BROOKFIELD — For Iroquois Gas Transmission System to move forward with a large project, it needs just one last permit — for the proposed expansion of a natural gas compressor station located just 1,900 feet from Whisonier Middle School in Brookfield.
“An air permit for the Brookfield expansion, still under review by Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection … is now the final permit remaining before construction can begin in both New York and Connecticut," said Bianca Sanchez, associate press secretary for the Sierra Club, a nonprofit organization that opposes the project for environmental reasons.
“The future of the project relies on approved permits in both states,” Sanchez said.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation approved air permits in February to increase output at gas compressor stations in Dover and Athens, N.Y.
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Although the DEC said it found the project "would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas ... emission limits established in the Climate Act," it said the project is "necessary" to provide natural gas to customers.
Residents, conservationists and some town and state officials have worked for years to stop the expansion of Brookfield’s compressor station at 78 Meadow Lane. Several residents spoke out against the plan at the June 2 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, where all three members agreed to continue fighting.
Brookfield First Selectman Steve Dunn said he hasn't received responses to calls he made to Gov. Ned Lamont and state Environmental Protection and Energy Commissioner Katie Dykes' office with his concerns about the project.
DEEP's approval is needed to get the draft permit, which would allow construction to begin.
Dunn said he's drafting a letter to U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy for help in keeping the project from moving forward.
A study prepared for the Sierra Club, said the expansion would result in increased emissions of and exposure of residents to toxins, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Iroquois pipeline
The 80-acre property in Brookfield, owned by Iroquois Gas Transmission System, houses a natural gas compressor station. The expansion plan involves two steel pipelines that enter and exit the station: The Algonquin pipeline, built in 2008, comes in from the southwest, and the Iroquois pipeline, built in 2009, comes down from the north.
Ruth Parkins, director of public and government relations for the project at the Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co. in Shelton, said Iroquois is waiting for DEEP to finish its review of the air permit applications, which it began in 2020.
"When that review is complete, the DEEP will issue ... draft permits, either approving or denying the applications," she said Wednesday. If the draft permits were issued, DEEP would initiate a public comment period.
DEEP did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.
Expansion plans
Iroquois wants to more than double the capacity of the compressor station to receive an additional 125 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, according to an operating permit filed with DEEP.
The Iroquois natural gas pipeline, which runs from Canada through New York and Connecticut and under Long Island Sound, began operations in 1992. When Iroquois proposed a compressor station for the pipeline in 2006 for Brookfield, residents objected, saying it would be a risk to the health and safety of neighbors and the staff and students at Whisconier.
Despite objections, the compressor station was built in Brookfield. With the expansion plan, “residents have the same concerns today,” Sierra Club members have said.
In addition to the planned Brookfield expansion, Iroquois is also planning to install cooling equipment to its existing plant in Milford and add compression at existing locations in Dover and Athens, N.Y., according to the company's website.
Iroquois estimates the cost of the projects in all of the towns would be $272 million and would allow it to provide more natural gas to customers to heat and power their homes and businesses.