Residents Keep Pressure on AGL, PSC to Address Regulator Station Concerns

While Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) has been sponsoring a series of recent workshops on gas pipeline safety, Clairmont North residents continue to object to a regulator station being built in their community, saying the company has not addressed any of their safety concerns.

In a story first reported here on Patch, AGL is replacing portions of its Eastside Pipeline. It is also building a gas regulator pipeline station directly in DeKalb-Peachtree Airport's flight path, which has some residents worried about potential public safety issues.

AGL is constructing the gas regulator station near the intersection of Clairmont Road and Tanglewood Circle.

Cheryl Huvard, a Clairmont North resident, said residents are only asking that their concerns about the facility be addressed.

“We are not asking for schematics to the pipeline, equipment, or design that AGL has used to replace the pipeline,” Huvard said. “All we care about is that we are not going to be killed, maimed, or burned alive because there was insufficient planning and education of the public about what to do in the event of a major emergency.

“After the fiasco of how the broken pipe was handled at Tanglewood and Clairmont, residents became even more concerned about what would happen if there were another more serious incident, particularly as it concerns the regulator station, not just the pipeline.”

In March, a construction crew struck a gas line near AGL’s proposed station, which heightened residents' concerns over the facility itself. A series of other gas main breaks occurred in April in portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

AGL spokespersons say the station and pipeline are safe. AGL, along with three other gas utility companies, have scheduled and held several workshops throughout Georgia designed to educate residents on gas pipeline safety. The next workshop is set for Wednesday at Agnes Scott College.

But the Clairmont Community Alliance says neither AGL or the Public Service Commission – which regulates utilities in Georgia – have disclosed any evacuation or safety plans in the event of an emergency.

“We have gotten nothing but a runaround, with sabotage used as a convenient excuse for not providing the public with information to which they have a right,” said Lori Muskat, who heads the neighborhood group. “We haven been told by two different attorneys that it is customary for this information to be provided, with sensitive information redacted. Doesn't it strike you as odd that residents have been requesting information related to a safety plan for four months?”

Muskat also cites recent attacks on similar gas regulator stations in other parts of the nation. Last summer, a man attempted to blow up a Plano, Texas, gas regulator station, which led some residents to question the safety of such facilities. A pipeline safety expert later said that the explosion could have resulted in a deadly neighborhood catastrophe.

“Federal regulations say that we must be informed and educated on the plans that AGL has made for handling an event and that the local first responders have been included in the planning and have bought into the plan and are capable of carrying it out,” Huvard said.

“Printing nice ads about clean, safe natural gas telling us to notify someone if we smell gas fumes will not cut it.”

See Also:

Recent Gas Leaks Increase Worries Over Regulator Station in PDK’s Flight Path

Crews Repairing North Druid Hills Gas Main Break

Update: Gas Leak Under Control

Friday Gas Leak Heightens Worries Over Regulator Station

Open House Set to Discuss Controversial Gas Pipeline

Residents: AGL Unaware its Pipeline Station was in PDK's Flight Path

Gas Pipeline Station Being Placed in PDK's Flight Path