[V]ermont Gas, owner of the 41-mile natural gas pipeline between Colchester and Middlebury, has to show the state’s utility regulator whether a professional engineer signed off on construction plans.
The Vermont Public Utility Commission issued an order Thursday upholding a request by opponents to further expand an investigation into the pipeline’s construction.
Three months after the Addison County Natural Gas pipeline was completed in April of 2017, the utility regulator began looking into claims that the pipeline was not buried deep enough. The state’s Agency of Natural Resources and Department of Public Service submitted filings in March seeking to expand the investigation into pipeline construction methods.
James Dumont, an attorney representing five Monkton and Hinesburg residents who oppose the pipeline, filed a motion in November to expand the investigation further to assess whether a professional engineer had signed off on the pipeline construction plans.
The request was made in response to a National Transportation Safety Board review of the Lawrence natural gas explosions that found the Massachusetts operator did not seek approval of a professional engineer before construction. The Department of Public Service made a filing in December supporting this request.
Pipeline opponents submitted another filing in December arguing that Vermont Gas should have to argue why the pipeline should be allowed to continue to operate if it did not have an engineer’s approval.
PUC hearing officer Michael Tousley wrote in the order that RCP Inc. — the Texas-based engineering firm hired by the PUC as an independent investigator in the case — should assess whether a Vermont-licensed professional engineer signed off on the pipeline construction plans.
“The issue of whether a professional engineer’s signature and seal were affixed to the documents relied upon during the construction of the pipeline relates directly to ‘the continued integrity of the pipeline’ and warrants review,” he wrote.
Tousley said in an email that the commission could shut down operations of the pipeline as a penalty if Vermont Gas was found to have violated any of the requirements of its certificate of public good. He added that determining whether the utility was required to have an engineer sign off on the plans under state law is part of the investigation.
Beth Parent, communications manager for Vermont Gas, said in an interview Thursday that the company believes the PUC’s review will confirm that the pipeline plans were prepared with “appropriate engagement” of licensed engineers.
“We look forward to providing all of the documentation that we have and gathering all other documentation to provide to the commission,” she said. “We’re confident that it’s going to show the commission and the public that this pipeline was safely designed and built.”
Rachel Smolker, one of the pipeline opponents who fought for an investigation, said she was pleased with the PUC’s decision to expand the investigation. She said her group’s lengthy review of the pipeline construction documents show “many systemic failures” by Vermont Gas in meeting the state certificate’s safety requirements.
“By analogy you think — would you buy a house that had been constructed without any engineering consultant by a company that had never built a house before?” she asked.
Smolker added that she was frustrated with the time it had taken to start the investigation and the lack of clarity from the PUC over who would be an independent investigator.
“I think they need to move on this investigation and they need to do it right,” she said.
