The State Department of Transportation shut down an unauthorized driveway used by a natural gas company to access a pipeline under construction in Lathrop Township last week.
PennDOT spokesman Karen Dussinger said Chief Oil and Gas was not using agency-approved driveways along Rt. 2002 in Lathrop Township but was instead attempting to gain access to a pipeline under construction via an unpermitted driveway the company created.
Dussinger said, “We told them to stop and they did and are now using their permitted drives.”
Residents in the area report the unauthorized driveway has now been barricaded.
Chief’s highway occupancy permit, which allows the company to construct a pipeline in PennDOT’s right-of-way, was not pulled by the state agency, Dussinger said.
Chief Gathering, the pipeline construction division of Chief Oil and Gas, is in the process of building a 12-inch gathering line from area natural gas well sites to a nearby compressor station in the township.
Some of the pipeline will be on private property and a portion of the line is being constructed in the PennDOT right-of-way on Rt. 2002.
On June 30, Dussinger confirmed the state agency had granted Chief permission to install the pipe in its right-of-way.
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