Tuesday, August 13, 2013

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IS SOLICITING COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FROM WINDSOR,NY RESIDENTS ON WILLIAMS REQUEST TO ALTER CERTIFICATE

 
                                                                   STATE OF NEW YORK
                                                           PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION


CASE 10-T-0350 -
Application of DMP New York, Inc. and Laser Northeast Gathering Company, LLC for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need Pursuant to Article VII to Construct a 16 Inch Natural Gas Gathering Pipeline to the Existing Millennium Pipeline in the Town of Windsor, Broome County Approximately 51,857 feet of Steel Coated Pipeline and a Gas Compressor Station. – Joint Application to Amend a Certificate to Add Two Compressor Units.


                                                         NOTICE SOLICITING COMMENTS
                                                                 (Issued July 31, 2013)


On February 22, 2011, the Public Service Commission granted a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) to DMP New York, Inc. (DMP) and Laser Northeast Gathering Company, LLC (Laser) authorizing, subject to conditions, the construction and operation of a fuel gas transmission line (including the Dunbar Compressor Station) in the Town of Windsor (Town), Broome County. In a joint application filed on July 25, 2012 (and supplemented on December 17, 2012 and July 26, 2013), pursuant to §121(3) of the Public Service Law (PSL), Williams Field Services Company LLC (Williams), DMP and Laser (collectively Petitioners) request that the Certificate be amended in two respects. First, an amendment is sought to authorize the addition of two compressor units and related equipment in the Dunbar Station to allow increased deliverability of gas into the interstate pipeline of Millennium Pipeline Company, LLC. Petitioners state that the expanded compressor Station will comply with the applicable Certificate conditions. Second, an amendment is sought to change Certificate Condition 1. (z) or refuse to apply the Town Code noise limits at the Dunbar Station property lines, if the


CASE 10-T-0350

Commission finds that Certificate Conditions 1. (z) and 1 (s2) have not been, or will not be, fully satisfied. Condition 1. (z) provides that "prior to the commencement of construction, Applicants shall submit to the Secretary an acoustical study performed in accordance with the guidelines provided in the Town of Windsor Code to establish the ambient noise level at the edge of their property" and Condition 1. (s2) provides that "within 45 days of the commencement of operations of the compressor station, or such later date as may be specified by the Secretary, Applicants shall submit to the Secretary a report from an independent acoustical consultant, in sufficient detail for DPS Staff to determine whether Applicants comply with the Town of Windsor Noise Control Code and a maximum noise limit of 40dBA under no wind conditions at any existing residences; if the study does not show compliance with the Town of Windsor Noise Code and the terms of this order, Applicants shall have 45 days in which to bring sound levels into compliance . . ." Petitioners served the joint application on the parties to this proceeding.


                                                               PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
that any party wishing to comment on the joint application may submit comments to the Secretary by e-filing through the Department’s Document and Matter Management System (DMM),1 or by e-mail to the Secretary at secretary@dps.ny.gov, on or before August 20, 2013. Those unable to file electronically may mail or deliver their comments to the Hon. Jeffrey C. Cohen, Acting Secretary, New York State Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All comments submitted to the Secretary will



1 How to Register with DMM: http://www.dps.ny.gov/e-file/registration.html.



CASE 10-T-0350

be posted on the Commission’s Web site and become part of the official case record.

                                                        (SIGNED) JEFFREY C. COHEN
                                                                        Acting Secretary

Note: send Emails to  JEFFREY C. COHEN
                       Email: secretary@dps.ny.gov
                       and please refer to- CASE 10-T-0350 in your Email




 

Guest Viewpoint for the Press & Sun Bulletin

Guest Viewpoint for the Press & Sun Bulletin

July 23, 2013, marked one year since West Windsor residents heard an explosive noise coming from the nearby Williams Partners-owned natural gas compressor station on Patterson Road, followed by a fireball that plumed well into the air above the tree line. Shaken by the experience, many of these homeowners went to the next Town of Windsor board meeting... to find out just what had happened at the compressor station on the late afternoon of July 23, 2012, when, during a severe thunder storm, lightning struck an exhaust pipe during a venting of natural gas. Not at all satisfied with the explanations given by Williams representatives, some of these concerned people began to meet on their own to pursue answers to this frightening incident and take a more serious look at a number of important issues facing a rural residential community now dealing with this heavy industry in our midst.
This is why our group—Concerned Residents of Windsor—was formed last summer. In November of 2012, after months of researching the design and construction of the compressor station and making enquiries of the NYS Public Service Commission and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, we drafted a five-page letter to many town, county and state officials, including the above agencies, addressing issues of air quality concerns, noise compliance violations, and problems with drainage. The compressor station was built into the side of a hill on 40 acres of cleared land with over forty homes within a ½–mile radius. Many important questions were asked in the letter—many remain unanswered.
Concerns about the amount of noise generated by a natural gas compressor station motivated the Town of Windsor to enact a Noise Control Ordinance in June of 2010—a law that received the full acceptance of the Public Service Commission. From the beginning and to date, the compressor station in West Windsor has never been totally in compliance with the local law. Nor have any fines ever been issued for non-compliance. Now Williams is petitioning the PSC for relief, claiming “the Town Code is unreasonably restrictive” and asking the PSC to either amend the town law to raise the established ambient sound level of 35 dBA to a level that would bring them into compliance or to “refuse to apply the Town Code noise limits at the Dunbar Station”.
For the people living nearby, it just means more noise and, with the prospect of a second natural gas transmission line and additional compressor capacity, it will probably get louder. And this doesn’t even take into account the numerous and noisy gas releases that have occurred in the past year, some in the middle of the night.
Concerned Residents of Windsor appreciates Town Supervisor Carolyn Price’s efforts in forming a working group that has brought together representatives from our group, town officials, local fire chiefs, and representatives from Williams. The meetings have addressed some of the serious issues we face, and some positive ideas have emerged. For example, the West Windsor Fire Chief recommended an audible alarm system at the compressor station to warn surrounding residents of an emergency situation. We wholly support this recommendation and hope that Williams Partners will give it more serious consideration than to “take it under advisement” as they have indicated they will do.
Grassroots community efforts like Concerned Residents of Windsor are vitally important to provide broader representation, oversight and accountability as the natural gas industry expands its transportation lines and accompanying compressor stations into New York State. We in West Windsor are the first in Broome County to experience living with a compressor station. We believe that people need to be better and more honestly informed about what to expect before one of these facilities is located in their residential neighborhood. How will it affect quality of life, health and property values? We were told by Laser Midstream back in 2010, regarding its proposed compressor station, that we wouldn’t see it, smell it, or hear it. But we do!
We are publicly asking the PSC to deny the request of Williams to raise the ambient dBA level in the Town of Windsor Noise Control Ordinance and to begin enforcing the existing levels. No further expansion of the compressor station should be permitted until this present noise issue is fully resolved. We are also asking our elected officials at the local, county, and state level to contact the PSC in support of this position.
Our experience in West Windsor indicates that New York State residents need to know much more about how they will be personally impacted by the location of major industrial operations in their rural residential communities. Just being told about projected economic benefits isn’t enough. We suggest that all residents of New York State check with their local officials to see how well prepared their own towns are for a compressor station in their midst. We need to get this right now, at the beginning, and not when a flood of new natural gas facilities is upon us.

CONCERNED RESIDENTS OF WINDSOR—Mark Lippolis, Jerry Henehan, Kelly Pennay, Linda Pierson, Scott Clarke, Rebecca Reed, Peter Ruggieri, Eileen Ruggieri