by Kate Shunney
Plans to connect a natural gas pipeline in Fulton County, Pa. to a regional supply line in Berkeley Springs are now taking shape on both sides of the Potomac River after years of legal wrangling.
Horizontal drilling under the Potomac to run the 8-inch gas pipeline could begin as soon as next week, according to online federal project documents.
The Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, to be built by Columbia Gas Transmission, will involve construction of 3.4 miles of 8-inch diameter gas pipeline from the Pennsylvania/Maryland border to a gas line north of Berkeley Springs.
Once in West Virginia, the gas line will connect with an existing 23-mile Mountaineer Gas line that was built across northeastern Morgan County in 2018. It connects to existing natural gas lines in Berkeley County.
Thomas Westfall of Mountaineer Gas told The Morgan Messenger last week that his company will be building an above-ground permanent facility where the Columbia Gas line connects to Mountaineer Gas’s line north of the sandmine.
TC Energy Columbia Gas has begun clearing the pipeline path in the Hancock area, with crews working along Creek Road near I-68 this week.
Rights of way for the project were secured around 2017 and 2018.
Westfall said the public will likely see more construction activity on the Hancock side of the Potomac River for now.
photo by Geoff Fox
“Once the Columbia project is further along, we’ll be putting an above-ground facility in place,” said Westfall.
Construction on that Berkeley Springs facility should start in April or May, he predicted. They have a goal of putting the interconnection project in service by November of 2025.
Years of permitting
This interconnection project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July of 2018 after environmental and historical assessments of the area and multiple public hearings. It then halted when the final right-of-way needed for the pipeline was denied by the State of Maryland.
In January of 2019, Maryland’s Department of General Services denied an easement for the natural gas transmission line under the Western Maryland Rail/Trail near Hancock, citing environmental concerns and feedback from lawmakers.
Opposition to the project came from both West Virginia and Maryland residents and environmental groups. It focused largely on the risks of horizontal drilling under the Potomac River in an area known for karst geology. Opponents cited the possibility that leaked drilling fluids or gas leaks from the pipeline could permeate into nearby groundwater supplies or the river itself. Others opposed the project because of its ties to hydraulic fracturing and fossil fuel energy.
Project resurfaces
After receiving extensions for their project application in 2020 and 2023, Columbia Gas updated their project implementation plan and requested a notice to proceed, according to FERC records.
The project resurfaced in 2024.
In an October 9, 2024 letter from TC Energy to FERC, project manager David Alonzo states that “Columbia affirms that it has acquired all applicable authorizations required under federal law necessary to commence construction, including all necessary land rights from the State of Maryland.”
According to federal documents, on October 22, 2024, the Chief of Gas regulators for FERC issued a letter to project manager David Alonzo granting a request for Columbia Gas Transmission to start construction activities related to the expansion project.
Under the guidelines of the project approval, TC Energy must submit bi-weekly reports to FERC on the project’s activities.
In a December 16, 2024 report, TC Energy states that a project kick-off meeting was held on December 4, including environmental training.
Work through the end of the year was expected to include yard preparation – visible at the old U.S. Silica ballfields just north of the senior center – plus erosion control fencing installation and tree felling.
photo by Kate Shunney
According to a schedule in the report, contractors expect to begin the horizontal drilling under the Potomac River on January 7, 2025 and drilling under I-68 around January 15, 2025.
TC Energy has said the project will “help support further economic growth in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia.”
“Once complete, this new pipeline will provide more than 47 million cubic feet per day of reliable, clean burning natural gas to meet the energy needs of homes and businesses in Morgan County,” the company said in its project summary.
West Virginia elected officials and economic development leaders are on record in support of the gas pipeline expansion, saying it will build the Eastern Panhandle’s business infrastructure.
Westfall, of Mountaineer Gas, said once the interconnection facility is built, his company will look at running natural gas supplies into Berkeley Springs to local customers.
