Duke continues their plans to pursue a transmission line through densely populated residential areas. Here is what is happening:
September 13th is the due date for Duke’s Formal Application with the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). It is unclear whether Duke intends to meet that deadline or make minor adjustments to their proposed routes, buying them extra time to file. Perhaps Duke is waiting to see if public outcry over the pipeline has diminished before they decide to file or delay.
One thing that is clear is that there has been no indication that Duke plans to locate the pipeline outside of densely populated residential areas. Despite what they might want you to believe, the pipeline is still a very active project for Duke. Here is what Duke of Ohio CEO Jim Henning and other Duke representatives have been working on these past few weeks:
- Holding private individualized meetings with elected officials from affected municipalities
- Still poking around people’s property on the original routes to survey and take soil samples
- Conducting phone push polls with loaded questions to gauge public opinion on the project
- Being totally evasive when directly asked by elected officials if they are looking at starting over on route placement.
From what we have heard so far, Duke likely will make minor modifications to their design and routing plans. We do not expect it to be relocated to less populated areas. Duke may even offer up a smaller, although still unacceptable, transmission line. (Perhaps this was their plan all along? Make it look like they are being responsive to public outcry?)
Duke would probably like to continue with plans to file their formal application by September 13th. Negative responses from leaders and citizens could influence a delay.
What you can do to help:
- Check out this amazing new letter generator on the NOPE website! You fill in the blanks; it sends up to 15 copies of your letter to key officials on your behalf!
Remember, the more letters we can submit before Duke’s deadline, the better our chance of making a difference! Enter your address, choose which of your elected officials you want to send your message to, create a custom message and hit “send”. - Sign this petition to enact legislation to keep natural gas transmission lines at least 1mile away from Ohio schools.
- Participate in our #NOPEtoDuke Twitter Campaign. Send a tweet every day. Let’s see if we can get our message to more officials and private citizens.
