The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has ordered the owners of the Millenium Pipeline, a 182-mile natural gas pipeline that runs through the towns of Walton and Hancock in Delaware County, to fix disturbing "defects" that could cause leaks or explosions.
According to an order issued by the PHMSA last month, much of the pipeline is not in good shape. The order, which was first reported by NaturalGasWatch.org, describes the situation in alarming terms:
[I]t appears that conditions exist on the section of the Millennium Pipeline running from Corning to Ramapo, New York (the Affected Sections) that pose a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment.
Those "affected sections" include most of the pipeline, including the parts that run through Walton and Hancock, according to a map of the pipeline.
As an article on Alternet reports, the Millenium Pipeline is expected to be the main transporter of any natural gas extracted via hydraulic fracturing from the booming Marcellus Shale formation that underlies much of Pennsylvania and New York.
