Columbia Gas presents pipeline replacement, regulator station plans at Upper Arlington hearing; residents press safety and routing concerns

Columbia Gas of Ohio said the company will replace about 2.4 miles of transmission-class pipeline through Upper Arlington and build updated regulator stations at Brandon Road and Ridgeview, company spokesman Luca Papelco said during a Jan. 27 city council hearing. The project, the company said, is driven by federal pipeline safety rules and is intended to add modern safety and monitoring equipment.

The company, joined by City Manager Steve Shoney and Community Development Director Chad Gibson, presented a project overview and schedule and answered questions from council and residents. Columbia Gas said the work stems from new requirements issued by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). "This is not an elective project. This is a compliance based project," Papelco told council.

The company said the replacement pipe will be the same nominal diameter as the existing line (20 inches) and that normal operating pressure will be similar to today’s levels; the new material and site upgrades will increase the pipeline’s tested maximum operating pressure, which the company described as additional margin rather than higher routine pressure. Columbia Gas described several safety upgrades required by PHMSA: inline inspection capability (so-called "pigging"), automatic shutoff valves at intervals along the pipeline, computerized monitoring and leak detection, and more rigorous inspection and cathodic protection. "These shutoff valves essentially say if the pressure is above or below a certain level, we automatically shut off," Papelco said.

City staff outlined the local review steps. Community Development Director Chad Gibson said utility stations are a conditional use in several residential districts under an ordinance the city adopted in 2020; a conditional-use review by…