Gas company’s pipeline project will not require acquisition of new land
Duke Energy Gas Transmission Co. announced Tuesday that while the company plans to spend $80 million next year to replace about 35 miles of natural gas pipeline, the project will not include the permanent acquisition of any new land. And a spokesman for the company said at an open house held at the Masontown American Legion Post 423 that Duke Energy would work to help any residents with problems that could occur during the construction phase of the project.
“We will be able to work with individual landowners if they have any concerns during construction,” said John Sheridan, Regional Director for Duke Energy.
“No new land will be need, just temporary workspace will be needed during construction. The new sections of pipeline will be constructed within the existing right-of-way.”
According to Sheridan the Dominion Expansion Project will entail the replacement of pipeline in four areas in Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Fulton and Franklin Counties. There will be approximately 10 miles of pipeline replaced in Greene County and 3.5 miles in Fayette County. Sheridan said the 36-inch line would run along an existing line and will allow Texas Eastern Transmission, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, to increase its capacity. The new line would also allow the company to service more customers in the Mid-Atlantic States, including residential customers.
Of the four sections of line being replaced, the longest section runs from near Masontown under the Monongahela River and into Greene County near Waynesburg. Sheridan noted that the section of pipeline under the river is not included in the project and added that all sections being replaced along the 13.5 mile stretch are located on pre-existing right-of-ways that are approximately 85 feet wide.
While Sheridan said that construction on the line would not begin until spring or summer of 2004, Duke Energy will file an application for the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this month and expects the new line to be in-service by Nov. of 2004. Sheridan noted that while the Regulatory Commission reviews the project over the next 16 months, the company would continue to survey the project and examine any environmental or engineering issues that need to be addressed.
“We will continue to get survey permission which will help us to look at not only environmental issues but engineering issues so that we can define where the pipeline will be constructed within the right-of-way,” Sheridan said. “Typically, when you construct a pipeline, if there are any wetlands that would be impacted, we would need a certificate from the State Department of Environmental Protection.”
Sheridan said that while he doesn’t foresee any major problems during the five or six months it will take to construct the line, he said the company will work with residents to help alleviate any complications from the construction such as driveways being blocked or property usage for the project.
“Once we have a better idea of what we are looking at, then we will proceed accordingly,” he said. He noted that the company has not yet selected a contractor for the project due to the specialized nature of the construction.
Duke Energy’s natural gas operations include more than 18,900 miles of interstate transmission pipeline and 250 billion cubic feet of storage capacity.