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Construction To Begin Soon On Georgia Natural Gas Pipeline

August 4th, 2016

FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, miles of pipe for the stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla. The recent surge in oil production, from roughly 5 million barrels a day in 2008 to 8.9 million barrels in 2014, has led to more than 11,600 miles of crude oil pipeline being added to the domestic oil network _ the equivalent of 14 Keystone XL pipelines. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Sue Ogrocki, File / Associated Press

Construction on a new natural gas pipeline in Georgia is set to begin soon. The so-called “Dalton Expansion” of the Transco Pipeline will run from Coweta County — just south of Atlanta — to Murray County at the northern tip of the state. The pipeline will transport enough natural gas to meet the energy needs of about two million homes.

Joe Cook, a spokesperson for the Coosa River Basin Initiative, has some concerns about the project.

“A lot of people are celebrating natural gas is creating some energy independence for our country, but at the same time, that energy independence is coming with some negative impacts to a lot of communities,” Cook said.

For example, he said, the way the pipeline would cross the Etowah River is too disruptive.

“It’s going to create a lot of sediment,” he said. “It’s going to be a scar on the river. It’s going to block the river for several weeks so that there will be no recreational use of the river.”

Chris Stockton, a spokesperson for the Transco Pipeline, said the company has tried to minimize the project’s effects on the environment when possible.

“There are always going to be unavoidable environmental impacts associated with a large-scale infrastructure project like this,” he said. But we do work with the permitting agencies to develop mitigation to try to offset that the best we can.”

One way the company is trying to offset the impact of the pipeline is by funding a project at Georgia State University. Researchers there are trying to develop a treatment for white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungus affecting a population of bats in Georgia.

Federal regulators issued a permit for the pipeline Wednesday. Construction is expected to begin in about a month. The project is scheduled to be completed next year.