Buckingham Township citizens need to get more information about the proposed pipeline and compressor station in their backyard. At the August 14 public meeting, about 45 people, mostly local taxpayers, listened to a presentation by Linden Enterprises Services (LES) informing us of the proposed pipeline on the O&W Railroad bed, a local road owned by the township. The supervisors, acting “to provide income” to the community, agreed to the pipeline exploratory stage, which will then become the construction stage if LES finds the pipeline feasible on that route.

Also, the question of a compressor station came up. At first, the Linden representative said that this was not part of the current plan. However, when pushed, it became obvious that there will be a compressor station in the township to meet up with the Millennium pipeline in Hancock. All the audience members thought this was not a good idea, as expressed by a show of hands, but the supervisors had already decided to go ahead with the plan.

At the October meeting, Buckingham supervisors admitted that LES had approached them to site the station on a 35-acre property owned by the township along the pipeline route at the junction of the O&W and Fall Brook Road. Again, the supervisors’ reason for “possibly” agreeing to the compressor is revenue for the taxpayer.

A compressor station would bring long-term health risks to the community. For instance, I sourced a February 2015 article in www.environmentalhealthproject.org about problems that arise from “fugitives” “blowdowns,” and accidents. Some of the “fugitives” escaping include methyl butane, ethyl benzene, ethane, propane and methanol. With time and wear, the fugitives escaping increase.

“Blowdowns” occur when gas must be purposely released to prevent an accident. These bring gas plumes of 30 to 60 meters for hours at a time. A family in Hungry Hill in Hancock was advised to leave its home when a blowdown happened in December of 2013. The noise level was in excess of 100 decibels.

For a list of some of the accidents, “Google” gas compressor station accidents.

The supervisors need to hear from their constituents about the dangers of the pipeline and the compressor station. Our health, not to mention our property values, is at risk for a few dollars!

[Joann Morsch is a resident of Starlight, PA.]