In Chatham County, North Carolina, an 85-year-old widow said a proposed natural gas pipeline has already complicated her effort to sell part of her property, money she hoped to use to care for herself and her adult son with a disability.
Her story is just one of many as a dispute over Enbridge Gas North Carolina's planned pipeline has become a flashpoint in one of the country's fastest-growing states, pitting development in wealthier parts of the county against rural residents living along the proposed route.
Here's what to know
According to KFF Health News, Enbridge Gas North Carolina said that in order to meet rising gas demand in Chatham and neighboring Lee County, the company must build a 12-inch pipeline running between Moncure and Siler City.
For Dorasue Burns Christian, a retired dental hygienist, that would cut through a 22-acre farm where she has lived for half a century.
"I'm stressed and I can't sleep at night," she noted. "I have been pushed as far as I can be pushed."
Christian was hoping to sell parts of the land to fund her own health needs and those of her 66-year-old disabled son, but buyers backed out once news of the proposed pipeline became public.
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"They should be ashamed of themselves," she added. "It's disheartening. They are stealing from poor people."
Persida Montanez, an Enbridge spokesperson, told the publication that the company sees the pipeline as necessary for "population and business growth" in the area.
The county's population has grown 21% since 2016. However, even as some parts of the county have become more affluent due to the influx of wealthy newcomers, the proposed route cuts through communities where per capita income is about $25,000 annually, roughly half the regional average.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners unanimously opposed the project, saying that "protecting public health, safety, environmental resources, and private property rights remains a priority," per KFF Health News.
The Commissioners' resolution stated that the project could hit vulnerable, low-income residents the hardest, all for the benefit of higher-income residents who live far from the pipeline's planned route.
State regulators have not yet started the permitting process for the project. Onotse Omoyeni, senior press secretary for Governor Josh Stein's office, said the Department of Environmental Quality had not received a permit application, according to KFF Health News.
More background
Opponents have cited Enbridge-linked incidents in Marshall, Michigan; Romeoville, Illinois; and Danville, Kentucky, as examples of how such projects can go horribly wrong for local residents. A 2019 rupture on an Enbridge natural gas pipeline in Kentucky killed one person and injured six, according to a federal government report.
Additionally, Enbridge later agreed to a $177 million settlement with the federal government over 2010 oil spills in Michigan and Illinois. In Michigan, 1 million gallons were released into Talmadge Creek.
Nearly 2,600 serious pipeline incidents were reported nationwide from 2010 to 2021, according to federal data cited by KFF Health News, including fires and explosions that killed 122 people and injured more than 600.
Burning gas for energy or heat can also harm communities through the air pollution it produces, which has been linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death.
What's being done?
KFF Health News reported that more than 300 people attended a Chatham County Board of Commissioners meeting in Pittsboro carrying signs that displayed slogans such as "People NOT Pipelines" and "Save Our Farms." A Facebook group opposing the project has also attracted hundreds of residents, including retirees and small farmers.
Protest organizer Amanda Clark grew up in Chatham and now works as the drug and injury prevention manager for Guilford County's public health office. She said the route would threaten land her family has owned since the 1700s.
For its part, Enbridge has stated that safety will be emphasized in construction and operation through monitoring, maintenance, and compliance with regulations.
According to KFF Health News, Montanez said Enbridge will decide on a final route only after field surveys, environmental studies, and engineering analysis.
Amid speculation that the pipeline was being built to power a new data center, Enbridge said the line is not meant for the proposed data center and that such a facility would need a pipeline at least twice as large.
Despite the company's assurances, local residents feel the risks to their health and property are not being taken into account.
"We're the collateral damage," Clark said, per KFF Health News. "It makes people feel like they don't have value."
Where can I learn more?
Similar fights over gas pipeline expansion, property rights, and pollution risks are occurring nationwide.
• In North Carolina, landowners said Enbridge survey letters stir new eminent domain fears.
• State records showed Transco's pipeline expansion could worsen air pollution across North Carolina.
• In South Carolina, 94 landowners fought pipeline surveys in court.
• After 10 Massachusetts communities went fossil fuel free, utilities poured $100M into gas lines.
• In Belmont County, one resident witnessed oil and gas expansion in their own backyard.
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