Work At Proposed Gas Regulator Site In Holmdel Questioned

HOLMDEL, NJ — Although the township is appealing a Board of Public Utilities decision to allow a NJ Natural Gas regulator station to be built on Holmdel Road, some work by the utility is already going on at the site, officials say.

At the Holmdel Township Committee meeting this week, Township Attorney Michael L. Collins said the township is "seeking communication" with the company about its work at the site.

He said the work may be as simple as the taking of soil samples. But if more permanent work is underway, the township may request a stay on any future work, pending the outcome of its appeal of the BPU decision.

The committee also approved increasing the not-to-exceed amount for legal costs in the matter by $6,400 for special counsel.

Peter Dickson, the township's attorney in the case, earlier this year filed notice to appeal the BPU decision to permit the regulator in the Appellate Division of Superior Court. The committee had already approved an amount not to exceed $20,000 to pursue the legal action by the firm of Potter-Dickson, Princeton.

"We are all very disappointed in the decision (of the BPU), but the town will continue to take this seriously," Mayor DJ Luccarelli has said previously.

The township has been involved in continuing litigation with the gas company about its plan to build a regulator station at 960 Holmdel Road in the southern part of the Township. The proposal got its latest go ahead recently from the state Board of Public Utilities.

Fox Hollow Vineyards, located at 939 Holmdel Road, is owned by the Casola family and the proposed regulator site is across from the vineyard and its other onsite facilities.

The committee earlier in June vowed to keep pushing back on the petition by the gas company to locate a regulator station here, despite a favorable ruling for the utility at that time.

An administrative law judge issued an initial ruling in May to allow the NJNG petition to continue. The judge’s decision had been sent to the Board of Public Utilities for review, and it ruled against the township.

A regulator station reduces pressure on the underground natural gas pipelines that already exist in the area, running underneath the ground in Holmdel Township and throughout Monmouth County, the utility says.

In 2018, when the project was first proposed, Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for NJ Natural Gas, told Patch "the regulator station itself is needed to support the reliability of NJNG's distribution system. It will replace a temporary station that is currently in operation, but that is not designed or suitable to support the system permanently."

The regulator station will consist primarily of underground piping, a 15-foot tall ventilated heating unit, a control box and two regulator runs that will be located above ground.

But environmental advocates say the project's proximity to Holmdel's preserved farmland, homes, the Village Elementary School and the Swimming River Watershed makes it the wrong place for a regulator station.