After seven years, $150 million and 31 of 34 miles already under ground, the state has halted a pipeline project designed to provide a more dependable natural gas supply to the booming southeastern Connecticut economy. The reason for what could become years of delay is a decision by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection requiring a comprehensive environmental review of parts of a mile or so of what remains to be completed of Eversource’s southeastern Connecticut gas resiliency project. The environmental impact evaluation is limited to a plan to install gas pipeline on a little more than a mile of Eversource electric rights of way that cross the rugged granite ledges of two state parks on either side of the river where the towns of Middletown, East Hampton and Haddam meet. To the west, the right of way crosses about 100 feet of a narrow strip of Penn Central rail line that is now Connecticut Valley Railroad State Park. On the east, about a mile of pipe would run across the south end of Hurd State Park, part of which was donated to the state by one of the companies that became Eversource, the Hartford Electric Eight Company. The central piece of the yet-to-be completed stretch of pipeline would be tunneled beneath the Connecticut River. The stretch beneath the river is excluded from the environmental impact evaluation because DEEP said it doesn’t have permitting authority over the submerged land.
Years-long CT gas pipeline stalled at the finish line. Why the $200M+ project faces a permit dispute
