West Milford resolution authorizes agreement with Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.

A resolution prepared for passage by the Township of West Milford Council at their meeting this week would authorize an agreement with the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company. With the local government board members in accord, approval of the resolution was expected.

Passage of the resolution would authorize and direct Mayor Michele Dale to execute the agreement and take all actions as necessary to effectuate its terms.

Compressor Station 327

The document reports that Tennessee is interested in working and cooperating with the township as to the construction of Compressor Station 327. It notes that the municipality acknowledges that Congress, through the Natural Gas Act, has regulated comprehensively the siting, construction and operation of natural gas facilities. State and local regulations pertaining to these same issues are preempted.

“The township wishes to memorialize its intention to work with Tennessee throughout the course of the project by entering into an agreement to address, among other things, ad valorem taxes to be paid as a result of the construction of the compressor station,” according to the resolution.

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company LLC is a natural gas company under the Natural Gas Act of 1938 and as such is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) as to facilities, construction, rates and types of service, and regulated by the United States Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act as to minimum safety standards.

As part of Tennessee’s proposed East 300 Upgrade Project, Tennessee wants to construct Compressor Station 327 on property in Hewitt.

Anticipated service date: November 2022

On June 30, 2020, Tennessee filed an application for a Certificate of Public Conveyance and Necessity (“Certificate”) with FERC for authorization to construct, operate and maintain the project, with an anticipated in service date of Nov. 1, 2022.

Opposition

Many people, including environmentalists and residents living near the project area, have opposed it at township meetings and elsewhere. Signs on lawns also tell of the opposition.

Renee Allesio of Hewitt has addressed the council nearly a dozen times. She said in June that adding a compressor to a 65 year old pipeline is a bad idea. She said then that she knows that many people oppose the pipeline while others were still unaware of the issue or decided to bypass the council and contact Governor Murphy directly to make their concerns known.

Other speakers at that meeting included Laura Ashtyani of Newfoundland reported that many people have expressed dislike for the gas compression station and gas pipeline. She expressed concerns that the township could be left “holding the bag” should a pipe break or an explosion or fire break out. She prepared a list of her concerns for the council. She expressed belief that the station would need 24/7 monitoring and first responders would need special training to be ready to meet any emergencies.

Margaret Wood of Germantown Road also had concerns about the local drinking water supply. Quoting the EPA Vice Chair Wilbra Subra she said, “If the drinking water supply is a ground water source, then the leaks and spills at compressor stations and along the pipeline will flow into the groundwater and contaminate the drinking water source from the groundwater.” Wood said unless there are monitoring wells the contamination from a migrating plume can go undetected. She noted that TGP will not provide money for the township to do any monitoring or its own monitoring or tests.

Transparency

The mayor said she wants transparency with this project and executive session matters discussed are perfectly legal. Reports of these discussions, when official minutes are approved by the council, can be released to the public.

Councilwoman Ada Eric stated she took an oath to uphold the laws of New Jersey and read the State Law regarding executive sessions and indicated that the terms on the agenda (specific to the resolution listed) are the only items that the Council is allowed to discuss. Eric said the council is listening to the concerns of the public and she is aware that the only way to stop something is to legally control it