Eastern Panhandle Expansion – click for larger version
In April, MDN brought you the news that Columbia Pipeline (now owned by TransCanada) has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a 3.5 mile, 8-inch pipeline that will carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to connect the Mountaineer Gas system in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia with the Columbia Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania (see New 3.5 Mile Pipeline Project to Drill Under the Potomac River). The purpose of the Eastern Panhandle Expansion project is to deliver natural gas via local distribution channels (local utility Mountaineer Gas) to a new industrial facility in Berkeley County, WV, scheduled to open in Fall 2017, and to provide gas to other local businesses and residents in the Tri-State area. Most of the proposed pipeline crosses through a tiny sliver of Washington County, Maryland. The main “issue” with the project is that the pipeline will be drilled underneath the Potomac River, which serves as the border between WV and MD. That has radical anti-fossil fuelers in an uproar. As we pointed out in July, the project is in a fight for its life (see WV Fight Over Simple Expansion of Local Gas Delivery Pipeline). Lack of natural gas is strangling expansion in Jefferson County, WV. But that makes no difference to antis in Maryland who are kicking up a fuss and planning to stage a kayak protest in the Potomac. Below is an update on anti efforts to stop the project, and pro efforts to get it approved and built…
