Vermont Gas Moves to Stage 2 of Pipeline

Less than a month after more than 500 Addison County residents raised concerns about Phase 1 of the proposed 43-mile pipeline from Colchester to Middlebury, Vermont Gas Systems announced its plans for the implementation of “Phase 2.”

Phase 2 would extend the pipeline from Middlebury to the International Paper Co. (IP) in Ticonderoga, N.Y., giving it an additional presence in the towns of Middlebury, Cornwall, Shoreham, Lake Champlain and Ticondergoa.

Implementing Phase 2 of the pipeline would allow natural gas to reach Rutland sooner than anticipated by utilizing revenues collected from the IP mill.

IP subsequently announced its willingness take on the cost of Phase 2 of the project, estimated at $70 million, as the operation has the potential to save IP $15 million of its fuel costs each year.
In a press release on behalf of Vermont Gas Systems, President and CEO of Vermont Gas Don Gilbert explained the merits of the expansion.

“The agreement with Ticonderoga Paper Mill makes service a reality in Rutland many years sooner than would otherwise be possible,” Gilbert said.

Currently, the Vermont Public Service Board is reviewing Phase I of the pipeline. The Board is expected to make a decision on the initial proposal before the end of the year.

Vermont Gas Systems plans to file a petition with the Vermont Public Service Board in mid-November regarding Phase 2, which was outlined in a letter to the selectboards of towns through which it would run. The state of Vermont mandates this process.

The additional phase of the pipeline has not been met with much enthusiasm. In fact, it has received primarily harsh criticism, particularly from residents of Cornwall and Shoreham.

Phase 2 has also touched upon the debate surrounding fracking, as some environmental groups have asserted that the extension of the pipeline would involve gas being reached by hydraulic fracking.

Still, as explained in Vermont Gas’s press release, Gilbert believes that the pipeline providing natural gas is the best way to proceed.

“Natural gas has played a key role in the economic opportunities and environmental improvements in Chittenden and Franklin counties, and it is expected to bring $200 million in energy savings to Addison county communities over the next twenty years, while reducing emissions by 300,000 tons,” Gilbert said in the press release. “These economic and environmental benefits will continue to grow significantly if natural gas service is extended to Rutland. That is why many Addison and Rutland county residents, employers and community organizations have expressed their support for natural gas and the economic and environmental benefits to their communities.”

Despite Gilbert’s claims, after receiving Vermont Gas Systems’ letter describing Phase 2, the Cornwall Selectboard came down hard on Governor Peter Shumlin in a letter fiercely rejecting the proposition.

All five members of the Cornwall Selectboard, including chairman Bruce Hiland as well as David Sears, Abi Sessions, Judy Watts and Ben Woods, signed the letter, which was straight to the point from its opening sentence.

“‘Phase 2’. Hmmmm, that term suggests a straightforward continuation of a Phase 1 project … but we all know that is NOT the case with gas pipelines,” the letter began. “While a plausible case is made that the ‘Phase 1’ pipeline to Middlebury will serve Vermonters’ economic public good, NO such argument can be made for the so-called ‘Phase 2’ pipeline to International Paper in Ticonderoga, N.Y.”

The letter asserts that the additional phase is merely a financing scheme that will make money for IP, which, according to the letter, had established itself as a solid company before any pipeline plans were introduced.

The Cornwall Selectboard also explained that residents of Cornwall have already demonstrated deep opposition to Phase 1 of the pipeline, and that they are equally, if not more likely to reject what is called for in Phase 2.

In an email to Vermont Public Radio, Steve Wark, spokesman for Vermont Gas, commented on what he believes to be the positive aspects of the pipeline.

“The only way to get the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas to Rutland before 2035 is to serve the Ticonderoga Paper Mill,” Wark said. “Rutland’s median income is one of the lowest in Vermont. It’s hard to understand why someone would work to block the expansion of natural gas service to more Vermonters, particularly those in Rutland. They may not understand how challenged the Rutland economy is.”

Still, despite this claim, the Cornwall Selectboard calls for something else. In its letter, the members propose that Shumlin should come up with an innovative and creative way to finance a pipeline that would run directly to Rutland and not to IP.

They suggest a number of specific means of doing this, including raising gas prices “very slightly to extend natural gas availability further into Vermont.”

According to Burlington Free Press, Sue Allen, spokeswoman Shumlin, explained in an email that the office is still looking over the letter from the Selectboard.