NiSource Midstream donates to Springfield Township emergency services

November 4, 2013 at 11:00a.m.

NiSource Midstream Services announced today that it has made a $40,000 donation from its charitable foundation to bolster emergency response services throughout Springfield Township.

NiSource, along with an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Co., the Harvest Pipeline Co., is constructing a $375 million oil and gas gathering system and processing plant in New Middletown, which is expected to come online in December.

Township Trustee Robert Orr said officials there had approached NiSource about making public safety stronger once the plant — expected to reach a processing capacity of 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day — is operational.

Orr said the company met those concerns with the donation. Department heads, such as those in the police and fire departments, will now decide what to do with the donation, Orr added.

Public safety officials in the township are already working on an emergency response plan with plant management.

In August, NiSource said it would spend $1.5 million to repave between 10 and 12 miles of road in Poland and Springfield. The company is also considering giving more money to the township that could be matched by the state to continue upgrading roads there, Orr said.