Upper Burrell supervisors approve Marcellus shale gas compressor station

The Upper Burrell supervisors have approved a Marcellus shale natural gas compressor station off of White Cloud Road on Arconic property, which is zoned industrial.

The official vote Wednesday night was unanimous but complicated.

Two of the three supervisors, Michael Conley and Kenneth Slahtovsky, initially abstained from voting because they have a financial gain in the Marcellus wells serviced by the proposed station.

Supervisors Chairman Ross Walker, who supported the station, cast the sole vote.

Then, Solicitor Steve Yakopec instructed Conley and Slahtovsky to vote. Under the State Ethics Act, when there aren’t votes to render a decision, the members who abstained can vote, Yakopec said.

Hyperion, a subsidiary of Olympus Energy of Murrysville, went before the township’s planning commission and supervisors to secure approvals to build the Rogers Compressor Station. It’s a 120-foot by 65-foot natural gas compressor station that can be expanded in the future.

The station will collect natural gas piped from three to four well pads in the township area.

The gas will move through a series of filters and dehydrators to remove water and moisture, according to Hyperion. From the station, via Hyperion’s pipelines, the gas will go to the nearby Eastern Gas Transmission line.

The station’s distance to the nearest structure, an Arconic building, is 1,150 feet. The nearest homes are located between 1,600 feet and 2,900 feet away.

During a hearing Wednesday following the supervisors’ meeting, no one from the public felt strongly enough to be sworn in to either object to or support the proposed compressor station.

However, residents voiced concerns and had questions about the station’s noise level.

Hyperion said it will install two layers of insulation in the metal building housing the station with 4 inches of fiberglass and 6 inches of mineral wool to absorb sound.

“Hospital extreme-grade silencers” will muffle noise from the compressor drive engine exhausts, Price said.

But some residents are unsure if that will be enough.

“I didn’t move to the country to have the emissions and noise of the city,” one resident said.

Dan Myers, a former supervisor, criticized the supervisors for not asking Hyperion to install an additional barrier around the building to further muffle the noise.

“Upper Burrell people value their quiet surroundings,” he said. “You have the ability to change it.”

A sound wall is not necessary because the compressors and drive engines at the facility will be fully enclosed with 10-inch fabricated walls and a roof designed to absorb the hum from the equipment, said Kimberly Prices, a spokeswoman for Hyperion and Olympus.

Tage Rosendahl, a regional manager for Acoustical Control, spoke at the hearing as technical expert offered by Olympus. Acoustical Control, based in Texas, specializes in noise abatement equipment for the oil, gas and construction industries.

Rosendahl said the noise level from the station will fall below the township’s threshold for noise, 55 decibels. He calculated noise levels from the station to range from 32.2 to 48.9 decibels.

A soft whisper registers at about 30 decibels, a refrigerator hum is 40 decibels and normal conservation and an air conditioner are 60 decibels, according to the CDC.

Rosendahl noted that the noise level will vary in different locations and different conditions.

Walker requested that the energy company use a denser layer of mineral wool, which is a fabric woven with fibers of minerals and rocks, to lessen the noise.

Hyperion did not commit to providing the denser material.

However the company will continue to evaluate available materials for the project, Price said.

“It is our intention to build and operate a facility that will not only adhere to the requirements of Upper Burrell’s zoning code,” Price said, “but also generate minimal noise and impact for our neighbors.”

Work at the site begins in March.