Pipeline Public Hearing

Plans to run a new natural gas pipeline through Radnor Lake State Park still aren’t clear enough for some concerned citizens.

Piedmont Natural Gas wants to replace an existing line by running a new one through a 14 mile slice of Antioch, Oak Hill and Forest Hills that includes the popular park. Initially, the utility planned to simply dig trenches and bury the pipe. Now the plan is to drill a horizontal tunnel.

The Friends of Radnor Lake see that change an improvement. But President Greer Tidwell says Piedmont needs to detail just how it would make sure runoff from the drilling process doesn’t end up in the water. Tidwell says that’s a big concern, since the pipeline would be just a few hundred yards from the lake’s southern shore.

“It’s going across drainages that flow down into Radnor Lake. And that’s part of why we want to see more detail, being sure that they’ve got good techniques in place to keep any of that operation from impacting the lake.”

Of course, Tidwell says his organization’s first choice would be not to have a pipeline in the park at all. However, that decision belongs to the state.

Right now, the Tennessee Division of Water Resources is asking the public for any comments or concerns about the pipeline. A hearing on the plan is at 7:00 tonight at Ellington Agricultural Center.