Kinder Morgan is expected to file its formal application for a 400-plus mile pipeline across the Northeast with the federal government in the coming days. Nine new compressor stations including ones in Nassau, New York in Rensselaer County and Windsor, Massachusetts are being proposed as part of the Northeast Energy Direct project.
People living in those small, rural towns have been vocally opposed to housing the stations. Dr. Sheila Bushkin-Bedient is a member of the Institute for Health and the Environment at University of Albany. She is also a co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York, which came together to research impacts of fracking. Bushkin-Bedient spoke with WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Jim Levulis about what she says are potential health impacts for those living near compressor stations, a message she’s shared with local project opponents.
More of the interview can be heard here.
Kinder Morgan and its subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline say the gas that will be transported through compressor stations is “pipeline quality” meaning it is treated and/or processed before entering the line. The company says benzene, other hazardous air pollutants and hydrogen sulfide that may be present exiting wells have been almost completely removed prior to custody transfer into the system. Therefore, venting will not cause an adverse effect to human health or the environment. The company says it must receive an air quality permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and mandated by the Federal Clean Act in order to construct the project. As part of the permitting process, Tennessee Gas Pipeline must demonstrate to the Department of Environmental Conservation that the proposed compressor stations will not cause an adverse impact to human health and the environment.
Click here for all of WAMC’s continuing coverage of Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct project.
