PennEast completed its testimony before the Kidder Township Zoning Hearing Board panel on Tuesday, followed by residents voicing concerns about a compressor station proposed in the township.

Kidder Township resident Jim Burke requested permission to intervene and to question witnesses. His statement contained the signatures of nine other residents of the township.Burke asked the hearing board to dismiss the first two days of hearings and start over. He said the public had not been given the opportunity to intervene in the matter.Zoning solicitor Cynthia Yurchak responded to Burke’s request by pointing out that at the very beginning of the first public hearing everyone in attendance was given the opportunity to enter an appearance before the hearing board.Attorneys Donald Lewis and Daniel Miscavage entered their appearances on behalf of PennEast and the township, Yurchak said. “No one else came forward to enter their appearance.”“I must object to this request to intervene,” said attorney Donald Lewis. “It is very, very prejudicial and unfair to ask PennEast to begin testimony again. We have already given over six hours of testimony.”Miscavage said parties were asked to enter their appearance at the onset of the hearing.The zoning hearing board rejected the requests of Burke and a number of other people and organizations.Linda Christman of Save Carbon County was one of those who requested that the board reconsider permitting others to intervene.“I did request to speak during the first hearing and was told I had to wait and that the board would decide if I had standing when I was invited to speak,” Christman said.“Enter an appearance is a legal term not readily understood by the average person. Now you have people who have sat here through six hours without being afforded the opportunity to ask any questions of the applicant’s witnesses,” Christman said.Health concernsChristman refuted the applicant’s testimony regarding “blow downs,” adding that PennEast’s applications to the Department of Environmental Protection and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission contradicted testimony. Blow downs are when the pressurized natural gas within the station is released into the air for maintenance or in case of an emergency at the compressor station.Lucy Freck of Towamensing Township asked the board if a plume study had been conducted to measure emissions from the line.“I am very concerned about the environmental impact of the compressor station,” said Freck. “I recommend that a plume study be done if it has not been.”Freck also requested the township consider a phone alert system to notify those living near the station of blow downs.Deirdre Lally from the Clean Air Council asked the board to give the public the right to question PennEast’s witnesses. Lally’s statement included information about the types of pollutants which the compressor station would emit including formaldehyde and benzene and the health effect of these compounds.According to Lally, the particulate matter emitted by the station allows toxic chemicals to attach themselves to tissues within the human body, leading to increased risks of asthma, heart and lung disease and stroke. Formaldehyde and benzene are known carcinogens and can have a detrimental neurological impacts to children and cause birth defects.Lally said a recent study showed people living within 2 miles of the compressor station could be affected.William Mealy of Montgomery County asked what enforcement power the township will have to force PennEast to fix problems that arise. Bill Graves expressed his concern with township inspectors having the necessary knowledge and training for such inspections.‘Troubling’ studyBrendon Lee of Penn Forest Township, a member of Save Carbon County who has a degree in environmental studies, said, “I have reviewed what the Draft Environmental Impact Statement has to say about the Kidder Compressor Station, and what I have seen is troubling.”He cited a letter from the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development stating, “The proposed project is not consistent with the goals and objectives of the Carbon County Comprehensive Plan and Greenway Plan, and local land use and land development ordinances.”Lee said the Carbon County Commissioners reiterated the same concerns in a letter to the FERC citing concerns of the “significant impacts on natural resources.”Lee said the draft environmental impact study listed the air pollutants that would be emitted from the station, which include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter ranging from 10 microns in diameter to less than 2.5 microns in diameter, formaldehyde and other hazardous air pollutants.The amount of pollutants emitted annually from the proposed compressor station would be approximately 190 metric tons and 191,785 tons of greenhouse gases, for a total 191,975 tons of air pollutants released annually, Lee said.Fire chief supportLake Harmony Fire Chief Ralph Lennon spoke more positively about the project. According to Lennon, PennEast had taken a number of fire personnel to a compressor station in Meshoppen.“I am concerned about the amount of negative information out there that just isn’t true,” said Lennon. “I heard someone say it’s like living near an airport. We were right there and sure you could hear it, but it is nothing like that at all.”Lennon said that PennEast has been proactive in getting the fire companies involved and providing information and training.“I was very impressed with the redundancy and the safety features,” Lennon said. “From the point of the fire service, we believe that this will be done in a safe manner, that this will be a safe operation.”Yurchak said that the board has 45 days to render its decision, but the board will announce its decision at 5 p.m. Dec. 19 at the township building. The written decision will be issued by Jan. 13.