TC Energy and Berkshire Hathaway want to expand fracked-gas compressor stations along the “Iroquois” Pipeline in NY and CT. Compressor stations burn gas in order to create pressure along pipeline routes, emitting dangerous toxins, creating hazardous noise, and posing serious safety risks.
As part of the proposed project, a compressor station in Brookfield, CT would be more than doubled in size. The facility in Brookfield is located just 1/3 of a mile from a middle school, and there is no evacuation plan should an accident occur. Nearby residents have complained about the smell of gas coming from the facility, and of soot coating their houses. Brookfield is situated in Fairfield County, which has been designated by the EPA as a severe nonattainment area for ozone pollution - with the largest factor being NOx emissions. The compressor station expansion would add at least 25 tons per year of new NOx emissions to an already overburdened community.
Another concerning factor is that when the pipeline was first constructed, there were hundreds of environmental violations which resulted in TC Energy pleading guilty to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act and paying $22 million in fines. This is one of the largest environmental penalties in U.S. history. This pipeline company clearly cannot be trusted.
In addition to the expansion in Brookfield, TC Energy and Berkshire Hathaway are also hoping to expand a compressor station in Milford, CT. That facility is located directly on the Housatonic River.
Local Brookfield residents fought to stop the original construction of the compressor station, and then a subsequent expansion. Let’s support this community in stopping this expansion - and getting Connecticut on the right path away from fossil fuels!
