As the lone member of Seven Days‘ Addison County bureau (I live in Shoreham), I spend a fair amount of time schlepping back and forth along Route 74, the two-lane highway that runs from Cornwall through Shoreham to Lake Champlain. In recent days and weeks, it’s been impossible to ignore the growing number of homemade signs sprouting along the roadside. 

The sentiment is clear: Neighbors here are not pleased about the possibility of a natural gas pipeline cutting through this neck of the woods.

The proposed pipeline would carry natural gas — some of which is derived from the controversial drilling technique known as “fracking” — from Middlebury to the International Paper plant in Ticonderoga. Vermont Gas is pushing the pipeline as part of its effort to expand its natural gas network. The company currently serves customers in Franklin and Chittenden counties, and plans to expand south to Middlebury and across the lake.

The pipeline proposal has incited protests from neighbors and environmentalists alike; neighbors are raising concerns about health, safety and environmental impacts, while environmentalists are pointing out the hypocrisy of Vermont’s willingness to expand natural gas access after becoming the first state in the nation to ban fracking.

The so-called “Phase II” project (the section of the pipeline that would run to Ticonderoga, which would be funded by International Paper) is still in the early stages of planning. Vermont Gas identified five possible routes for the pipeline, which they narrowed down to two “feasible” options; both would run through Cornwall and Shoreham before cutting under Lake Champlain. The company’s timeline calls for selecting a route this spring, securing the necessary permits next year, and constructing the pipeline in 2015. The planning group that is hashing out the Phase II leg will meet next on Thursday, April 25, at 7:30 a.m. at the Addison County Regional Planning Commission.

What do Vermont landowners have to say so far about all of this? The signs speak for themselves. Here’s a recent sampling:

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Kathryn Flagg was a Seven Days staff writer from 2012 through 2015. She completed a fellowship in environmental journalism at Middlebury College, and her work has also appeared in the Addison County Independent, Wyoming Public Radio and Orion Magazine.

11 replies on “Spotted on Route 74: Landowners Protesting the Pipeline”

  1. Nothing like NIMBYists. I guess 100 years ago they would have said, “Just Say No To Electricity!”

  2. ^^^Do you work for IP or VT Gas? This 10″ pipe could be placed within several feet of our homes. If it explodes, we die. Get it?!

  3. Here’s a novel idea Sutton. We’ll be at your house tomorrow morning. Early. First we will remove every mature tree and all landscaping within fifty feet of the pipeline. You will never be able to plant a living thing in this fifty foot zone again BUT you will will have the pleasure of paying taxes on this land. Next, we will disrupt your life for months while we we use explosives to dig and place a 10″ transmission pipeline a few feet from your house. If this pipeline explodes, you, your family and your house will vanish from the earth. But, you say, “I will be able to access this wonderful fuel!” Ummmm, no. You will have no access to the fuel because this is a transmission line and not a distribution line. “Ah yes, but I will become rich when VT Gas buys this easement!” Again, no. In the case of a one acre lot, homeowners would potentially pay a lawyer several thousand dollars to negotiate a deal worth a thousand dollars. YOU WILL ACTUALLY BE PAYING TO HAVE THIS PIPELINE ON YOUR PROPERTY. “Well, I don’t want the pipeline so I’ll just politely say no and go on my way!” Again, no. Eminent domain will be used to steal your land.
    When do we start?!

  4. Eminent domain is why we have roads, electricity, indoor plumbing, railroads, hiking trails, airports, and, in some places, yes, natural gas for power. Wow. What a historical tragedy eminent domain has been!
    Eminent domain carried all the building materials for your house over the roads. Eminent domain provides the electricity that you are using to type your screeds opposing the pipeline.

  5. Pipelines explode and people die. Incidents have increased over the years. Any mechanical or electric failure can lead to an explosion. Jim Hall, who chaired the National Transportation Safety Board said “All of these underground pipelines are potential bombs.” Safety first!

  6. Yes Sutton, we do have all those benefits you mention; but the only benefit provided by this transmission line is to Gaz Metro of Canada and International Paper in New York state. Run it from Canada to NY on their own land if they want it. Transmission not distribution and if they promised distribution, we don’t want it at the cost of our safety.

  7. Sutton you are clearly not well informed about the dangers of fracking. Water is more vital than gas and we have to change our lifestyles hard as that is for some to come to grips with.

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