Dominion pitches gas pipeline along American Tobacco Trail

Line would run along the trail for 6 miles under one plan, which company says isn't final.

Posted 1:32 p.m. May 22, 2020 — Updated 3:42 p.m. May 22, 2020

Travis Fain

, WRAL statehouse reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — A 12-inch gas line would run along part of the American Tobacco Trail under a plan Dominion Energy put before the state Department of Transportation earlier this month.

The pipeline would run adjacent to the trail for nearly 6 miles, in a 30-foot clearing some 40 feet from the trail's centerline, according to the company. This is one of several routes being considered, a company spokeswoman said, and a final route hasn't been selected.

But the proposal was before the DOT board earlier this month, with Dominion offering $3 million for rights of way along the property, which the department owns. A DOT spokesman said Thursday that the proposal "is being re-evaluated by executive leadership at this time."

"A review of the history of this proposal, as well as an assessment of all community engagement, will be conducted before NCDOT takes any action to move forward with the proposal as offered, require adjustments or changes, or to deny the request," the department said in an emailed statement.

NC Policy Watch reported Thursday that both the state agency and the company failed to tell Durham officials about the plan. The trail runs more than 22 miles along an old railroad bed through Durham and into Chatham and Wake counties, and it has become a popular route for runners, walkers and cyclists.

"While we haven’t selected the final route yet, the American Tobacco Trail section is considered because other options would require us to acquire more right-of-way, which would affect more property owners," the company said in an email.

The News & Observer reported earlier this week that the company told Cary officials much the same thing in a presentation last year.

The company said it would replant native vegetation along the route to create a natural buffer, and Dominion spokeswoman Persida Montanez said the company expects to decide the gas line's final route within two months.

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