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Major Natural Gas Pipeline Replacement Planned for Columbus, OH

Columbia Gas of Ohio will start work this spring to replace a 4.3-mile section of a 20-inch natural gas pipeline from Clintonville to North Linden (Columbus), a key piece of infrastructure that brings gas to thousands of homes throughout central Ohio. Columbia Gas purchased and will demolish several buildings along the pipeline’s route as part of the project. The work is scheduled to begin in April and finish by the end of the year. Columbia’s president and chief operating officer, Vince Parisi, says the pipeline is “our backbone of Columbus” and is “pretty critical” to natural gas distribution throughout the region.
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Columbia Gas of PA Testing Sawdust + NatGas to Power Pickup Truck

activated carbon

Move over compressed natural gas (CNG), here comes sawdust! Let us explain. Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a large, multi-state natural gas utility company, is piloting an experiment of outfitting a Ford F250 that uses an absorbed natural gas system to store natgas used to burn in the truck’s engine. The ingenious system was created by a company called Ingevity Corp., and it uses activated carbon, a charcoal-like sand made from sawdust that traps and stores natgas molecules at much lower pressures than the typical CNG tank.
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Here’s Why Natural Gas Heating is NOT Going Away Anytime Soon

Not a day that goes by without a story in Big Media announcing another municipality has passed (or is considering passing) a law/regulation prohibiting new homes and businesses from using natural gas for heating, cooking, etc. The proffered solution by these foolish dunderheads is that new structures must use electric for heat. Eventually (like here in New York by 2050), not only new structures but existing homes and businesses will have to convert to all-electric too (see New York Residents Must Dump Oil & Gas Furnaces by 2050). Except, that’s all a fiction.
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Massachusetts Antis Want Eversource to Block New Gas for Customers

There is no explaining lunatics like those belonging to the Columbia Gas Resistance Campaign in Springfield, Massachusetts who seek to block new and expanded delivery of natural gas to its customers. Following the disaster in September 2018 from a series of explosions that occurred in Columbia Gas’ local delivery pipelines north of Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25), Columbia was forced to sell its Massachusetts natural gas-delivery franchise to Eversource, a competitor (see Columbia Selling Mass. Gas Utility Biz to Competitor Eversource).
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Columbia Gas $28M Pipeline in Central Ohio Gets State Approval

Last December Columbia Gas of Ohio (NiSource) announced a new $135 million pipeline project to bring new supplies of Utica-sourced natural gas to homes and businesses located north and west of Columbus, in central Ohio (see Columbia Gas Plans New NatGas Pipeline in Central Ohio). The project, called the Northern Loop Project, includes a 4.78-mile pipeline segment in Union County, called the Marysville Connector. The Ohio Power Siting Board has just approved the Marysville segment of the larger project.
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Columbia Gas of Mass. Sentenced to $53M Fine, Probation, Sell Co.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) never quite recovered (reputationally) from a series of explosions in September 2018 that occurred with its local delivery pipelines north of Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas for months. Several class action lawsuits were filed against the company, which got settled last summer for $143 million (see Columbia Gas Pays $143M to Settle Lawsuit from Mass. Explosions). The company has reached a plea deal to (a) sell the company, and (b) pay the largest criminal fine ever imposed under the Pipeline Safety Act.
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FERC Denies Rehearing on Mountaineer XPress 2 Yrs After Approval

The final bits of Columbia Gas Transmission’s Mountaineer XPress pipeline project (most of it located in West Virginia) went online just over one year ago (see FERC Says Rest of Mountaineer XPress Pipeline OK to Start Up). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the project more than two years ago. At the time FERC approved the project, anti-fossil fuelers challenged the approval, as they do every single square inch of every single new oil or gas pipeline. We have to chuckle because FERC finally responded to antis’ request for a “rehearing”…on Wednesday. FERC turned them down more than two years after their objection was lodged.
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Columbia Selling Mass. Gas Utility Biz to Competitor Eversource

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) never quite recovered (reputationally) from a series of explosions in September 2018 that occurred with its local delivery pipelines north of Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas for months. Several class action lawsuits were filed against the company, which got settled last summer for $143 million (see Columbia Gas Pays $143M to Settle Lawsuit from Mass. Explosions). We have two big pieces of news about Columbia.
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County Says Proposed Columbia Gas Central OH Pipe Not Long Enough

Proposed Marysville Connector in Union County (click for larger version)

Columbia Gas of Ohio (NiSource) recently announced a new $135 million pipeline project to bring new supplies of Utica-sourced natural gas to homes and businesses located north and west of Columbus, in central Ohio (see Columbia Gas Plans New NatGas Pipeline in Central Ohio). The project, called the Northern Loop Project, includes a 4.78-mile pipeline segment in Union County, called the Marysville Connector. County officials oppose the plan–because (they say), it’s not long enough!
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Columbia Gas Plans New NatGas Pipeline in Central Ohio

Columbia Gas of Ohio (NiSource) recently announced a new $135 million pipeline project to bring new supplies of Utica-sourced natural gas to homes and businesses located north and west of Columbus, in central Ohio. The project, called the Northern Loop Project, will file for regulatory approval with the Ohio Power Siting Board and hopes the OPSB will approve the project in 2020, with construction set to happen in 2022.
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Columbia Gas of Ohio Investing $100M to Flow More M-U Gas

Columbia Gas of Ohio says it can’t build local natural gas delivery pipelines fast enough to meet the demand for new customers. “We’re adding new customers, commercial, industrial, residential, in every quadrant of the region” according to Columbia Gas President Dan Creekmur. And he doesn’t it see it stopping any time soon. So the company is spending big bucks (nine figures) to build new local gas pipelines–this year!
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Columbia Gas Pays $143M to Settle Lawsuit from Mass. Explosions

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) continues to recover (physically and reputationally) from a series of explosions last September in its local delivery pipelines north of Boston (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas–for months. Several class action lawsuits were filed against the company. News is breaking today that Columbia has settled all of the class action lawsuits for $143 million.
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Massachusetts Still Trying to Block 2.1 Miles of Local Gas Pipe

There must be something in the water in New England. Today we told you about mass insanity in Bristol, Vermont, and now a story about a small community in nearby Massachusetts that wants to block 2.1 miles of new looping pipeline (buried next to an existing pipeline) in Longmeadow, Mass. All because local fruit loops want to ban new “fossil fuel” infrastructure. Lunacy is breaking out everywhere in New England!
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NTSB: Columbia Gas Unlicensed Engineer Error Led to Mass. Tragedy

Ever see a someone’s name listed on a business card or in a directory, and there’s a “PE” after his or her name? Know what that means? It means Professional Engineer. To get a PE, an engineer must complete a four-year college degree, work under a Professional Engineer for at least four years, pass two intensive competency exams and earn a license from their state’s licensure board. The engineer who drafted plans for NiSource Columbia Gas to replace gas mains about 25 miles north of Boston, in Lawrence, MA, didn’t have a PE after his name. And the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says it was his fault that when the gas main was replaced, the old main still had sensors that detected low pressure and kept pressurizing (overpressurizing) the gas system that led to multiple explosions and one person dying, 25 injured, and 8,000 residences and business still without natural gas service some two months later.
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Columbia Gas Moves Date Back to Dec. on Fixes re Boston Tragedy

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) continues to try and recover (physically and reputationally) from a series of explosions in its local delivery pipelines north of Boston in mid-September (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas–for months. In early October, Columbia said it would replace all ~48 miles of natural gas mains, and all 6,100 affected service lines, by Nov. 19 (see Columbia’s Master Plan to Restore Gas Service in Mass. by Nov 19). While the main lines will be done early, by tomorrow in fact, Columbia, in something of a public relations disaster, is pushing back the date of finishing the service lines by about a month, into December. Meanwhile, the family of the teenager who was killed is preparing a wrongful death lawsuit.
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Columbia Gas Already 80% Done Replacing 48 Miles of Exploded Pipes

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (NiSource) continues to try and recover from a series of explosions in its local delivery pipelines north of Boston in mid-September (see Local NatGas Pipes Explode Near Boston Killing 1, Injuring 25). The explosions and resulting fires tragically killed one teenager and injured 25 others. It left some 8,600 households and businesses without natural gas–for months. In early October, Columbia said it would replace all ~48 miles of natural gas mains, and all 6,100 affected service lines, by Nov. 19 (see Columbia’s Master Plan to Restore Gas Service in Mass. by Nov 19). To Columbia’s credit, 80% of the mains are already done, and over half of the service lines.
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