Tonight: Public Hearing On Trap Rock Quarry Compressor Station

FRANKLIN, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold its only scheduled public hearing Monday night, Nov. 5 on the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, a proposal to build a compressor gas station along Rt. 27 that has been a source of intense local opposition in South Brunswick and Franklin townships.

Williams Transco, a natural gas company, wants to build a 32,000-horsepower compressor station at the Trap Rock Quarry site, located off Rt. 27 on the border between South Brunswick and Franklin.

Williams already maintains natural gas lines that run underneath South Brunswick, but the company says a compressor station is now needed because it is greatly expanding the pipeline to deliver more natural gas to Brooklyn and Long Island. A compressor station is essentially a large engine that pushes, or compresses, natural gas through the pipeline. The compressor station would include two turbine-driven compressors, the purpose of which is to maintain enormous pressures on the gas as it travels through the pipeline.

Williams is extending the pipeline for 32 miles underneath Raritan Bay, to connect it to the Rockaways in New York. Williams was debating between two sites for the compressor station: Option A at Promenade Blvd. and Rt. 27 and Option B, a location farther north between Rt. 518 and Rt. 27. Both locations are technically in Franklin Township, but would affect South Brunswick residents.

Williams announced they had selected Site B as the final location for the station. If the federal government OK's it, the station will be built on a 52-acre plot of land one mile south of the intersection of Rts. 27 and 518 (Georgetown Franklin Turnpike). The land on both sites A and B is currently owned by Trap Rock Quarry, which would sell it to Williams if the federal government approves the station.

But residents who live near Trap Rock Quarry, especially in Princeton Manor and Princeton Walk, are concerned about safety issues (there have been well-documented explosions from natural gas pipelines), as well as noise from the station and that the compressor station might pollute the environment.

Williams has to apply for Freshwater Wetlands permits from the state in order to build the compressor station. They also need the permits to build pipelines in Old Bridge, Sayreville and through Raritan Bay, as they would be building in wetlands areas.

Williams says the compressor station will be set back in the woods, away from homes and businesses and will sound "no louder than a refrigerator."

Tonight's hearing is the only chance the public will have to learn about the proposal. It will be held in the Franklin High School cafeteria at 6 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to gather public comment from anyone who wishes to speak. Community members will be given three minutes each to provide their input. Attendance is expected to be large.

Assemblyman Joe Danielsen and the NJ Sierra Club, along with the Princeton Manor Homeowners Association will hold a rally against the project outside beforehand.

Franklin High School is located at 500 Elizabeth Ave, Somerset, NJ 08873.

Ongoing Patch coverage of Compressor Station 206: Site Picked for Transco Gas Compressor Station Near South Brunswick

South Brunswick Residents Worried About Natural Gas Compressor on Rt. 27

Blasting Fears from Trap Rock Quarry in South Brunswick Compressor Gas Fight