The Town of Fenton approved a Vermont company’s plan to build a gas compressor complex and truck-loading site on 5 acres near the Chenango River, following nearly three hours of impassioned talk, largely from opponents.
The compressor station will tap the Millennium pipeline, primarily for commercial and industrial customers, according to NG Advantage, an energy-transportation company based in Colchester. The facility will compress the gas and load it into specialized trucks for delivery.
Opponents pointed to concerns over the site’s proximity to schools, increased traffic loads and safety, and urged two separate town boards to deny or delay approval of the plan. About 50 people attended Tuesday’s public meetings.
The proposal had previously been cleared by the town’s zoning board of appeals and by its planning board, pending approval from Broome County. It triggered a more in-depth review by the county’s Department of Planning and Economic Development due to its proximity to municipal and public facility boundaries.
The site is on West Service Road within a few hundred feet of Chenango Valley School District buildings and a Port Dickinson park.
The county’s review, however, suggested — in 13 pages of itemized objections and 18 more of supporting documents — the project would have “significant negative impacts” and recommended denial.
Port Dickinson Mayor Kevin Burke and Chenango Valley Superintendent David Gill have separately expressed concerns about traffic and safety. A half-dozen speakers at Tuesday’s meetings said specifically that trucks entering and leaving the facility would stress a part of the town that is already congested during school hours.
Tuesday, members of the Fenton planning board objected that the county’s planning review did not take into account the scope of the project and documents provided by the company in answer to specific questions of noise, safety planning, road use and other issues.
According to NG Advantage, the facility will house four, 500-horsepower compressors at its opening, with a maximum of 12. Up to 125 trucks a day will draw the compressed gas for delivery to industrial and commercial customers located away from the main 36-inch Millennium pipeline.
Officials said Tuesday they have three customers lined up but declined to name them, and will be hiring a dedicated local salesperson to line up additional businesses. It expects to hire about 100 to build and staff the facility.
NG Advantage currently operates two other compressor stations, in Concord, New Hampshire, and near Burlington, Vermont, and serves customers in 27 industries.
Gerry Myers, chief operating officer of NG Advantage, said in answer to a question that part of the business will also be tapping the pipeline for delivery to other pipelines.
Bill Huston asked the board to delay a decision for that reason, as well as concerns over the safety of the vehicles that would transport the compressed gas.
“This little thing you’re approving in the Town of Fenton is potentially [for export]. We have no idea where this gas is going,” he said. “I’m asking you take no action tonight until you look very carefully at what this is all about because it’s way bigger than the Town of Fenton, and these trucks are potentially extremely dangerous.”
Myers noted the company’s proposal addressed safety, and said NG Advantage has met with and trained local emergency departments in how to handle a problem once the facility is running.
Compressed gas “is not any more flammable than in the form that’s in your home. And because it’s lighter than air and everything’s outdoors, we are safer than the gas that’s inside your buildings, your industries, that are here today,” he said.
On the noise concerns, he said the company’s projections expect the facility will produce a maximum of 52 decibels at the nearest residence and the park, which would be “not discernible” from nearby highway noise.
Three people at the meeting spoke in favor of the proposal. Jamin Boland, whose father leased part of the land, noted the potential benefit to Fenton’s tax base.
“I was driving on the Vestal Parkway the other day and I pulled up behind a trailer owned by one of [NG Advantage’s] competitors, driving down the Vestal Parkway with more people, more schools, more parks than Port Dickinson, Fenton and the Town of Chenango combined,” he said. “The only difference is, Vestal’s getting nothing for it. These guys want to bring jobs and tax base to the community.”
Earlier, the town’s zoning board of appeals granted a variance the company had sought for a 5-yard strip of leased land that would enable its vehicles to maneuver on the site. That vote was 4-1, and it cleared the way for the planning board to approve the overall application.
