In July, Vermont Gas Systems announced it had hired engineers to plan an expansion of the VGS system from Chittenden County south to Middlebury, and that it would be applying late this year for a certificate of public good for the project from the Public Service Board. Last week, VGS announced that International Paper would finance an extension of the project to the IP plant in Ticonderoga, N.Y., including a pipeline running under Lake Champlain. VGS eventually wants to extend its system all the way south to Rutland.