Residents urge Davidson County to oppose Williams Transco pipeline expansion

Multiple residents and environmental advocates told the Davidson County Board of Commissioners they oppose Williams Transco's proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP), a high-pressure methane pipeline that speakers said would run roughly 24 miles through North Carolina with about 10 miles in Davidson County.

At the county's public-comment period, Crystal Norford of Clean Water for North Carolina told commissioners the pipeline would be routed adjacent to existing pipe corridors that include lines more than 70 years old and that proposed construction methods could harm streams in the Yadkin River watershed. She asked the county to allow a detailed presentation on local impacts.

"The benefits of the project are not realized by those who are impacted," Norford said, citing a Williams Transco filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and asking the board to consider local protections.

Bill Huseman of Wahlberg said the project poses environmental, economic and safety risks, and he cited incidents and civil penalties he attributed to Williams Transco, including an Appomattox, Va., pipeline explosion in 2008 and other enforcement actions referenced during his remarks. "Things will happen," he said he had quoted a company representative as saying at a Forsyth County meeting, arguing that local residents would bear the risks without receiving the benefits.

Janine Spare, who lives near the compressor station on Becky Hill Road, said the existing station already causes noise and air-quality concerns for neighbors and that an expansion could worsen conditions. Gary Aureole called the project "a disaster about to happen in our community" and said a petition opposing the project delivered to the board had about 150 signatures.

Several speakers said residents in impacted areas would not be able to access gas service from the pipeline and that the primary customers would be large energy users outside the county, such as data centers.

Commissioners responded by saying the county does not have direct permitting authority for the federal- and state-permitted project, that public hearings before state and federal regulators are the primary venues to raise technical and safety concerns, and that staff would gather information about neighboring jurisdictions that passed resolutions opposing the project. One commissioner said he was prepared to pursue a county resolution if staff and legal review supported it and the board asked for an informational meeting to hear details.

No formal county resolution or binding vote on the pipeline was taken at the meeting. Commissioners said next steps would include staff research, a potential informational session for the board, and guidance to residents about upcoming state and federal public hearings.