New proposed alternative route through Shamokin Dam
Thanks to the efforts of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Shamokin Dam Borough and Monroe Township, UGI was encouraged to explore the option of running the Sunbury Pipeline under Stetler Ave. Initially, narrow trenching was to be used and the road would be widened and improved during the process. However, things have changed.
We are pleased to report that by utilizing Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology, UGI has chosen to leave the surface mostly undisturbed. They will dig under Stetler Ave. beginning near Pine Lane and will exit in the church parking lot near Maple Street. From there they will trench from the church, along Stetler Ave, over Routes 11/15 and across the vacant field next to the Bakery.
I guess we should consider this good plan, but when it comes to gas pipelines in close proximity to homes, I feel that the only good pipeline is no pipeline at all. And when it comes to evaluating routes through residential neighborhoods, decisions makers are left with only various degrees of bad options.
Knowing that, here are the pros and cons of the newly established alternate route:
Pros:
- Impact to residential property will be limited to the area along the road right-of-way
- Trees and other landscaping along the HDD route will not be destroyed as they would have with traditional trenching methods
- Residents will retain use of their own land along the HDD route
- The pipeline will be buried deep along the HDD Route
Cons
Although I view this as a safer route, it is not safe enough. Running the pipeline down the middle of the PP&L right-of-way still makes the most sense to me. If PP&L isn’t part of the solution then I have to ask, are they part of the problem?
Could the impact on area residents have been avoided if only they had chosen to cooperate?
I applaud Governor Tom Wolf for establishing a gas pipeline task force to address public safety and pipeline route selection. The gas industry is expanding at such a tremendous rate in Pennsylvania that regulatory and planning efforts struggle to keep up. Soon a network of pipelines will crisscross the valley, affecting increasingly greater numbers of homes and private property. We all want to see more oversight and public input when developing these plans.
Don O’Hora |
