Dear Friend, The Blue Moon compressor station was constructed in 2016 in West Pike Run Township, Washington County, with the addition of the Full Moon Compressor Station in 2017. These neighboring facilities are now considered one entity by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the facility’s owner, EQM Gathering OPCO, LLC, is finally applying for an air pollution permit for this facility. Nearby residents regularly report strong odors from the facility that cause residents’ eyes to burn. Impacted residents can click here to demand that DEP host a public hearing so that residents can share their experiences regarding air pollution from this facility, which has operated since 2016 without an air pollution permit. Clean Air Council has discovered that EQM and DEP may be significantly underestimating carcinogenic air pollution, specifically benzene, from this facility. DEP and EQM claim that the gas drilled at the wells that supply gas to the Full Moon/Blue Moon facility does not contain benzene. Yet an article published in Environmental Research Letters found benzene to be present in 97% of gas samples taken. It is extremely unlikely that gas drilled in Washington County does not contain benzene and EQM’s permit application does not include a specific gas analysis. Please click here to submit an official public comment and public hearing request regarding the proposed air pollution permit for the Blue Moon/Full Moon facility. Comments are due Monday, March 3rd. Click the image below to view Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) video filmed by a certified thermographer at Earthworks to visualize volatile organic compound pollution from the Blue Moon/Full Moon facility.  Sincerely, Lois Bower-Bjornson | |
