Eastern Shore Pipeline

Last updated
Eastern Shore Pipeline
Eastern Shore Pipeline
Interactive Map of the Eastern Shore Pipeline
Location
CountryUnited States
State Maryland
Virginia (possible) [1]
From Wicomico County, Maryland
Passes through Salisbury, Maryland
Fruitland, Maryland
Princess Anne, Maryland
To University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Eastern Correctional Institution
Runs alongside U.S. Route 13
General information
TypeNatural Gas
StatusProposed
Owner Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company
ExpectedLate 2021
Technical information
Length16.5 mi (26.6 km)
Diameter10 in (254 mm)

The Eastern Shore Pipeline, part of the Del-Mar Energy Pathway Project, is a proposed fracked natural gas pipeline to be installed on the Eastern Shore of Maryland as an expansion of existing pipeline infrastructure on the Delmarva Peninsula. The project is planned for completion in late 2021.

Contents

Overview

The proposed pipeline expansion would extend further into Wicomico County and into Somerset County, passing through Salisbury, Maryland to reach the termini at University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Eastern Correctional Institution. [1] [2] Somerset is one of three counties in Maryland that does not have access to natural gas. [3] Maryland officials also stated that the pipeline could be expanded south into the Eastern Shore of Virginia. [1] While Maryland has banned the process of fracking statewide, the state allows pipelines carrying fracked natural gas to be built. [4] In 2018, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved $100 million in spending on fracked natural gas infrastructure. [5] [6]

The proposed expansion would connect with existing pipeline in a pigging facility in downtown Salisbury owned by Sharp Energy. A 10-inch (250 mm) diameter length of piping measuring 6.8 miles (10.9 km) would then extend to a proposed Metering and Regulation Station in Eden, Maryland, running alongside U.S. Route 13. From there, a 9.7-mile (15.6 km) length of 8-inch (200 mm) diameter pipe would continue along Route 13 to Eastern Correctional Institution and a Mountaire Farms processing plant. University of Maryland Eastern Shore would be connected midway down this stretch. [7]

State approval

The pipeline has received approval in a number of areas from the state government. In December 2020, one of two wetlands licenses needed due to the fragile ecosystems traversed by the pipeline was granted unanimously by the Maryland Board of Public Works. [8] [9] [10]

Criticism

The pipeline has received significant pushback from local organizations due to primarily environmental concerns, including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, and Sierra Club. [11] [12] [8] The fact that the proposed pipeline would run through primarily minority communities has also been cited as a reason against its construction, with a representative of the CCAN calling the pipeline "an insult and an injustice to those communities." [13]

Critics of the pipeline state that it will encourage fracking outside of the state and is dangerous to both humans and the environment. [14] Environmentalists see the pipeline as a step in the wrong direction, investing in infrastructure that is not as clean as it could or should be. The pipeline's lifetime is also of concern among critics, as it may interfere with Maryland's long-term energy cleanliness goals. [8] The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has expressed concerns that installing the pipeline may trigger a chain reaction of new pipeline construction, further damaging the environment. [15]

Support

Supporters of the pipeline's construction claim that the pipeline will bring jobs and economic growth to Somerset County and the surrounding area. Multiple state representatives, including State Senators Steve Hershey and Mary Beth Carozza, support the pipeline as a relatively clean source of energy that will bring development to the area. [16] [17] Other officials, including the Somerset County Development Commission Director and Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce President, support the pipeline as well. [18]

Related Research Articles

Maryland State of the United States of America

Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English Queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary, who was the wife of King Charles I.

Natural gas Fossil fuel

Natural gas, is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium. It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in the gas. Natural gas is a fossil fuel.

Delmarva Peninsula Large peninsula on the East Coast of the US

The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia. The peninsula is 170 miles (274 km) long. In width, it ranges from 70 miles (113 km) near its center, to 12 miles (19 km) at the isthmus on its northern edge, to less near its southern tip of Cape Charles. It is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay on the west, and the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

Easton, Maryland Town in Maryland, United States

Easton is an incorporated town and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary is 21606. The primary phone exchange is 822, the auxiliary exchanges are 820, 763, and 770, and the area code is 410.

Ovintiv American energy company

Ovintiv Inc. is a hydrocarbon exploration and production company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Denver, United States. Initially, it was founded and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and in the mid-2000s was the largest energy company in Canada.

Enbridge Inc. is a Canadian multinational energy transportation company based in Calgary, Alberta. It focuses on the transportation, distribution and generation of energy, primarily in North America. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates in Canada and the United States, the longest crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons transportation system in North America. As a distributor of various fuels, it owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution network, providing distribution services in Ontario, Quebec and New York State.

Eastern Shore of Maryland Part of the U.S. state of Maryland

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties, seven of which have Chesapeake Bay coastlines. The region also contains Maryland's only coast on the Atlantic Ocean.

TC Energy Canadian energy company

TC Energy Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is an American energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It is headquartered in Oklahoma City. The company is named after the founder's love for the Chesapeake Bay region.

Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is an American corporation formed in 1947. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified energy company engaged, through our operating divisions and subsidiaries, in various energy and other businesses. Headquartered in Delaware, Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates primarily within the Middle-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest regions, providing natural gas distribution and transmission, natural gas supply, gathering and processing, electric distribution and propane distribution service.

Southern Company Gas

Southern Company Gas, formerly AGL Resources, is an American Fortune 500 energy services holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company's operations consist of natural gas distribution, wholesale services, retail operations, and midstream operations. Southern Company Gas is one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in the United States. The company serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries across four states. Southern Company Gas made the Fortune 500 list in 2015, Forbes 2000 in 2006, and is a member of the S&P 500 Index. In 2016, Southern Company acquired AGL Resources and renamed it Southern Company Gas.

Hydraulic fracturing in the United States

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Dominion Energy

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Bonessi, Dominique. "New Plans For A Natural Gas Pipeline In Maryland, Explained". NPR.org. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "ESNG Del-Mar Energy Pathway Project". Eastern Shore Natural Gas. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Shwe, Elizabeth (30 October 2020). "Environmental Justice Advocates Sound Alarm Over Eastern Shore Pipeline". Maryland Matters. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Dance, Scott. "A year after fracking ban, Maryland Gov. Hogan's support for natural gas sparks new battle". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Del-Mar Energy Pathway Project" (PDF). Chesapeake Climate Action Network. March 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "ORDER NO. 88631" (PDF). 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Metts, Stephen (19 October 2020). "Del-Mar Energy Pathway & Somerset County Expansion Projects: an Environmental Justice Spatial Analysis" (PDF). Chesapeake Climate Action Network. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Condon, Christine. "Environmental groups fight proposed Eastern Shore pipeline". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. ↑ Lu, Amy. "Maryland BPW Gives Initial Approval for Eastern Shore Pipeline Construction". WBOC. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Butler, Brooke (2 December 2020). "Natural gas pipeline on Lower Shore granted key wetlands license". 47abc. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Stop the Eastern Shore Pipeline Project". Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  12. ↑ Fernandez, Camila (19 November 2020). "Eastern Shore natural gas pipeline awaits approval from Board of Public Works". 47abc. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  13. ↑ Bernard, Diane. "MD Officials Pushed to Reject Gas Pipeline in Black Communities". Public News Service. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Bernard, Diane. "Groups Fight Proposed Gas Pipeline on MD's Eastern Shore". Public News Service. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Del-Mar Energy Pathway Project" (PDF). Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Hershey, Steve. "We need the Pipeline Project for the Eastern Shore economy". MyEasternShoreMD. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  17. ↑ Carozza, Mary Beth. "Natural gas pipeline project a win for Somerset County: Mary Beth Carozza". delmarvanow. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  18. ↑ Lumpkin, Taylor (6 November 2020). "Natural gas expansion to bring jobs, opportunity to Somerset County". 47abc. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
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