PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A potential liquified natural gas plant in a Delaware County town has both residents and activists up in arms, but as residents fight against it, they are left with more questions than answers.
Zulene Mayfield, with Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, is no stranger to liquified natural gas or the explosive dangers an LNG plant could bring with it.
“A couple of years ago, that proposal was slated to be put in the city of Chester,” said Mayfield. She and her organization fought hard and eventually were able to get the plan nixed. However, her fight is not over. She now fears for her neighboring town of Eddystone.
“Right now, what they’re proposing to do is put an LNG [plant] in this community,” she said. “Eddystone will be no more.”
Mayfield said she stands side by side with Eddystone residents like Eugene Wiley. According to Wiley, plans for the plant have not been released, but the borough’s recent vote to claim eminent domain of a stretch of land on an industrial highway appears to indicate officials doing just that.
“Right now we’re under attack. We’re under attack with LNG,” said Wiley. He has called for their borough council to keep developers from putting an LNG export facility in their neighborhood.
“It’s so dangerous and so scary. Everyone knows that LNG is something that doesn’t belong anywhere near a residential area,” he said.
Tracy Carluccio, with the Delaware River Keeper Network, echoes his sentiment. “It cannot be put in a residential community,” she said. “As a matter of fact, the federal government says you’re supposed to put these things out in remote areas, far away from where people live.”
LNG does have its proponents in the state, including Republican Sen. Dave McCormick. He has said throughout his time in office that he thinks it will bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the commonwealth over the next few decades.
KYW Newsradio attempted to contact Eddystone officials for comment, but did not receive a response.
