[xz2y]

Originally Posted by vter

It is proposed to run from Colchester to Middlebury (through Williston, St. George, Hinesburg, Monkton and New Haven) and then jog west and across (under) the lake to Ticonderoga.

Project Overview | Addison Natural Gas Project - Vermont Gas Systems

Thanks. That clarifies it.

[millerm277]

Originally Posted by xz2y

I realize the big differences between fracking and installing gas lines underground, but if there was a leak in a gas pipeline running under the lake, it would contaminate the drinking water.

It's a gas, not oil. It'd bubble up through the lake and disperse into the atmosphere. Bad for global warming, and potentially dangerous for anyone where it was coming out, but I don't believe it would contaminate the water.

All pipelines explode and leak at some point.

That is one of the most absurd statements I've ever read.

[ladelfina]

That is one of the most absurd statements I've ever read.

Huh.

All pipelines DO leak at some point. They EX-plode if the pressure inside is greater, and they IM-plode if the pressure outside is greater, but there is no eternally-lasting pipeline.

Also, natural gas is not a benign substance… It partially dissolves in water and is a contaminant:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...es-water-wells

USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "When present, methane can be dangerous and yet difficult to detect by the consumer, hence the importance of testing groundwater for the presence of this dissolved gas."

USGS Release: Dissolved Methane Found in Some New York Groundwater (9/4/2012 10:03:21 AM)

[vter]

It appears that the residents and the towns of Hinesburg and Monkton have been heard - Vermont Gas is planning to re-route the pipeline away from people's homes and into an existing utility corridor.
Information & Documents | Addison Natural Gas Project - Vermont Gas Systems (see letters dated 1/24/13)

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by vter

It appears that the residents and the towns of Hinesburg and Monkton have been heard - Vermont Gas is planning to re-route the pipeline away from people's homes and into an existing utility corridor.
Information & Documents | Addison Natural Gas Project - Vermont Gas Systems (see letters dated 1/24/13)

That's good news!

[millerm277]

Originally Posted by ladelfina

All pipelines DO leak at some point. They EX-plode if the pressure inside is greater, and they IM-plode if the pressure outside is greater, but there is no eternally-lasting pipeline.

Leak a bit somewhere, sometime? Sure. Leak a significant amount if they're properly maintained, no. Claiming that all pipelines explode is absurd, unless we think things are built and then just used until they catastrophically fail. By the same premise, all bridges and buildings collapse.

Also, natural gas is not a benign substance… It partially dissolves in water and is a contaminant:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...es-water-wells


USGS Release: Dissolved Methane Found in Some New York Groundwater (9/4/2012 10:03:21 AM)

In a groundwater environment it is trapped and remains in the water. In a lake/open body of water it would dissipate quickly as it can evaporate into the air, I believe. This is also why when you DO have a well with a high concentration of methane or that sort of thing, you vent it to remove the problem. If the methane didn't come out of the water on it's own, said method wouldn't work.

It's also important to note that it is not cancerous, and unless you're inhaling it in concentrations so high that there isn't enough oxygen in the air to breathe and you asphyxiate, there are no known or suspected health effects. The dangers are pretty much purely from the burning/explosion aspect.

[ladelfina]

"we think things are built and then just used until they catastrophically fail."

Well, that IS an acknowledged practice in industry: run to failure.

Like FedEx getting parking tickets, it's apparently often cheaper to make handwaving-gestures over spills when they happen than to do heroic on-going maintenance so that they don't happen. Just up in Prudhoe Bay alone I read that they have something like 500 oil spills per year.


Anyway, all buildings and bridges DO collapse, eventually.
Haven't you noticed?

I'm much more worried, anyway, about old pipeline they want to now re-purpose for tar sands going overseas. That will spill, and the results will be much more damaging than a methane leak, it's true.

[arctichomesteader]

The Portland Pipeline...that goes through some pretty sensitive areas, up around Victory, etc. I would hope they're never allowed to send tar sands through it, I'd rather see that one removed. I looked at some cheap land for sale up there once and was wondering why it was so cheap...then I saw the pipeline just over the property line. Killed my interest in it.

A gas pipeline can be well built and maintained and still have problems. Imagine a hurricane Irene coming through and damaging it, or something crashes into it in an accident, or a stray rifle bullet during hunting season. That's why it really needs to be kept away from houses.

[GreenFootprint]

Originally Posted by vter

It appears that the residents and the towns of Hinesburg and Monkton have been heard - Vermont Gas is planning to re-route the pipeline away from people's homes and into an existing utility corridor.
Information & Documents | Addison Natural Gas Project - Vermont Gas Systems (see letters dated 1/24/13)

That's great that they're being considerate of the people nearby and planning to re-route, but I was under the impression that VT is a big eco state. Isn't this sort of thing, in general, at odds with that? Or am I just buying into a stereotype?

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by GreenFootprint

That's great that they're being considerate of the people nearby and planning to re-route, but I was under the impression that VT is a big eco state. Isn't this sort of thing, in general, at odds with that? Or am I just buying into a stereotype?

The eco state uses a lot of heating oil and wood for heat. Natural gas is cleaner and less expensive, but not very eco-friendly compared to geothermal, wind or solar energy.