MInisink Compressor Station - Myths vs. Reality

 

MYTH

Millennium is sidestepping local regulations and concerns..

REALITY

The Minisink Compressor Station falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but this in no way means we are avoiding rigorous regulatory review or consideration of local concerns. The federal permitting process is extremely rigorous and demands that we thoroughly study and define specific plans for dozens of potential impacts including noise, emissions, environmental conditions and many other issues of local concern.

In many cases Millennium has sought to exceed federal permitting standards, such as in the case of noise levels. Millennium chooses to do this because we respect and value our host communities. We will continue to work with local officials to address local concerns.

MYTH

Millennium has plans to build a power plant on the compressor station site.

REALITY

Absolutely untrue. We have no such plans. In fact, Millennium indicated that it would be willing to designate a conservation easement on approximately 43 acres of the Minisink Compressor Station site to reduce the risk of future development of that site.

MYTH

Millennium is going to use the site to process, drill and participate in hydrofracking to harvest natural gas.

 

REALITY

Absolutely not, nor will the station be capable of harvesting natural gas. The station will be used to pressurize the natural gas passing through the existing pipeline so as to move it to its delivery points quickly and efficiently. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration there are currently more than 1,400 natural gas compressor stations operating safely across the United States.

MYTH

This land would have been left wild if not for the Millennium project.

REALITY

This property was earmarked for the potential development of 41 homes. To ensure the land remains pristine and wild, Millennium has submitted a proposal to designate 43 acres for conservation.

MYTH

Multiple compressor stations are planned by Millennium within Minisink.

REALITY

Untrue. The way that compressor stations work is that they are spaced approximately 30-50 miles apart on a pipeline. This one project is the only development plans Millennium has for Minisink.

 

MYTH

The compressor station could have been avoided if Millennium had instead replaced the existing
24-inch pipe at Neversink.

REALITY

Simply replacing the existing portion of 24-inch pipe would not allow us to meet customer demand. We would still need a compressor station. This allows us to build only a single station rather than both replacing pipe and building a station which would have a greater impact on both a community and the environment .

MYTH

The Minisink Compressor Station is going to be extremely loud.

REALITY

Millennium is designing the compressor station with extensive state-of-the- art noise mitigation measures for all compressor station sound sources in response to community concerns. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requires that the compressor station not exceed 55 dBA (Ldn) at the nearest noise sensitive areas (NSAs), which in this case is a house 650 feet away. However, the compressor station sound levels are projected to be 16 to 21 dB below the 55 dBA (Ldn) FERC criteria. Sound falls off as a function of distance, so the further away one goes, the more the sound is reduced. The next closest receptor is 1,125 feet away and all others are further than that.

MYTH

There are going to be two smokestacks emitting toxic diesel exhaust into the air.

REALITY

Our system is fueled by natural gas and the truth is that the vast majority of the combustion products from the Minisink facility are the same compounds occurring naturally both in ambient air and in our exhaled breath. That is why we can use natural gas safely in our homes. During operation, the Minisink Compressor Station will comply with all applicable federal and state regulations for the emission of air pollutants. The emissions control technology is time-proven in the field and will assure reliable and continuous compliance with New York’s and EPA’s stringent air quality standards.