Williams-Transco Originally Eyed Six Parcels For Gas Compressor

Map showing some of the sites originally considered by Williams-Transco for its gas compressor station. Graphic: Williams-Transco.

The company wishing to build a gas compressor station in Franklin initially eyed six potential locations in the township and South Brunswick, a federal filing shows.

The Williams Companies’ Transco affiliate is planning to build the 32,000-horsepower natural gas-powered station on a 52-acre parcel near the intersection of Routes 27 and 518. The controversial application has run into opposition from residents and officials in Franklin and South Brunswick.

Documents filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission show that the company had initially picked six sites to study for the compressor station’s placement. According to the company, those sites were, in the order presented to the FERC:

• Site 1: a 69.8-acre lot located approximately 0.5 mile east of the Trap Rock Quarry, and just west of Route 27.
• Site 2: a 36.7-acre lot close to Promenade Boulevard, which Transco later chose as one of its top two before finally opting for another site.
• Site 3: the 52-acre site chosen by Transco.
• Site 4: a 19.6-acre lot located north of a solar array between Kingston Rocky Hill Road and Laurel Avenue.
• Site 5: a 47.2-acre wedge-shaped lot located between New Jersey Route 27 and County Route 518.
• Site 6: a 17.8-acre lot located in South Brunswick, behind light commercial structures on Blackhorse Lane.

According to the document, further study of Site 1 showed “extensive wetlands on-site,” plus there is a mapped tributary to the Carter’s Brook on the site as well as 100-year floodplain. The station, Williams noted, would result in “substantive wetland and waterbody impacts” and the site was removed from consideration.

Site 2 made it to the final round of consideration, but was dismissed because the impact to the environment and residential neighbors were seen as less with Site 3, which was the eventual selection, according to the company.

Site 4 included two single-family homes and a utility right-of-way, leaving little land for the station, so it was removed from consideration, according to the document.

Site 5 is not contiguous to the existing Transco mainline gas pipeline, and would require at least a quarter-mile connector pipeline through a residential and active agriculture area, according to the document. There are also wetlands on the site, all of which resulted in the parcel being removed from consideration.

Site 6, in South Brunswick, is “encumbered by wetlands” and is too narrow to hold a gas compressor station, according to the document.

One objection to the compressor is that the land on which it will sit is close to Trap Rock Industries, which regularly blasts in the area, making the station vulnerable to shocks caused by the blasting.

In another document, the “Reliability and Safety” report, Williams-Transco said that it will work to mitigate any problems caused by blasting.

“Further, Transco will complete a comprehensive engineering analysis at the Compressor Station 206 location to measure any potential impacts from blasting at the nearby quarry,” according to the document. “The results of that analysis will be used to effectively mitigate any potential issues in the station’s final engineering design. (The Blasting Vibration Analysis will be provided in Transco’s Application, anticipated to be filed in 1st quarter of 2017.)”

2016 Williams-Transco Site Maps

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