News Release

Environmental review completed for proposed Columbia Gas pipeline under Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Date: September 26, 2019
Contact: Katie Liming, 202-619-7156

The National Park Service (NPS) has signed a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for a Right-of-Way (ROW) permit request from Columbia Gas Transmission LLC (Columbia Gas). The permit would authorize Columbia Gas to run 553 feet of 8-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline under Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The pipeline would be placed via horizontal directional drilling at a depth between 116 and 148 feet below the ground surface of the park near Hancock.

The proposed pipeline is part of Columbia Gas’s Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, an approximately 3.37-mile natural gas transmission pipeline that runs through Fulton County, Pennsylvania, Washington County, Maryland, and Morgan County, West Virginia. 

A ROW permit is required to authorize Columbia Gas to construct the pipeline under NPS land. The NPS will issue the ROW permit once Columbia Gas completes an appraisal of the property that is is approved by the Department of the Interior’s Appraisal and Valuation Services Office.

The NPS FONSI determination was made based on an Environmental Assessment (EA) led by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The EA was triggered by Columbia Gas’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and for authorization under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act. The NPS served as a Cooperating Agency on the EA because a portion of the larger Columbia Gas project crosses under national park property. No other aspects of the overall proposal, except the portion of the pipe crossing under Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, are under NPS jurisdiction.

The FONSI was signed on September 23, 2019 by the acting National Capital Area Director. A FONSI describes why the selected alternative will have no significant effects on the environment, provides the rationale for the decision and outlines conservation measures that the NPS will take to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts. The FONSI, EA, and supplementary materials may be reviewed at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Columbia_Gas_ROW.