Residents, Rabbitt walk the line

Tuxedo - The weather was brisk, but the sun was out and there was optimism in the air. Last Friday, Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt and members of a homeowner’s association in Laurel Ridge, walked a portion of the new proposed Columbia Gas pipe line right-of-way. The Republican from Greenwood Lake restated her support for relocation of the line upgrade away from this secluded community. As part of the Millennium Pipeline Project, the 186-mile section from Corning to Ramapo, the upgrade replaces an existing Columbia Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline. The concern in Tuxedo is for the section called Line A-5, which is an existing 8.8 mile run that goes through the center of the Laurel Ridge community. The line continues in an easterly route that eventually crosses Route 17 and the Ramapo River in the vicinity of Warwick Brook Road. Rabbitt visited with homeowners a year ago and they decided to fight the line upgrade in its current location. She stressed the importance in Albany and “wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Meanwhile, the homeowners, in their fight against the upgrade, have established intervener status in the approval process. The A-5 right-of-way within Laurel Ridge contains an 8-inch gas line that has been in place since the 1940’s and needs replacement. The existing line location crosses Fawn Hill Road twice, which is the only means of road entry and exit from the community. The new proposal is to replace the existing line with a 36-inch diameter pipe. Donald Blum, president of the Northern Tuxedo Residents Association, said he and others are concerned with the potential danger to this community of 150 homes if the line should leak or develop a fire. He claimed the new line will operate at a pressure of 1,200 pounds per square inch and the large volume of natural gas will be a major threat to the safety of the residents. He also said the line runs within 50 feet of one house and would isolate as many as 37 homes in the event of any problem with the line. “How would children and senior citizens get out?” Blum asked. The only other way for those who survive is to climb down steep slopes in the woods. He also said that local first-responders are not qualified to tackle a potential catastrophe of this magnitude. The efforts of the homeowner’s association and Rabbitt may be working. On Jan. 4, Columbia met with representatives from the homeowner’s association and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. They reviewed a new survey and flagged an alternative route for the 36-inch diameter replacement line that would by-pass the Laurel Ridge Community. The new route, although remaining within less than one quarter of a mile from the community, will run entirely within PIPC land in a southerly route around Laurel Ridge. Blum said additional environmental studies are still required and the final approval remains up to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Columbia Gas has scheduled completion for the line in November 2007.