicki to take notes and ask questions to report back to the board at its Feb. 7 work session.

“No one has come forth to present any information,” said Galicki. “I don’t want to have just one group present information to the board. We need to be fair from both perspectives. I have confidence in the township supervisors that they would never, ever, ever consider putting anyone in jeopardy.”

Township Zoning Officer Leonard Kozick said that even if the special exceptions are granted toward the construction project, it doesn’t necessarily mean the project will come to fruition.

Hayes, the property owner from which Chief Gathering LLC is purchasing 16 acres, declined to comment on the property transaction because it is still pending.

He did say that he and his wife have done research and visited compressor stations to understand the nature of the project.

“They’ve got everything together,” he said. “They just need to present it to the public.”