In 2015, a five-year master plan undertaken by Duke Energy revealed a gap in the backbone of the natural gas distribution system serving Hamilton County, the most populated area of its southwestern Ohio service territory.
Three issues were driving the need for a new high-pressure, large-diameter distribution pipeline in suburban Cincinnati.
First was the need to retire critical propane-peaking facilities that help provide natural gas to customers on the coldest days of winter. Placed in service in 1964, the facilities include manmade caverns that each store more than 6 million gallons of liquid propane 400 feet underground. With no present-day repair available for the cavern walls, if the wall integrity were to be compromised, the plant would immediately shut down, causing up to 30,000 homes and businesses to lose natural gas service.
Second, the company needed more balance on the natural gas distribution system, primarily the flexibility to bring natural gas into Hamilton County from a diverse supply of pipelines located north of the Ohio service territory.
And finally, a new pipeline would allow the company to upgrade existing pipelines, some of which had been in service for more than 50 years, without interrupting natural gas service to customers.
After reviewing thousands of route segments, Duke Energy began to design and publicly communicate three potential routes for the Central Corridor Pipeline, ranging from 12 miles to 14 miles in length. The proposed pipeline was 30 inches in diameter with an operating pressure of 600 psi.
In early 2016, Duke Energy hosted two public open houses to share project information with communities that would be impacted by the construction of the pipeline. After a low turnout at both events, it was hopeful that the project would move along without public objection.
However, shortly after these open houses, a handful of property owners living along one of the potential routes put together a grassroots organization known as NOPE!—Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension—to raise concerns about the Central Corridor Pipeline.
They used sensational language such as “blast zone,” as well as fireball imagery, in an aggressive social media launch to get the attention of the public, politicians and the media. Other tactics included T-shirts, a letter-writing campaign, yard signs, petitions and demands for more public meetings. A GoFundMe campaign was initiated to raise money for an attorney to fight the pipeline.
The majority of media coverage was not balanced, and it featured bold headlines conveying the controversy. Letters of support for the Central Corridor Pipeline project were few and far between.
“Despite our emphasis on the pipeline being constructed above and beyond the federal requirements to enhance safety, nothing we said or did seemed to matter,” said Jamie Olberding, senior project manager, Duke Energy.
Thousands of comments were filed with the Ohio Power Siting Board in opposition to the project. Duke Energy knew that the old model of “Design, Decide and Defend” wasn’t going to work, and the company needed to pivot to a new concept of “Listen, Learn and Adjust.”
The project team—led by Olberding, Corporate Communications Lead Sally Thelen and Government and Community Relations Manager Chad Shaffer—ramped up its stakeholder and community outreach. Over the next 12 months, they:
Duke Energy delayed its application to the OPSB for several months while analyzing the community feedback collected from these public engagement efforts.
When the initial application was filed in September 2016, the updated design reduced the size and the pressure of the pipe by 33%. The pipe size went from the original plan of 30 inches down to 20 inches, and the typical operating pressure was reduced from 600 psi to 400 psi. The most contentious of the three possible routes was eliminated. Duke Energy was hopeful these three adjustments, made in direct response to feedback from customers and community leaders, would help alleviate public concern and opposition.
Yet public pressure to abandon the project continued. In August 2017, Duke Energy paused the pending application to allow additional time to examine site-specific matters identified through meetings with property owners and municipalities along one of the proposed routes. As a result, the engineering team made several minor adjustments along that route. In April 2018, the company asked the OPSB to move forward with consideration of the Central Corridor Pipeline application.
The adjustments and route tweaks paid off. In November 2019, the OPSB granted approval for the construction.
Twenty-nine additional amendments were made as a result of negotiations with individual property owners. These amendments included adjusting the size and location of easements and avoiding construction in areas slated for future redevelopment.
The robust public engagement plan continued with:
“We knew getting approval to construct this pipeline through a densely populated area was going to be a big challenge,” said Vice President of Special Projects Gary Hebbeler. “We had no idea we would have to rethink our entire design in order to get this through.”
The OPSB’s decision was indeed challenged by several intervening communities and NOPE!, and there is a pending case before the Ohio Supreme Court, which decided not to issue a stay for the construction while it makes its decision. So, on March 1, 2021, five years after the first public open house, InfraSource began construction on the Central Corridor Pipeline.
Duke Energy’s construction and traffic communication plan is in full swing, with weekly construction updates posted to the project webpage; letters with traffic maps mailed to affected communities (one month out); follow-up postcards mailed to the communities (two weeks out); the Pipeline Progress Report newsletter mailed bimonthly; digital and standard road signage used along the route; media advisories for major lane/road closures; door hangers and special signage as needed; and information provided for community newsletters and social media accounts as requested.
The company believes its shift in mentality, the adjustments and amendments made to pipeline design, and the robust stakeholder engagement efforts have made a huge difference in the community’s overall perception of the project, even if some people are still challenging it.
“We were not happy with Duke Energy bringing this pipeline through Evendale,” admitted Evendale, Ohio, Mayor Richard Finan. “In fact, we were registered intervenors opposing this project. Everyone in our village was going to be impacted by construction of the pipeline and the months-long inconveniences it would bring, such as road closures, noise, dirt, vibrations.
“That was then, but now that construction in Evendale is underway, I can’t say enough about the lengths Duke Energy has gone to in order to make the construction bearable. The project team communicates with us weekly, sometimes daily, and are accessible anytime there is a question or issue they can help to address. This level of engagement has helped to mitigate the overall impact of the project on the residents of my community.”
At press time, construction on the Central Corridor Pipeline should be about 60% complete. This project will allow Duke Energy to continue providing safe and reliable natural gas service today and for generations to come.
Central Corridor Pipeline by the Numbers