U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Pennsylvania state Rep. Craig Staats (R-145) recently urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to find an alternative location for the proposed Quakertown Compressor Station.
“The location of the Quakertown Compressor Station is unacceptable because of its proximity to a residential area,” Fitzpatrick and Staats wrote in their Dec. 12 letter to FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee.
The compressor station would be part of the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline project, which is designed to provide southeastern Pennsylvania homes and business access to natural gas through an existing pipeline which runs across communities in Bucks County, the letter said. The project switches the pipeline from carrying oil, to cleaner, more efficient, lower cost, domestically extracted natural gas.
As the pipeline is retrofitted to safely carry natural gas, compressor stations are being built at points along the existing line. Fitzpatrick and Staats noted that compressor stations are typically built on large parcels of land to avoid impacting nearby residents, but the Quakertown Compressor Station would be built in close proximity to a residential neighborhood in West Rockhill.
Fitzpatrick and Staats expressed concerns about potential health and safety risks due to the station’s proximity to residential homes. In addition, compressor stations are also known to emit a constant low hum that travels over a long distance.
“This station will negatively impact our constituents’ property values, as well as their quality of life. It is our hope that FERC and Adelphia Gateway will find a new, appropriate, and safe location for the Quakertown Compressor Station,” the lawmakers wrote.