Sussex council approves gas company expansion
With a 4-1 vote at its March 22 meeting, Sussex County Council approved an expansion of an existing conditional-use application filed by Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company for its facility in the Newton Industrial Park north of Bridgeville.
The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the application at its March 10 meeting.
Mark Parker, engineering manager for the company, said the site will occupy 4 acres of the parcel and contain 5 to 8 feet of aboveground piping, a small building, a stormwater management area, and zones for truck deliveries. The facility will be fenced, with a Knox box for access by local firefighters and signage listing emergency contact information.
He said the facility will be a receipt point for non-traditional gas supplies, such as renewable gas, compressed natural gas or liquified natural gas, that will be metered, regulated and heated to 65 to 70 degrees, and pumped into an existing Eastern Shore gas line.
Councilman John Rieley, who voted against the application, said expanding the use of natural gas is the right thing to do. “I just wish it wasn't there,” he said, referring to the facility's location near residences and Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.
Rieley said his father-in-law worked for a propane gas company in Sussex County and was responsible for shutting down a leak. “The area was covered with a cloud-like fog, and we were all praying there wouldn't be a spark,” he said. “The proximity to an elementary school gives me pause.”
Parker said all truck drivers are trained Eastern Shore employees. He said natural gas is lighter than air, and it dissipates into the atmosphere, while propane is heaver than air and is harder to dissipate.
He said the company has been operating a compression facility on the site since 1988 with no incidents. “Our safety record is impeccable,” he said.
He said the operation must meet all state and federal regulations, and is monitored 24 hours a day all year.
Parker said there would be no gas processing at the facility. “The natural gas comes to us to be put into the pipeline ready for the end users,” he said.
Parker said the new facility will be 1,300 feet from the elementary school and 1,000 feet from the school's playground.
Councilwoman Cindy Green asked Parker how truck traffic would enter and exit the site, which was a concern expressed by some area residents. He said there would be approximately 18 trucks per day offloading natural gas using Emma Jean Road, Newtown Road from Route 404, and Route 13. “There is no reason for trucks to travel near the school or in residential areas,” Parker said.
Leading opposition to the project, Greg Layton, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, said, “It should be obvious that Sussex County children and educators don't need an expanded pipeline next door to an elementary school. The decision to build one next to a school was absurd – expanding it is unconscionable.”
He said as officials throughout the world call for less reliance on fossil fuels, this project deepens Delaware's dependence on gas.
Although only Layton testified during the March 10 public hearing, the record contains a packet of 51 letters in opposition to the application, including letters from Sierra Club, and Sussex Health and Environmental Network.
