Protest planned in West Milford as natural gas pipeline upgrades commence
Protestors are expected in northeastern West Milford on Saturday to rail against Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.'s plans to install a new natural gas compressor station site.
Representatives of environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch distributed emails this week seeking support for a planned protest near the pipeline company's active construction site on Burnt Meadow Road. The company recently began site work in preparation for the installation of a 19,000-horsepower electric-driven compressor turbine that will connect to the company's existing natural gas pipeline.
The new turbine combined with upgrades at existing stations in Wantage and Pennsylvania will add capacity to serve Consolidated Edison Company natural gas connections in Westchester, New York, according to company records.
Supported by some union groups and industry advocates, the $246 million East 300 Upgrade Project has been contested for years by area environmental groups, such as Food & Water Watch, the New Jersey Highlands Coalition and the Sierra Club.
Protestors from those groups and others are expected to gather at 11 a.m. Saturday near the construction site in an attempt to convince state officials, namely Gov. Phil Murphy, to block the project based on safety, health and environmental concerns. Protestors in April 2021 made a similar protest at the same proposed site, the intersection of Greenwood Lake Turnpike and East Shore Road.
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Opponents said there is still time to thwart the project. A key state emissions permit for the expansion of the compressor station in Wantage remains outstanding. There are also pending legal challenges to previously granted state and federal approvals.
Site work in West Milford nonetheless started in October. Gary Paolazzi, a neighboring homeowner, said the work has been disruptive for the few residents who live near the site, a former quarry more recently used to store landscaping material.
From bright lights before 6 a.m. to dust caused by terraforming the landscape, Paolazzi said the company has been less than neighborly. Katherine Hill, a company spokesperson, said some of the light problems stemmed from local law enforcement performing early morning security checks. Hill said no work is being performed between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The project has been opposed by politicians in neighboring towns. Local government officials in Bloomfield, Hamburg, Montague, Ringwood, Wantage and Vernon have adopted resolutions opposing the project. West Milford officials proposed a similar resolution but never voted on it. Town officials later inked an agreement with the pipeline company that included a $200,000 cash payment to the township.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Protest planned in West Milford as gas pipeline upgrades commence
