BOS Forward Leesburg Compressor Station SPEX to Business Meeting

By Katie Northcott

At a public hearing on Wednesday, April 15, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to forward a special exception application from the Leesburg Compressor Station to a business meeting.

Eastern Gas Transmission & Storage, Inc. (EGTS) submitted the application so that the company can upgrade the station’s production capacity to meet increasing demand. According to its website, EGTS “provides natural gas transportation and storage services with one of the largest underground natural gas storage systems in the United States. With a main office in Bridgeport, West Virginia, this multi-state pipeline system links to other major pipelines and to markets in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.”

According to the county staff’s report, the upgrades will largely be to existing facilities. EGTS is looking to replace an onsite drum storage facility with a compressor building and build a new drum storage facility. EGTS’s proposal also includes an underground gas line and an underground electrical line.

“EGTS really did try to make the most changes it could with minimal impacts to the site,” said Sherri Akin, a member of EGTS’s legal counsel.

The application came before the Board with a recommendation for approval from the Planning Commission. County staff found no outstanding issues with the application and reported no negative comments from two community meetings held by EGTS. However, one comment opposing the upgrade due to noise concerns was submitted through the online tool.

According to EGTS, community feedback has been positive with the surrounding community confirming that the compressor station is “a good neighbor.” The company’s legal team reported that a noise study found that the upgrade would not cause the station to produce sound above 55 db(A) that could be heard from the property line. The team said that the nearest residence is 1,300 feet from the property line.

The company plans to use sound-proofing inside the new facility and blanketing outside the facility to mitigate noise. The project will not affect the heavy tree cover around the station. Another noise study will be conducted after the upgrade is completed.

The company’s legal team anticipated minimal construction traffic, saying some gravel would need to be transported and that the only other construction traffic would be the construction crew commuting to work each day. Construction work would be confined to the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Saturday.

The company’s northeastern neighbor made a comment in favor of the special exception to the Board during the public hearing.

“[Another compressor station] was very noisy. So when C&G came in, they made it a point to confront the community’s response and the frustration,” EGTS’s neighbor said. “[EGTS] helped the other plant get quieter, and [EGTS] was quieter than [the other station]. They’ve been pretty much a good neighbor.”

Leesburg resident Chris Tandy opposed the special exception, citing environmental concerns.

“I would ask you to vote against the expansion because of climate change,” Tandy said. “Obviously, natural gas is a significant greenhouse gas. There’s plenty of research that suggests that natural gas is as harmful to the planet as coal is when the leak rate is factored in.”

Supervisor Laura TeKrony (D-Little River) said she would support the special exception and that she would research renewable energy options before the voting on the application in a business meeting.

The Board voted 8-0-1 to forward the application to a business meeting. Supervisor Sylvia Glass (D-Broad Run) was absent.