Jefferson compressor station plan given preliminary approval
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Planning Commission granted preliminary approval Monday to plans by EQT to expand its Jefferson Compressor Station.
The company plans to construct an addition to a building at the site on Denny Hill Road for a new turbine and compressor that will increase the station’s capacity to compress and move natural gas.
The station currently has three, 4,735-horsepower natural gas-fired engines for gas compression. EQT plans to expand capacity by installing a new 16,301-horsepower natural gas turbine at the site.
Plans for the expansion were subject of a public hearing in January by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Company officials said then that the new turbine will employ “best available technology” to control emissions. Acoustical insulation on the building and silencers on the equipment will ensure noise levels comply with federal and township noise regulations, they said.
A handful of people attended the DEP hearing and several expressed concerns about potentially harmful emissions and increased noise.
The company’s plan was approved by DEP Feb. 26, John Poister, DEP spokesman, said Wednesday.
The project is being developed in response to the growth in Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It will allow local natural gas producers to move their product to consumer markets, EQT said.
To receive final approval from Greene County Planning Commission, the company must complete several requirements including submittal of an approved storm water management plan and a DEP-approved erosion and sedimentation control plan.
In other business, the planning commission granted final approval to plans by Appalachia Midstream to construct three building on a site off McNay Road in Richhill Township as a “delivery point” for natural gas.
The company will install equipment needed to gather gas from a number of wells and prepare the gas for delivery into Spectra Energy pipelines. The equipment will separate, dehydrate, measure and control the flow of gas.
The work will disturb 10 acres of land and require the construction of a new access road to McNay Ridge and the relocation of electrical lines.
The commission also approved plans for the construction of a 2,800 square foot storage building at Neighbors Well Service’s existing Dry Tavern storage yard on Route 188.
The commission granted the company a modification to have a gravel parking lot rather than a paved lot, as required by the land development ordinance, because of the low volume of vehicles that will use the site.