The Observer Newspapers | Gas Company Removes Neighborhood Trees

November 21 , 2008

Gas Company Removes Neighborhood Trees

By Leslie Perales

Observer Staff Writer

Columbia Gas Transmission returned to the Bright Pond neighborhood in North Reston last week to remove trees along its easement. Residents had met with Columbia Gas in late October to see if they could find an alternative to removing the more than 50 trees in the neighborhood, but Carleen and Herbert Basik, who helped organize the meeting, said they did not hear anything about possible negotiations or compromises after the meeting.

On Nov. 10, Columbia arrived to begin removing trees, and dozens of trees have been removed from the Basiks yard alone. Carleen Basik said Columbia Gas "never intended on having any discussion" about the trees, but she and her husband said they wished an exception could have been made since the trees were located so close to their home. Not having the trees in their yard changes the whole feel of the neighborhood, Carleen Basik said. "I'm pretty discouraged," she said.

Kelly Merritt, communications manager for Nisource, said the alternative methods that were proposed by area residents do not provide the same amount of safety. However, he said, Columbia reduced the area that was to be cleared by five feet after it heard complaints from residents.

"We had originally planned to clear trees the entire width of the right of way agreement, which extends 30 feet from the outermost pipeline, but we agreed to reduce that amount of clearing to 25 feet outside of the pipeline," he said in an e-mail.

Clearing the trees to 25 feet is an industry standard that allows safe inspection and maintenance of interstate gas transmission lines, Merritt said. "Having the cleared width allows for clear delineation of the right of way, provides for clear views for safety patrols checking for pipeline hazards, and also provides room to access the pipeline with heavy equipment quickly in case of emergency," he said.