Recently, Sabine Poux, of Vermont Public, interviewed Nate and Jane Palmer about the Addison County Gas Pipeline. They have been fighting the project that runs by their Monkton property for more than a decade. The couple has argued that the pipeline “wasn’t built well and is unsafe,” a fear they say was validated in 2021 when regulators released a list of problems with the pipeline’s construction.

In that report, a hearing officer said the company made unauthorized, “substantial changes” to the construction plan that could impact the safety of the pipeline, including the “Failure to Staff the Project with a Vermont Licensed Professional Engineer serving as the Responsible Charge Engineer.” Engineers did sign the “Issued for Construction” plans after the fact, which meant they did not oversee any of the significant changes from those plans. It’s required by Vermont law that a Professional Engineer (P.E.) seals plans before work begins.

Vermont has a law requiring oversight of a P.E. for public utility work. Vermont law governing the practice of professional engineering requires that a Vermont-licensed P.E. supervise and take responsibility for the overall design of a potentially hazardous project such as a gas transmission pipeline. That engineer is known as the responsible charge engineer.

However, there was no P.E. overseeing the construction of the Addison County Pipeline and as of 2017, the 40-mile line was gassed up, extending Vermont Gas’ service into Addison County as far south as Middlebury.

When I read this, it reminded me of the safety recommendation report that was issued by the National Transportation and Safety Board on November 14, 2018, in response to a series of explosions and fires on September 13, 2018, in Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts. These explosions and fires followed the release of high-pressure natural gas into a low-pressure gas distribution system. They resulted in damage to 131 structures, including fires in as many as 40 homes and the destruction of at least five homes in addition to over 80 individual fires in the towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, all within the Merrimack Valley. One person was killed and 30,000 were forced to evacuate their homes immediately.

That report concluded that the gas company would probably have identified and prevented the error that led to this accident if the company had performed a comprehensive review that required all departments to review the project plans and had a P.E. approve, or seal, the plans. In sealing such plans, a P.E. takes responsibility for their accuracy and completeness. The report notes that the company field engineer was not a licensed P.E., and that neither state law nor company policy required a licensed P.E. to develop or review engineering plans for public utilities.

Additionally, the NTSB report specifically recommended that Massachusetts eliminate the P.E. license exemption for public utility work and require a P.E. seal on engineering drawings for public utility projects. It further recommends that the gas company revise its engineering plan review process to ensure that a P.E. seals plans before work begins. In early May 2019, Nisource, the parent company of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, said third-party claims related to the Merrimack Valley gas disaster could cost more than $1 billion. This amount includes property damage, personal injury, infrastructure damage and mutual aid payments to other utilities that helped in the recovery and restoration efforts. Restoration of gas service to the affected customers required the replacement of about 48 miles of gas pipeline.

It’s no wonder the Palmers continue to warn us for better enforcement of existing laws regarding the Addison county pipeline. They’ve educated themselves about the law and the lack of enforcement of these existing laws.

It’s a wakeup call.

Crea Lintilhac

Director, Lintilhac Foundation

Shelburne