WYALUSING TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- It may be a couple years before a proposed natural gas plant in Bradford county goes online, but already the plans for the massive $800 million plant along Route 6 are having an impact on people's lives.
Bradford County already has a billion-dollar natural gas energy plant online. This proposed plant would be another big investment in getting that energy from the Marcellus Shale to the rest of the world.
Over the years, the Wyalusing Livestock Market along Route 6 has seen lots of cattle come and go.
Rusty Smith was dropping off a truckload of some of the last deliveries or pickups before this sale barn and the land around it could become a shipping hub for liquid natural gas or LNG.
"They're taking everything of value that's built our community, that's built everything around here," Smith said.
Smith isn't too pleased with the proposed plans from New Fortress Energy to build a 40-acre plant that will convert natural gas from nearby wells to liquid form and ship it by truck.
The company already bought the land. Even before getting approval, the proposed LNG plant has bought out nearby property owners including the market. All have moved or will soon.
"You take a building like this that's been here forever, now take it and destroy it and move it?" said Smith.
The proposed LNG plant near Wyalusing is already having an impact on local folks. Bluhm's Gas Sales has to move to a new location by the end of March. That building was just four years old.
Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko sees the proposed LNG plant as a way to take the gas to markets all over the world and the jobs it would bring -- an estimated 300 during construction, 50 full-time employees after that.
"At the end of the day, it's a good thing. We're sad to see it go, but it's growth. You got to keep moving forward," said Commissioner McLinko.
Neighbors, including Sara Brown, still want to know more about the proposed plant, especially when it comes to safety.
"I'd like to know what they're doing over there, how loud it will be," said Brown. "It does kind of concern me. There's going to be lots of gas next to my house. What happens if it erupts?"
The proposed LNG plant still needs approval from Wyalusing Township and the state Department of Environmental Protection to deal with things like safety.
Construction could start early next year and last two more years.