FERC Rubberstamps Transco GSE Compressor Station

The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) has given a certificate of approval to Transco for their Garden State Expansion Project. The project includes a compressor station to be built in Chesterfield, New Jersey as well as upgrades to the Transco substation in Ewing and increasing capacity in some lines. The compressor station would connect a pipeline, New Jersey Natural Gas’s proposed Southern Reliability Link, to a site in Manchester. The project is part of a large push for gas and fossil fuel infrastructure in New Jersey by the Christie Administration. Transco had only applied to FERC a week ago for this project.

“FERC has shown that it’s just a rubberstamp for the industry it’s supposed to regulate. Transco sent them a letter to approve their Garden State Expansion project by April 4th and then they did. FERC is nothing more than a puppet for the pipeline industry. They have approved the application without public comment or proper review. They didn’t even come out with a file EIS. Transco’s application was woefully incomplete and they segmented the project from the two pipelines it will connect to and from,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “FERC has sold out the communities of Chesterfield and New Jersey by approving this dirty and dangerous project without a proper review or public comment.”

Transco’s application did not have an EIS nor a full NEPA review that includes a no-build option and examines historic sites. It was also not examined for impacts to threatened and endangered species, as well as impacts to groundwater, wetlands and streams and air quality before it was examined for approval. The application for the GSE compressor station also failed to examine the secondary and cumulative impacts of the PennEast and Southern Reliability Link pipelines that will connect to it.

“FERC appears to work for Transco and pipeline companies rather than the people of New Jersey they’re supposed to work for. They’re looking the other way by segmenting PennEast and Southern Reliability Link, which is all one project. We believe they violated the law here. In a shameful move, FERC has given in to Transco’s arm-twisting and insufficient application. They have approved the GSE in barely a week, without any public hearing or sufficient time for input and that is despicable,” said Jeff Tittel.

The Garden State Expansion on its own will cause pollution and safety concerns for the area. Compressor stations create air pollution and water pollution by releasing toxic chemicals. These stations experience both scheduled and unscheduled blowdowns which release methane, ethane, MTBEs and other chemicals into the air. Other pollutants that have come from compressor stations include formaldehyde, propane, isobutene, cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and other greenhouse gasses. High levels of these chemicals that come out of the compressor station via air and water pollution can directly affect public health, especially during construction. There is also concern about “fugitive emissions” which occur from leaks and get worse over time.

“FERC has not received all the state permits for Transco’s GSE. More importantly, they have not been granted a 401 Water Quality Certificate. Under FERC’s own rules, they cannot grant Transco approval before this water certificate is granted. We believe they have violated their own rules. We believe that given the important of the environmentally sensitivity of the area, they should not be able to be granted a 401 Water Quality Permit. They may not be able to meet the standards of many of the state permits. The Garden State Expansion compressor station would bring more noise, light, and air pollution, as well as construction and water pollution to the area. We believe there are significant air quality impacts that have not been addressed regarding the compressor station. As such, we do not believe the compressor station would meet the criteria for air quality permits,” said Jeff Tittel. “Unfortunately, FERC has decided to approve first and permit later.”

The Garden State Expansion compressor station is actually part of a bigger project that includes the Southern Reliability Link pipeline and PennEast Pipeline. New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is a 20% partner in PennEast and is getting their 180,000 dekatherms of natural gas from them. PennEast is putting that gas into a Transco substation in Ewing which is part of the Garden State Expansion. That same amount of gas will then go to the GSE compressor station in Chesterfield and into NJNG’s Southern Reliability Link pipeline. The compressor station, Southern Reliability Link, and PennEast Pipeline would work together as one system and should be evaluated as such.

“By approving the compressor station without taking into consideration PennEast Pipeline or the Southern Reliability Link, FERC is wrongfully segmenting this project. The GSE is connected to both pipelines and it should be examined as an entire project. FERC’s environmental Assessment on the GSE did not examine the cumulative impacts of the other pipelines that are part of the one project and instead allows for segmentation. Federal court ruled that FERC cannot segment these pipelines into multiple projects and that they have to look at secondary and cumulative impacts. By segmenting the Garden State Expansion project, FERC is failing to evaluate the effects of the project as a whole by leaving out the Southern Reliability Link and PennEast pipelines and this is ultra virus,” said Jeff Tittel. “This could be a setback in our battle against PennEast as well.”

The construction and operation of this station would also potentially create water pollution and contaminate drinking water in the region because of the use of hazardous chemicals and runoff from construction that could impact groundwater. This project presents a safety hazard to surrounding communities and environment, especially because of Transco’s history with incidents. Since 2006 Transco’s pipelines have been involved in at least 50 gas transmission incidents. In West Virginia, a pipeline exploded burning down 2 acres of forest.

“There are too many possibilities of safety concerns affecting environmentally sensitive land that have not been properly considered. An explosion or leak could destroy important habitat and ad pollution to waterways. We believe that the compressor station could potentially create safety hazards for surrounding communities and disrupt environmentally sensitive land and waterways,” said Jeff Tittel. “The compressor station will cause water and air pollution and damage the environment.”

Transco applied to FERC for approval of their Garden State Expansion with less than a week requested for a deadline. They deliberately left no time to review any Environmental Impact Statement or hold a public hearing.

“FERC and Transco have betrayed the people of New Jersey by trying to get around public scrutiny and environmental approvals for this project. FERC should not have approved this project because Transco haven’t got their permits yet nor have they shown a formal EIS. They also should not have given Transco approval because it is unfairly segmenting the project from the Southern Reliability Link and PennEast Pipeline which it is part of and this is beyond their authority,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This entire process was disgraceful. We’re looking to challenge the SRL and we’re going to look into challenging the GSE as well, potentially in court.Transco has gamed the system by pushing through the GSE without proper review, permits, or public input. FERC has let Transco steamroll them into building their unneeded and unnecessary compressor station. This project is uneeded and unnecessary and is dangerous. We believe FERC has violated rules in approving this project. We’re here to say to them: get the FERC out of New Jersey! This begins our real battle against FERC and this damaging pipeline.”

FERC's filed announcement is attached.