Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
HARTFORD, CT. -- Today, Stop the Brookfield Compressor Station, Sierra Club Connecticut, and Conservation Law Foundation delivered a signed coalition letter to the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) opposing the expansion of a fracked gas compressor station in Brookfield. The letter, signed by 21 Connecticut climate and environmental justice groups, represents the latest outcry by advocates and community members against the proposed expansion project.
TC Energy and Berkshire Hathaway first proposed doubling the size of the existing Brookfield fracked gas compressor station in 2021. Since then, Brookfield residents and climate allies across the state have firmly opposed the proposed expansion, which poses a serious safety risk to the town’s middle school just 1,900 feet away from the compressor.
Compressor stations maintain the flow and pressure of fracked gas transported through gas pipelines. Compressors poison the nearby communities with toxic emissions and threaten the safety of l residents. While federal regulators have allowed the TC Energy and Berkshire Hathaway application to move forward, the state has yet to issue the expansion’s air permit.
Following the letter hand-off outside the agency offices, Stop the Brookfield Compressor Station and Sierra Club Connecticut gave remarks on the reasons to oppose gas expansion in the town. Today’s event follows months of pleas to Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes against the expansion efforts.
“The compressor station expansion proposal offers no benefit to the State of Connecticut or the town of Brookfield,” said Sierra Club Northeast Field Organizer Nick Katkevich. “Instead, the project would undoubtedly increase greenhouse gas emissions, endanger the health and safety of the Brookfield community, and tie Connecticut further to a pricey, soon-to-be-obsolete gas system. There are cleaner energy options better suited to meet Connecticut’s energy needs and climate goals. Gas infrastructure has no place in our communities, let alone near our schools.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.