Compressor stations maintain the flow and pressure of fracked gas transported in pipelines. Due to serious health and safety risks, experts recommend compressors stay at least 1.8 miles away from occupied buildings. A new report by Thimble Creek Research and Eco Essential Solutions, prepared for Sierra Club Connecticut, reveals the dangers posed by the proposed expansion of a compressor station in Brookfield that is located within 1,900 feet of a local middle school and within a mile of 800 residential buildings. Click here to read the full report.

 

According to the report, the expansion to the compressor station will result in the increased emission and exposure of locals to toxic carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Exposure to these toxins in the air can cause lung irritation, difficulty breathing, increased risk of respiratory conditions like asthma, and aggravation of other respiratory or heart conditions.

 

Children, seniors, pregnant women, and people with pre-existing conditions are all at higher health risk from exposure to dangerous emissions. Whisconier Middle School enrolls 790 fifth through eighth grade students. Of the 2,000 residents who live in the 800 neighboring residences, 674 are children under 18 and 293 are over 65. 

 

The Brookfield project is one of four Connecticut and New York compressor expansions proposed by Berkshire Hathaway and TC Energy along an existing fracked gas pipeline. Community members fiercely opposed the initial construction of the compressor station and another subsequent expansion. The latest proposed expansion has received similar backlash from local residents who, alongside Sierra Club Connecticut, have rallied to stop the project. 

 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the four expansion projects in 2022. As for the Brookfield project, the final permit needed before construction could start is from the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP). The First Selectman of Brookfield, Sierra Club Connecticut, Save the Sound, and other organizations have called for DEEP to reject the permit application. 

 

The report follows the release of a “Human Health Risk Assessment” by TC Energy and Berkshire Hathaway. The previous assessment was deeply flawed, having failed to look at the station’s long term health impacts or disclose at what distance from the facility health impacts were measured.

 

On September 23 at 6:30 p.m. Sierra Club Connecticut will be co-hosting a teach-in at the Brookfield Library about the new health impact report. The two researchers who completed the report will present their findings and answer any questions. You can learn more and RSVP for the event here. 

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Nick Katkevich is Campaign Organizing Strategist with Sierra Club.