What Chief may control at meter site learned

By Sarah Hite shite@timesleader.comStaff Writer

DALLAS TWP. -- Residents, officials and opposing counsel questioned Chief Gathering LLC’s fifth and final witness Tuesday night at a Dallas Township Zoning Hearing for the company’s application to build a natural gas metering station off Hildebrandt Road.

James Scott, senior vice president of Chief Gathering LLC, offered testimony to clarify and expand upon certain aspects of the project.

An issue that caused confusion among residents, counsel and the hearing board in the past was what aspects Chief would actually control at the site.

The metering station would measure natural gas flowing through a gathering line from wells in Susquehanna County to the Transco interstate pipeline in Dallas Township. The Transco line would bring the gas to market for commercial and personal use.

At previous hearings, there had been confusion as to which aspects of the site will be controlled by Chief and which by Transco.

Scott said Transco will oversee the calibration of measuring instruments at the site, and Chief will be solely responsible for construction, operation and maintenance of the facility.

Scott, who has been the company’s senior vice president since its inception in 2008, estimated no more than 10 trucks would be part of the site’s construction process, which would last between four and five months.

He said that once the site is operable, one or two daily visits from a pickup truck would be all the traffic involved at the site.

Scott testified subcontractors would be involved in the construction process, and third parties may also be involved in maintenance if needed. Otherwise, he said, Chief employees are primarily responsible for the site.

After being questioned on the issue several times by opposing counsel and residents on the issue, Scott said that while there’s no guarantee that there will never be an incident at the site, he said he guarantees the way the facility is built and maintained can eliminate the possibility of any sort of incident that would be injurious to the public interest.

Resident Jane Tolomello asked whether the company has considered the safety of nearly 3,000 students attending the Dallas schools, which are located about 1,300 feet from the proposed site.

“We take it very seriously,” Scott said.

At the next hearing, opposing counsel will be able to present witnesses to testify, and after that process is completed, residents will be given a chance to testify as well.