Gov. Ned Lamont met with the first selectman of Brookfield on Monday to discuss a controversial natural gas expansion project that has stirred deep opposition in the town at the edge of Fairfield County. First Selectman Steve Dunn, a Democrat, is part of a group of local officials leading the ca mpaign against the “Enhancement by Compression” project, which would add a pair of gas-fired compressors to an existing station in Brookfield capable of pumping an additional 125 million cubic feet of gas through the Iroquois pipeline each day. Critics of the project say the new compressors would spew air-polluting emissions in a region that has notoriously struggled to meet federal air quality standards. And environmental groups say it represents a doubling down on fossil fuels that many leaders, including Lamont, have pledged to wean the state off of. Iroquois’ owners are currently awaiting a final decision from the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protect on the project’s air quality permits. Last July, the agency issued a pair of draft decisions signaling its intention to approve the permits. DEEP had been expected to announce a final decision on April 13, but that deadline was pushed back to allow the agency more time to review and respond to public comments. Dunn met with Lamont on Monday afternoon in the governor’s office at the state Capitol. As he left the meeting, he told the Connecticut Mirror that he’d been encouraged by the conversation, in which he said the governor expressed support for an alternative Dunn favors — using electric compressors rather than gas-powered turbines to pump the additional gas. Dunn clarified that the governor hadn’t pledged to take any specific actions, for or against the project. “He said he was going to help us, and I believe him,” Dunn said. Emerging from his office a short while later, Lamont offered praise for the “constructive alternative” presented by Dunn. However, he said he didn’t plan on discussing the project with DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes. “He’s come up with an alternative and I hope, you know, DEEP considers it,” Lamont said. “But I’m not supposed to weigh in, so I won’t.” Cathryn Vaulman, a spokesperson in Lamont’s office, later provided a statement about the meeting to CT Mirror. “Governor Lamont had a productive meeting with First Selectman Steve Dunn today regarding the Iroquois Natural Gas Compressor station,” Vaulman said. “The Governor listened to the concerns Brookfield residents have about the project, and he encourages the Iroquois Gas Transmission System to use the best available technology at this station and commission an air quality test as an olive branch to the town.” A spokesperson for Iroquois declined to comment on the meeting. Iroquois officials have opposed calls to use electric turbines, which they argue would add between $45 million and $50 million to the project’s $272 million cost. The Iroquois pipeline runs from upstate New York, across Connecticut and underneath Long Island Sound before terminating in New York City. The pipeline’s owners have said they plan to use the additional capacity to sell gas to utilities in New York, leading to charges from local residents that the project will not benefit Connecticut. In a statement provided to CT Mirror earlier this year, however, Iroquois spokeswoman Ruth Parkins said the project “will enhance the reliability and availability of natural gas supplies for Connecticut’s natural gas consumers and power generation fleet since additional quantities of natural gas will be flowing into and through the state, and available for consumption within the state on a majority of the days throughout the year.” Lamont has also pushed for the development of new natural gas supplies into New England, which faces occasional shortages during the winter heating season that can cause energy prices to spike. Lamont met with Trump administration officials in Washington, D.C., last year to discuss the region’s energy issues including federal permitting for nuclear and natural gas infrastructure. Vaulman said Monday that Lamont had yet to meet with Iroquois to discuss the project. When asked if the governor would be open to a meeting with the project’s developers, Vaulman said, “Certainly if they were willing to come to the table and make upgrades that would benefit the people of Brookfield, that is something we’d be be willing to work with them on.” In November, nine activists were arrested after staging a sit-in at Lamont’s office, urging him to reject the project’s permits. The protesters did not meet with Lamont at that time. ...read more read less