Longmeadow City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Restrictions for Facilities of Natural Gas Utilities
§ 315-71 Purpose.
A.
The purpose of this bylaw is to provide that the Town's planning and zoning bylaws are used to ensure that there is adequate protection of its citizens and its environment from noise, pollutants, emissions, discharges, leaks and other risks and hazards that are associated with facilities of natural gas utilities. Facilities of natural gas utilities (hereinafter referred to as "facilities") are defined herein.
B.
In addition to site and design review, these facilities are required to obtain a special permit from the Planning Board, as designated in § 315-4 and Article VI of the Longmeadow Zoning Bylaw. Such proceedings are to be consolidated.
§ 315-72 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMPRESSOR STATION
A facility designed and constructed to compress natural gas in its function as a midstream facility for the delivery of gas to a transmission pipeline, distribution pipeline, or processing plant, including one or more natural gas compressors, associated buildings, pipes, valves, tanks and other equipment.
FACILITIES OF NATURAL GAS UTILITIES and FACILITIES OF PIPELINE OPERATORS
Include pressure regulating, pressurizing, odorizing, heating and fire-suppressing equipment and associated building, pipes, valves, tanks and all other equipment and materials for handling and distributing natural gas.
[Added 6-23-2020 ATM by Art. 35, approved 10-19-2020]
GATE STATION
Point at which a local gas utility receives gas from a pipeline company.
METERING STATION
A facility that is a pipeline station designed for the continuous and simultaneous analysis of the quantity and quality of the natural gas being transported in the pipeline, and is used to branch off the pipeline, meter the gas and reduce pressure.
OPERATOR
Any private or public entity which operates a facility.
PIGGING STATION
This is the facility that controls the devices known as "pigs" (pipeline inspection gadget) to perform various maintenance operations. These operations include but are not limited to cleaning and inspecting the pipeline, storing and removing waste and other products found in the natural gas pipelines.
PROTECTED STRUCTURE
Any occupied residence, commercial, business, school, religious institution or other public building located within one mile of the surface location of a facility, including structures such as garages and barns or other accessory buildings and structures which may be impacted by noise and/or emissions generated by any of the facilities.
VALVE STATION
This is the junction where pipes in a network have a central control system.
§ 315-73 Comprehensive health impact assessment.
As a component of the special permit application, an independent comprehensive health impact assessment (CHIA) shall be required within a designated perimeter of any proposed facility in order to identify potential health threats as a means of mitigating negative health impacts on residents. The CHIA shall be prepared by an independent health and safety expert in accordance with nationally recognized standards, to be paid for by the operator and specifically designed to identify and evaluate potential short-term and long-term human health impacts by identifying potential pathways for facility-related contaminants to harm human health, quantifying the cumulative risks posed by any contaminants, and recommending necessary avoidance, minimization, or mitigation. An ongoing annual monitoring of resident health shall be required after infrastructure is built which may have any health impact. The Town of Longmeadow Select Board shall receive copies of all monitoring and environmental reports required under this provision.
§ 315-74 Emissions.
A.
Any special permit issued hereunder shall require that the emissions from any facility and accessory equipment shall be monitored monthly by the operator to ascertain whether they equal or exceed the threshold of toxic air pollutants or hazardous air pollutants designated as such by state Department of Environmental Protection or federal Environmental Protection Agency classifications. The Town of Longmeadow Select Board shall receive copies of all monitoring and environmental reports, including, but not limited to, reports submitted to federal and state regulatory agencies.
[Amended 10-25-2022 STM by Art. 25, approved 3-29-2023]
B.
Any applicant hereunder shall demonstrate that the best available engineering, inspection, oversight and monitoring practices shall be used to minimize any emissions and ensure public safety.
§ 315-75 Noise.
A.
Residential/business/agricultural districts. Any facility contemplated hereunder shall be designed such that, at no point beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts, shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity located on such lot, at any time, exceed a maximum of 55 dBa.
B.
Sound barriers. Any special permit issued hereunder many require the temporary or permanent erection and use of sound barriers to minimize the impact of noise from the facilities on residents.
C.
Monitoring.
(1)
Any special permit issued hereunder shall include the following protocol for complaints: if a signed complaint is received by the issuing body of the special permit, or any other Town official designated pursuant to the special permit, from any resident using a protected structure for any lawful purpose regarding noise generated from any facility and its activities, the operator shall, within 48 hours of receipt of the complaint, continuously monitor for a seventy-two-hour period at a point which is the closer to the complaint's protected structure to:
(a)
The property line nearest to the facility generating the noise; or
(b)
One hundred feet from the property line of the protected structure.
(2)
The operator shall provide the final result to the Town Manager or designee within 10 business days of the operator's receipt of the final results to determine compliance.
D.
Exhaust muffler or exhaust box. Any internal combustion engine or compressor used in any facility shall be equipped with an exhaust muffler or an exhaust box. The exhaust muffler or exhaust box shall be constructed of noncombustible materials designed and installed to suppress noise and disruptive vibrations. All such equipment with an exhaust muffler or exhaust box shall be maintained in good operating condition according to manufacturer's specifications.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Art. XV, Sec. E5, Testing and Low Frequency Noise, of the General Bylaws, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 6-23-2020 ATM by Art. 35, approved 10-20-2020.
§ 315-76 Lighting.
[Amended 10-25-2022 STM by Art. 25, approved 3-29-2023]
The operator shall take steps to direct site lighting downward and inward toward the compressor station so as to attempt to minimize glare on property nearby the facility site. No exterior lighting at any proposed facility location shall project above the horizontal plane or project beyond property lines, and exterior lighting shall be restricted to a minimum. Any permanently installed exterior lighting shall comply with bylaws to protect abutters.
§ 315-77 First responders.
A.
In deliberating upon any application for a special permit hereunder, the Planning Board may consider whether first responders, including but not limited to the Longmeadow Fire Department and the Longmeadow Police Department, have the requisite training and equipment to adequately respond to any potential dangerous conditions that may result due to unique aspects of the operation of a facility station.
B.
Prior to construction of the facility, the operator shall provide to the Town's first responders, including the Fire Department, Police Department, ambulance service and the Town Clerk, a copy of its preparedness, prevention contingency plan, which shall address methods to handle the following:
(1)
Pipeline leakage.
(2)
Spill containment.
(3)
Vandalism creating unknown conditions.
(4)
Defective pipelines.
(5)
Potential contamination of the public water supply and well water of residents, and streams and wetlands.
§ 315-78 Setbacks.
The site plan submitted by any applicant for a special permit hereunder shall include a showing of the location of structures on neighboring properties within one mile of property lines upon which the facility will be located. The site plan and other submitted materials shall also detail the effects of an explosion or other emergency situation involving such structures on properties within the Town's boundaries, including measures taken to minimize such effects. The Planning Board, as a condition of approval, may impose setback requirements that are reasonably necessary to address potential emergencies at the locus.
§ 315-79 Violations and penalties.
[Amended 6-23-2020 ATM by Art. 35, approved 10-20-2020]
In the event of any violation of this bylaw that results in harm to residents, property or Town's resources, including, but not limited to, public water supply and well water of residents, and streams and wetlands, vegetation, or protected structures, the operator shall be responsible for payment of cleanup costs as well as reimbursement of all costs incurred by the Town in responding to such violations. Fines, payable to the Town, shall be imposed at the rate of $300 per day for each day that such violation continues, pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 21.
§ 315-80 Severability.
It is the intention of this law that each separate provision of this article shall be deemed independent of all other provisions herein, and it is further the intention that if any provision of this article be declared to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this article shall remain valid and enforceable.
