Ivey Fights to Protect Neighborhoods
Community calls for public hearing on natural gas plant
Residents say facility could pose safety hazard, decrease home values
Some Chillum residents have fought the building of a proposed natural gas plant in their neighborhood for years and now they're seeking a public hearing on the matter.
Washington Gas has proposed building a liquefied natural gas plant on a 21-acre site it owns on Chillum Road near Queens Chapel Road. It is less than a block from the West Hyattsville Metro Station.
Washington Gas submitted a portfolio plan to the Maryland Public Service Commission in November, which included building the plant on the Chillum site. The PSC reviews such sites to determine if they meet federal safety regulations.
Imani Kazana, president of Avondale/North Woodridge Citizens' Association and a founding member of the Washington Gas Watch Alliance, said residents want the PSC to pay close attention to the proposed plant, which is one part of the company's 23-page plan that analyzes the company's customer demand and natural gas capacity through 2013.
"We want everything to be very transparent, and not just sort of rubber stamp what they submit," she said. "We feel if it's put more out in a public way and have an opportunity to make our case, some modifications may be required by the PSC in this plan."
According to the plan, the plant was originally scheduled to be in service by fiscal 2013. Washington Gas selected the Chillum site because it meets the load requirements and there's existing infrastructure from an old gas plant in place. There would be no additional costs in land purchase and it's the most cost effective option for Washington Gas, according to the plan.
Kazana said residents are worried primarily about the safety risk of having the plant so close to their homes.
"The dangers from the vapors and so forth, and possible fires starting because of meeting up with a flame somewhere and igniting offsite, that can go up to 3 or 4 miles," she said.
In the past, Washington Gas representatives have said LNG facilities exist near high-populated areas, like in downtown Baltimore, and the industry has a very good safety record. They have also said Washington Gas needs to build the Chillum plant in order to meet forecasted increased demand.
Residents also worry that the plant could decrease home values, which has caused some neighbors to move over the past four years, Kazana said. The site is 800 feet from Kazana's house, and she had just finished building a $100,000 addition onto her home when she found out about the proposal five years ago.
"Nobody wants to lose the value of your home because somebody else has plopped some God-awful thing next door," she said.
Washington Gas spokesman Ruben Rodriguez said the company can't comment on the proposed plant because it's the center of an on-going legal matter. A federal judge is reviewing the legality of a county ordinance which barred the company from building the plant, and a decision could come in March.
Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly opposes the plant and plans to submit legislation to the Maryland General Assembly this session that would require the PSC to use U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development safety standards in approving such facilities.
There is no PSC public hearing scheduled on the plan yet.
posted by Barry O'Connell at 9:06 AM
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