Dominion at Lewis Cty Commissioners

Dominion officials brief Lewis Commissioners on plans for pipeline expansion

by Jeremiah Shelor, Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 6:15 pm

Robert Orndorff

Robert Orndorff, a representative from Dominion Transmission, speaks with the Lewis County Commission Tuesday about a new pipeline project the company hopes will bring natural gas from North Central West Virginia to North Carolina. Staff photo by Jeremiah Shelor

WESTON — Dominion Transmission has plans to bring a natural gas pipeline through Lewis County.

Robert Orndorff, a representative with the company, met with the Lewis County Commission Tuesday to talk about the project, which he said is still in the very early stages.

Termed the Southeast Reliability Pipeline Project, the planned pipeline would bring gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales to North Carolina, according to Orndorff. North Carolina has historically relied on natural gas from the Gulf Coast, he said.

“We’re at the beginning stages of determining what it’s going to take to get gas to North Carolina,” Orndorff said.

Dominion has a “very rough” plan for where the pipeline might go, Orndorff said. The company is currently in the process of seeking approval from landowners to conduct surveying, he said.

He said the company already has sent letters to particular landowners in Lewis County. Orndorff said he wanted to inform the commission about the project in case any of the county’s residents came to them with concerns.

“If there’s something we’re doing out there that we shouldn’t be doing, let me know right away, and we’ll fix it,” Orndorff told the commissioners.

Current plans are for the pipeline to run 500 miles from West Virginia down to North Carolina, according to Orndorff. The company expects the pipeline to measure 42 inches in diameter, he said.

“That is huge. That’s going to take a lot of gas out of North Central West Virginia to power power plants and other industries in North Carolina,” he said. “It’s actually kind of when you look at it revolutionary, because of the fact that no longer is the primary supply coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s coming out of North Central West Virginia and Pennsylvania.”

Though Orndorff said Dominion is still two years away from even applying for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the project, he suggested the pipeline will bring positive economic developments to the county.

“We know it will start in Lewis County, and I think that’s a wonderful thing for Lewis County,” Orndorff said. “I think it will bring a lot of economic development. It’ll help the oil and gas industry flourish even more so in the county.”

Staff writer Jeremiah Shelor can be reached at (304) 626-1409 or by email at jshelor@theet.com