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Proposed station could be built within 1,000 feet of Dallas School District campus.
SARAH HITE shite@www.timesleader.com
DALLAS TWP. – Supervisors briefly discussed potential plans for a natural gas compressor station near the Dallas School District complex at its meeting Tuesday evening.
Resident and Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition member Liz Martin asked supervisors about the status of a proposed compressor station that could be built within 1,000 feet of the district campus.
Zoning Officer Leonard Kozick said representatives from Chief Gathering LLC met with township officials Thursday to discuss the plans. He said the representatives also spoke with Dallas School District officials.
“We have nothing yet,” said Supervisor Glenn Howell about formal plans for developing the land near Fairground Road.
He said the gas company will need to file for a special exception for a zoning permit. Kozick said this is because the land is zoned for quasi-public service, but permission to build the compressor station could be granted if certain requirements are met.
Kozick also told residents and the board the company would need to schedule a public hearing with the zoning board to be granted the exception. The meeting would need to be scheduled two weeks beforehand to advertise to the public.
The proposed site is also where Williams Gas Co. has made propositions to build a natural gas metering station. No formal plans had been submitted to township officials as of Tuesday.
“You realize this is a whole other ball of wax,” said Martin of the compressor station.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, compressor stations are utilized in preserving the flow of natural gas from suppliers to consumers. The gas is compressed at certain intervals while being transported through pipelines.
In other business, the board received a letter from an attorney on behalf of Back Mountain Baseball to hold an informal meeting about utilizing a 55-acre parcel of land for a baseball field.
Solicitor Thomas Brennan said township officials should meet with the attorney to learn further details on Back Mountain Baseball’s plans for the area.
The next meeting of the Dallas Township Board of Supervisors will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1 in the municipal building.