SPARROWBUSH – Columbia Gas Transmission has begun the process of applying for permission to replace 17 miles of natural gas pipeline in Western Orange County and Pike County, Pennsylvania.

The $60 million project requires a number of approvals, but initially the go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The pre-filing process began with a public meeting in Milford, PA last night.  Another open house meeting is scheduled for Port Jervis tonight.

The current stretch of pipe, which has been in use for some 60 years, will cost $60 million to replace, said Cindy Donaldson in the company's regulatory and governmental affairs office.

“This pipe was originally laid in the 1940s and this is a process where we lift the existing pipe out of the right-of-way and replace it with new pipe, in most cases, in the exact same right-of-way,” she said.

Twelve miles of new 20 inch pipe would be laid in Pike County and five miles in Orange County.

Donaldson said it is possible that approvals could be received and work could begin in a little over a year from now.

The project could add 200 temporary jobs to the area.

Columbia Gas Transmission is a division of Ni Source Gas Transmission and Storage, which also owns Millennium Pipeline. The Columbia Pipeline in Orange County meets up with the Millennium line.