Area pipeline replacement project concerns residents
“About 23 miles of natural gas pipeline will be replaced in northern Washington County, pending approval for the National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. project. The improved infrastructure would allow the company to increase its capacity for transporting gas, but some residents say their property would be compromised in the process.
The $66 million project would replace one existing line that was constructed in 1947, which runs from Mt. Pleasant Township to Independence Township in Beaver County. The current line would remain in place, and the new pipeline would have a 25-foot buffer from the existing structure.
National Fuel Gas hopes its project will be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in February, with construction to begin shortly thereafter. FERC already approved the company’s environmental assessment, stating the project would “not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”
But some residents complained the project would negatively affect their property and restrict their ability to develop their land in the future. Quintin Jones, of Robinson Township, said he has started tearing down a calf-feeding pen and cattle corral in anticipation of the project’s approval.”
Petsko, Emily. The Observer-Reporter 16 December 2014.