Hamilton County Residents Hurl Accusations, Voice Their Hatred of Duke Energy Pipeline
First, from WCPO 9:
A city leader and county leader have accused Duke Energy of using intimidation tactics to push through a natural gas pipeline.
Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune called Duke a good corporate citizen but said Monday the company's recent behavior was "alarming."
According to Portune, some people reported Duke workers came to their property and asked them to sign away their rights.
A high-pressure pipeline, proposed to run through eastern Hamilton County, is at the center of the controversy. Duke has maintained the new pipeline is essential, and that it would be operated safely. It will replace one that has been in use since the 1950s and is reaching the end of its usable life, according to the company.
The utility giant already operates more than 14,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, including 250 miles of high-pressure pipelines, in Ohio and Kentucky, spokeswoman Sally Thelen said.
But a group calling themselves NOPE, or Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension, has pushed back. Duke revised its plans, reducing the pipeline's size and offering a new set of proposed routes. Still, opponents aren't swayed.And then from Cincinnati.com:
Rick Schweet is willing to let a new $2.5 million building sit empty if Duke Energy builds a large high-pressure gas pipeline near his property line.
"I have to sleep at night," said Schweet, who first opened his design and software company Kinetic Vision in 1989. He employs roughly 130 people in a facility in Evendale and plans to add 60 jobs at the new structure under construction nearby.
He doesn’t like the idea, but Schweet said he wouldn't let his employees work in the new building, if the project is constructed within 25 feet of the structure.
Schweet joined roughly 100 residents, business owners and local politicians Thursday, who signed up to voice opposition to a 13-mile natural gas pipeline proposed by Duke Energy through central Hamilton County.
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