Don't Double Horsepower At Essex County Compressor Station: Op-Ed

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The following op-ed comes courtesy of Ted Glick, a member of Roseland Against the Compressor Station. Williams-Transco has disputed several aspects of activists’ allegations. Read what the company has to say about the proposed expansion here.

“For the third time in the last four months, we need to let the NJ Department of Environmental Protection see that there are many, many people in New Jersey who do not want the Gateway Expansion Project. We do not want a more than doubling of the horsepower of the gas compressor station in Roseland, to 60,500 horsepower!

“The first time we acted was when we flooded NJDEP in May and June with emails and messages that they needed to hold a public hearing before making a decision on a Freshwater Wetlands Permit. When Diane Dow told me over the phone in June that they had decided to hold a public hearing, she said they were going to need to find a large place to hold it because there were so many people who had contacted them.

“The second time was at the public hearing on August 7 at West Essex High School in North Caldwell. More than 150 people showed up, and 45 people, all but three in opposition to this proposed project, spoke out in strong and moving ways.

“Now, over the next week, we need to flood NJDEP once again with written comments about why they should do the right thing, do their job of protecting the environment and turn down this permit.

“The deadline is the end of next week, September 22… Comments can be sent either by email or regular mail. You can send them by email to chivon.kisic@dep.nj.gov, and you can send them by regular mail to: Inland Regulation, Att: Chivon Kisic, PO Box 420 (Mail Code 501-02A), Trenton, NJ 08625.

“Please reach out to others you know about this and urge them to take action before September 22.”

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File Photo: Roseland Against Compressor Station