It was a different time when Nate and Jane Palmer first started fighting the Vermont Gas Systems pipeline that runs by their Monkton farm. The letters and documents they sent in were filed by mail — today, there are boxes and boxes full of forms in the Palmers’ farmhouse, tucked into neatly labeled, color-coded binders.
It’s a paper trail for a fight that was, in the early days, all-consuming for the Palmers and their neighbors.
“It took a lot out of our lives,” said Jane, who was arrested in 2014 after she and other protesters refused to leave the Vermont Gas lobby during what they called a “knit-in” protest. She still talks about when the company threatened them and some of their neighbors with eminent domain.
“I mean, I remember our son saying, ‘I can't wait till we can talk about something besides the pipeline,’” she said. “It was at every dinner table, you know, every meal — every everything.”
In the decade since, a lot has changed. Letters are now filed online rather than by mail. The plan for the pipeline changed to go around the Palmers’ property instead of cutting through it, as was originally proposed.
And, as of 2017, the 40-mile line is gassed up, extending Vermont Gas’ service into Addison County as far south as Middlebury.
But even though the pipeline has largely faded from the headlines, the Palmers are still fighting. They argue that the line wasn’t built well and is unsafe, a fear they say was validated in 2021 when regulators released a list of problems with the pipeline's construction.
More from Vermont Public: 'Regulators Cite Multiple Issues With Vermont Gas Pipeline Construction'
In that report, a hearing officer said the company made unauthorized, “substantial changes” to the construction plan that could impact the safety of the pipeline. For example, the line wasn't buried as deep as it was supposed to be in some places, and the company used an unapproved burial method in one section of swamp in New Haven. He also said no professional licensed engineer signed off on the project.
In response, the Public Utility Commission — which oversees natural gas infrastructure in Vermont — ordered Vermont Gas to pay a fine and amend its operating plan. The Palmers and their neighbors appealed that decision, arguing that amending the plan without initiating a new proceeding with the PUC would violate their right to due process.
The Vermont Supreme Court in April agreed that it wasn't enough. Now, Vermont Gas has to file a new petition, reopening the case for public input.
Vermont Gas says that this latest requirement is merely procedural.
“The public record is clear,” said Dylan Giambatista, Vermont Gas’ director of public affairs. “The commission, independent experts and others have looked at every aspect of the Addison natural gas system, and they've concluded it was safely and adequately installed. That is the result of a thorough investigation. Of course, we're talking about a project that was permitted well over a decade ago.”
The Palmers — who don’t get any gas from the line — say they have no reason to trust the company anymore that the line is safe.
"We’re supposed to take their word, at this point, that they’re going to do it right, after we’ve had a decade of them doing it wrong," Nate said.
In Vermont, natural gas is primarily used for heat. The state consumes relatively little, compared with other states. What it does use, it gets from Canada and pipes down to more than 55,000 homes and businesses in Chittenden, Franklin and Addison counties.
The state agency that represents those ratepayers and other members of the public before the PUC is the Department of Public Service. Bristol attorney James Dumont, who has been representing the Palmers and some of their neighbors for years, says his clients had to do the job of that department when they raised concerns about the line's construction years ago.
“I think if you had my clients in a room, they would agree that they're more disappointed in the state than they are with Vermont Gas,” he said. “The state hasn’t been looking out for them.”
DPS maintains the issue is one of compliance, not of safety. Jim Porter, a spokesperson for the department, says DPS stands by its record of "testimony, filings ... and site visits" from the last decade. And he noted that the pipeline is the most “inspected, reviewed and otherwise considered gas project in Vermont’s history.”
These days, the group of opponents fighting the pipeline is smaller, but just as determined.
In August, they asked regulators to stop Vermont Gas from running gas through the pipeline while they’re working on a new plan. Last October, the town of Monkton signed on to be an intervener in the case.
The Palmers know the large-scale change they’re looking for might be a long shot. But with the pipeline less than 300 feet from their property, they say they are obligated to keep trying.
“We kind of knew we weren't going to win, but we always felt we would leave some scars,” Jane Palmer said. “And we just have been fighting, and we've never really had the opportunity to not fight, really. You know? It's never been resolved.”
Vermont Gas is slated to submit a new petition by Jan. 10. After that, the public will have another chance to weigh in — and, in the Palmers case, to try to leave some scars.
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