Residents of the Princeton Ridge and others concerned about the Williams company’s proposal to expand a natural gas pipeline through parts of Princeton and Montgomery are hoping for a significant turnout at The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) scoping hearing on the plan June 13. The meeting’s location at the Hillsborough Township Middle School, rather than closer to home, has caused some consternation among some local environmentalists. But members of a recently formed citizens’ group expressed confidence that it will not be a detriment.

“We’ve been hearing from people all over Princeton, not just those who live near the pipeline,” said Barbara Blumenthal, a Ridgeview Road resident and a member of the Princeton Ridge Coalition. “This is a big issue for Princeton.”

Citizens have voiced concerns about the proposed project since last February, when the Oklahoma-based Williams company announced plans to add a new pipe to its existing line. The project would affect some 30 properties along the environmentally sensitive Princeton Ridge. The company is expected to file its plans with FERC in the fall.

Scoping hearings such as the one on June 13 allow the public to register input. The scoping period also allows for written comments and closes on July 1.

Meanwhile, The Princeton Ridge Coalition has met with officials from the Williams company to express concerns. The results have been encouraging, Ms. Blumenthal said. “They understand the environmental sensitivity of the Ridge and really want to work with us,” she said. “We’re very happy to work with them to come up with a better design.”

The group explained to the Williams representatives that their initial proposal to remove six acres of trees, in a corridor 60 feet wide and 1.3 miles long, was “a huge destruction,” Ms. Blumenthal said. “Almost all of that space they proposed clearing is to accommodate large-scale equipment. It’s not for the pipeline. When we explained to them how devastating the impact would be, they agreed that by using smaller scale equipment that they could install the pipeline with significantly less damage.”

The Coalition is hoping for another meeting with Williams this month, when the company would have a new proposal. “They’ll bring their contractor, their geo-tech experts, and we’ll bring people who have additional knowledge that can help us so we can try and work out a solution that expresses the concerns of everybody,” Ms. Blumenthal said.

Williams is also being asked to consider replacing the existing pipeline, which is 55 years old, during the addition project. “The last thing we want to see is another construction project in the next five to ten years,” she added. “We think this is a critical part of the whole thing.”

An explosion last Thursday at a compressor facility in Branchburg, part of another loop of the Transco Pipeline, has caused renewed concerns about safety. Williams spokesperson Chris Stockton said the incident was construction-related and not related to pipeline operations. “It was a flash fire that occurred when some construction personnel were doing some welding on a non-active piece of pipe,” he said of the incident, in which 13 workers were injured. Two were treated at a local hospital and released.

“It’s important to make the distinction,” he said. “But we’re working with the contractor and local regulators to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Ms. Blumenthal said the citizens’ group has received additional calls since the incident. “It certainly has created a lot of interest. I think people are now more motivated to go to the scoping meeting,” she said. “They realize this is not just about environmental issues, but safety issues as well.”

The Princeton Ridge Coalition will circulate a petition in the next few weeks regarding its position about using smaller equipment. “We now have about 200 names on our email list and we’ve heard from a lot more people in the last week, because our emails have gone out to other networks,” Ms. Blumenthal said. “Rush Holt’s office and the mayor and Council have been really helpful.”

The June 13 scoping meeting is at 7 p.m., but Williams personnel will be on hand at 6 p.m. to answer questions.