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NiSource donates $40,000 to Springfield Township
New middletown
NiSource Midstream Services announced Monday a $40,000 donation from its charitable foundation to bolster emergency-response services throughout Springfield Township.
NiSource and an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Co., the Harvest Pipeline Co., formed a joint venture called Pennant Midstream to construct and operate a $375 million oil and gas gathering system and processing plant in New Middletown — 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 decide what to do with the donation, Orr added.
“This is about getting ready to provide solid public safety once this plant starts running,” Orr said. “NiSource has been a great neighbor, but we need to be ready for any type of emergency that might happen there.”
The company has plans to build two other processing facilities at the site on State Line Road in New Middletown, for a total investment of $1 billion, and a processing capacity of 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Public-safety officials in the township already are working on an emergency- response plan with plant management. The facility will employ about 24 people.
In August, NiSource said it would spend $1.5 million to repave between 10 and 12 miles of road in Poland and Springfield townships. The company also is considering giving more money to the township that could be matched by the state to continue upgrading roads there, Orr said.