MIDDLEBURY — Vermont Gas will conduct another lengthy inspection of its new Addison Natural Gas Project pipeline beginning on Monday, July 9. Officials said the procedure this time won’t involve the emission of a loud, 15-foot-tall flare at its gate station off Route 7 in Middlebury that startled neighbors and many passersby this past February.
This latest inspection will use a “smart testing tool” that will travel through the 41-mile pipeline (from Colchester to Middlebury), allowing Vermont Gas and a third-party contractor to survey the condition of the conduit in a “safe, non-disruptive manner,” according to company spokesperson Beth Parent.
It’s a departure from the last inspection, which included a “controlled flare” to burn off natural gas as the inspection tool was pushed through the pipeline.
The current inspection is expected to run around the clock for an entire month, according to Parent. A total of four inspection tools will travel through the pipeline. The first two will clean the pipe in advance of the smart tools. The second two are the smart tools that will provide Vermont Gas with a visual inspection of the conduit.
Middlebury’s current 800 natural gas customers should not experience any disruption in service during inspection process, according to Parent. More information about the inspection can be found at vermontgas.com/inlineinspection.