NJ Natural Gas Wants To Build Regulator Station On Holmdel Road

HOLMDEL, NJ — This Thursday, Oct. 25, the Holmdel Zoning Board will be asked to approve a natural gas regulator station on Holmdel Road. It's a controversial project that's generating plenty of backlash from Holmdel residents and environmental watchdogs alike.

New Jersey Natural Gas seeks to build the station, which would go at 960 Holmdel Road. That land is privately owned, and NJ Natural Gas is asking the Holmdel Zoning Board to grant them nine variances to build the station there, as that property is not zoned for industrial use.

A regulator station reduces pressure on the underground natural gas pipelines that already exists in the area, running underneath the ground in Holmdel Township and throughout Monmouth County. Because they relieve pressure on the underground gas lines, regulator stations actually make natural gas delivery safer.

"While we noticed nine variances for the regulator station, only three are absolutely required," said Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for NJ Natural Gas. "The regulator station itself is needed to support the reliability of NJNG’s distribution system. It will replace a temporary station that is currently in operation, but that is not designed or suitable to support the system permanently."

The regulator station will consist primarily of underground piping, a fifteen-foot tall ventilated heating unit (Roberts says that's what the project's opponents have mischaracterized as “smokestacks”), a control box and two regulator runs that will be located above ground. For comparison, the heating unit looks like a commercial-sized boiler. The regulator station would likely not be visible from Holmdel Road, as fencing and landscaping would be built around it.

Still, environmental advocates say Holmdel's preserved farmland, homes, the nearby Village Elementary School and the Swimming River Watershed are not the place for a regulator station.

“This project will make part of Holmdel look like something that should be next to the New Jersey Turnpike. This is an industrial natural gas regulator station that will pollute the land, pollute our waters and will be a major nuisance to the community,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The proposal will bring in air pollution right next to preserved farmland and near the Swimming River Reservoir. The Holmdel Zoning Board must protect the people and environment and reject NJNG’s application.”

However, NJ Natural Gas argues the proposed regulator station will not have any adverse impact on air quality or pollution impacts on water quality, based on existing standards already set by the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection and the federal EPA. NJ Natural Gas has already presented a report from an outside environmental consultant to the Holmdel Zoning Board.

If approved, construction will begin as soon as possible, Roberts said.

This is not the first time NJ Natural Gas has tried to build a regulator station along Holmdel Road. In 2016, a previous application was submitted and denied at the property next door. A solar farm is located there now. The Holmdel Zoning Board advised NJ Natural Gas to resubmit their application for the current site, 960 Holmdel Road, Roberts said.

The Holmdel Zoning Board will be voting Thursday night, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. at Holmdel Town Hall, 4 Crawfords Corner Road.

Photo: A view in the area of 960 Holmdel Road via Google Earth.