Joanna Gagis reports for NJTV News
It started with singing and ended with two under arrest, as environmentalists gathered in a last-ditch effort to stop the expansion of a compressor station in Roseland, part of a larger gas pipeline expansion run by Oklahoma-based Williams Companies.
The protesters said the expansion is unnecessary because the current compressor is only operating at 10 percent and that it has the potential to harm surrounding wetlands and puts local residents’ health at risk with events like “blowdowns.”
“A blowdown is when, temporarily, they have to release all the pressure in this facility. So that means they’re releasing huge quantities of not only natural gas, but any chemical additives or other harmful gases that are in the facility,” said Matt Smith, organizer of Food and Water Watch.
Williams denies that saying, “There were no noxious gases released, only methane, which is a nontoxic and naturally occurring gas that is much lighter than air and dissipates into the atmosphere when vented.”
Roseland resident Cassandra Worthington isn’t convinced. “I have asthma, and since I moved here, I’ve been having asthma attacks more than I’ve ever had in my whole life. This affects us personally. It affects the community, this affects our environment,” said Worthington, a Food and Water Watch volunteer.
Company claims ‘…virtually zero impact’
Williams Companies spokesperson Chris Stockton said they have designed the project in an environmentally responsible manner.
