natural gas line work

Hi All, I am new to location19, but not the neighborhood. I am grateful to find this place to discuss neighborhood doings, good and worrisome. I am currently interested in learning about experiences in the neighborhood with the ongoing natural gas line work. I am concerned that homeowners have not been provided with important information regarding this work, or a meaningful opportunity to make informed decisions about service changes to our properties that have lasting consequences.

In early June, we received a notice at our house from RG&E informing us that new natural gas lines would be installed on our street in July. This work would include moving inside gas meters to the outside "to improve access for meter reading." In July, an RG&E contractor began replacing the gas lines on Virginia Ave., as well as relocating inside meters to the outside of homes.

At one point during the process, a contractor came to our house and discussed possible locations to install the gas meter outside. Due to a somewhat unusual configuration at our house, we were concerned that the only option we were being offered for locating the meter did not seem suitable to us. When we questioned the necessity of moving the meter outside, we were informed that they were actually increasing the pressure of the natural gas in the neighborhood and that now there would be a required regulator installed with the meter which must be vented outside for safety.

This was the first we had heard of this plan and were concerned about the lack of timely information that we had been given. We have not yet resolved the issue of where to locate a meter outside our home. We are concerned that the most important reason for relocating the meters outside was not mentioned in RG&E's letter to us, nor the fact that a regulator was also to be installed and the safety issues involved.

After beginning to research this situation, I am learning new information about this issue, including industry guidelines for locating these regulators and meter set assemblies, property impacts of exterior meter set assemblies, federal and state laws and regulations, etc.. There have been concerns raised elsewhere that locating utility meters on the front facade of homes could be detrimental to property appearance and detract from architectural integrity, especially for historic homes. There are also safety issues with locating high pressure gas lines adjacent to driveways, where an impact could cause a catastrophe.

I would like to learn if others were aware of the plan for high pressure gas lines in the neighborhood and the reasons for the increased pressure, despite its inherent dangers. With modern appliances eliminating the need for pilot lights, improving efficiency overall, as well as emerging alternatives, the need for higher gas pressure lines in an established neighborhood seems puzzling.

In addition I would like to learn if anyone else has had concerns about where their outside meters were located. Was anyone made aware of what the industry guidelines are for installing these meter set assemblies outside so they could make an informed decision about the meter and regulator location?

Once installed, it is not an easy task to relocate these meter set assemblies.

I will continue to seek answers from RG&E and local authorities. I look forward to comments and discussion from other interested neighbors.

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Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on August 26, 2012 at 9:38pm

We (Marlborough Road) went through this last Fall - you can drive down the street and see many of the weed filled lawns as a result! Although the company came and re-seeded this SPring, the quality of topsoil and seed was pretty poor.

I am not aware of all of the research you mention above but know that most (not all) homeowners on our street worked with the Gas crews to locate the meters on the side of the house and (generally) out of view from the street. A few homeowners didn't care about it so you'll also notice meters right in the middle of the front of the home - looks terrible in my opinion.

In addition to the gas line change, a number of driveways, lawns and sidewalks were damaged in the process - this occurs more on one side of the street depending on where the 'main' line is located. Some of us had to strongly advocate for various repairs due to damage caused by heavy machinery - my front lawn is still a mess as a result of this (along with the hot summer). We were on vacation last year when the bulk of the work started and came home to find a backhoe parked on our front lawn!! Needless to say, it was moved the next day.

Generally, the crews doing the work were OK, but they definitely needed citizen supervision about things like raking up rocks, filling in holes, patching driveways, etc. One suggestion I have is to take photos of your property (driveway, lawn, etc) before the work starts so if you need to have repairs done you'll have 'proof'.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Phillips on August 27, 2012 at 12:27pm

As Margy mentioned, the neighborhood has been going through this for a while. I thought they were all done! I think ours was done last summer. For what it's worth, in our case the contractor worked with us to make sure the equipment was installed in an acceptable location. The contractor was responsive, returning phone calls without undue delay and meeting me for appointments on time. If the meter would have been moved outside above the basement location they would have had to move it out in front of our porch. It would have been in the front yard and we would have lost a lilac and an arbor vitae. This was unacceptable to us and they worked with us to put it somewhere else. We decided that it would go in the flowerbed on the side of the house that is near the driveway. I indicated which plants I wanted to keep and which ones didn't matter, and they were responsive in that regard as well. However, I made sure I came by every day to check that everything was being done as agreed. In the end it worked out well. They told me we could paint the unit if we wanted to, or hide it with plantings as long as the dial could still be read. Right now it's hidden by a bunch of weeds...

One of our neighbors said hers made a funny hissing noise after it was installed. I've only heard ours do that once. I've never detected any odor coming from it.

Hoping to have time to garden soon,

Leslie

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Permalink Reply by Judi Baker on September 4, 2012 at 6:22pm

Residents have MOUTH, but RG&E have $$$ so who do you think is listening? Ruining landscaping that many have taken considerable expense and countless amounts of sweat hours to create. Sickening...........