Virginia: Gas compressor would boost Petersburg pollution

Del. Sam Rasoul and others gather at Sen. Mark Warner's Roanoke office Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Roanoke, to advocate for Sens. Warner and Tim Kaine to remove a Mountain Valley Pipeline amendment from the national debt bill.

A plan for 55 miles of natural gas pipelines through western Tidewater, boosted by an expanded compressor station just outside Petersburg and another in Emporia, would make bad air quality in two neighborhoods even worse, a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says.

"Communities in this part of the state are being hit on every side — rising sea levels and increased flooding. Dealing with the impacts of past bad projects and pollution," said Greg Buppert, senior attorney and leader of Southern Environmental Law Center's regional gas team.

"Alternatives to increasing the Petersburg Compressor Station's horsepower and thus the pollution of an environmental justice community needs to be explored, including the ‘no action’ alternative," said Lynn Godfrey, program manager for the Sierra Club's Just Transition effort.

Compressors are needed along gas pipelines to make sure pressure is high enough to keep gas moving to users.

Columbia Gas Transmission wants to replace 49.2 miles of pipeline, which dates back to the 1950s, that runs from Sussex County west to Chesapeake. In a related project, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. plans a 6.35-mile-long, 24-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Brunswick and Greensville counties.

The aim is to handle increased demand for gas in Hampton Roads.

But to move more gas through a pipeline twice as wide – 24 inches versus 12 – Columbia needs more muscle at its Petersburg compressor, just outside the city in Prince George County, just south of Fort Gregg-Adams.

Columbia wants to boost the compressor's power by 2,700 horsepower, which FERC's draft environmental impact statement notes would exceed critical guidelines for when the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide are too high at distances up to 0.6 miles from the station.

But that's too much when there are houses 1,200 feet away from the compressor, according to comments on the draft statement from the Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The center noted that the census tract's 3,800 residents suffer far more commonly from asthma than do most Virginias, while the poverty rate is twice the state average. People in the tract rank in the 89th percentile for incidence of asthma, the center said. The tract's population is 77% Black residents.

The eight census tracts surrounding this one are like it identified as disadvantaged under the Council on Environmental Quality's Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

An inactive Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site sits off Foggy Ridge Road in Franklin County.

The law center suggested FERC require using electric-motor-driven compressors, or a combination of electric and gas-powered compressors, instead of the gas-fired units Columbia has proposed.

Columbia also plans to install a new 5,500-horsepower compressor unit next to two existing 650-horsepower units in Emporia. The people in the census tract here rank in the 90th percentile for asthma, 94th for diabetes and 84th for heart disease, and the increased emissions from the new compressor pose a risk to their health, the center said.

It asked FERC to conduct a more detailed review of potential harm to health when it does its final environmental impact statement.

Customize your experience so you see the stories most important to you. And sign up for personalized notifications so you don't miss any important news.

TO DOWNLOAD

For Android users: https://go.richmond.com/googleplay

For Apple users: https://go.richmond.com/apple

The center also asked FERC to evaluate alternative routes to the one Columbia proposed that would cross the Great Dismal Swamp wildlife refuge and to require a more costly technique than Columbia proposed for crossing creeks and wetlands.

"The communities that will be impacted by the construction and operation of this project deserve more scrutiny of this project and its potential impacts," said Taylor Lilley, Environmental Justice Staff Attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

A final environmental impact statement, through which regulators can dictate how a project must be laid out, built and operated, is required for a major infrastructure project to go ahead, under federal environmental law.

Amy Nelson of Blacksburg lit a candle representing an MVP water violation at Saturday's rally.

Six-year-old Eleanor Teresa watches her mother Erica Sims light a candle representing a Mountain Valley Pipeline water violation during a rally against the MVP at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park on Saturday, December 11, 2021.

Jason Crazy Bear Campos-Keck, with 7 Directions of Service, spoke during Saturday's rally against the Mountain Valley Pipeline at Dogwood Dell.

People held signs, each representing a Mountain Valley Pipeline water violation, during a rally against the project Saturday at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park. Several hundred people turned out in opposition to the pipeline.

A candle, representing a Mountain Valley Pipeline water violation, is lit during a rally against the MVP at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park Saturday, December 11, 2021.

Amanda Tandy, with Chesapeake Climate Action Network, lights a candle representing a Mountain Valley Pipeline water violation during a rally against the MVP at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park Saturday, December 11, 2021.

People hold signs, each representing a Mountain Valley Pipeline water violation, during a rally against the MVP at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park Saturday, December 11, 2021.

Dave Ress (804) 649-6948

[email protected]

@DaveRess1 on Twitter

Comments on western Tidewater pipeline projects

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that matters like permitting and routing are best suited for regulatory agencies and judicial review.

Kaine says matters like permitting and routing are best suited for regulatory agencies and judicial review.

Rates for a major gas pipeline will be cut, easing pressure on gas utility bills.