CENTER TWP — Construction of a new natural gas pipeline is to start soon and work on the portion that runs through the township is expected to begin this summer.

Representatives from EdgeMarc Energy, the natural gas company based in Canonsburg building the pipeline, discussed the project at a public meeting Wednesday at the township building.

The transmission line will eventually stretch from the Bluestone Gas plant in Evans City to Allegheny Township in northern Butler County.

Work on the stretch from Evans City to Concord Township, considered the first phase of the project, is to begin in May and finish by the end of the year.

This is the first pipeline built by EdgeMarc, although the company does own other pipelines in Ohio.

“We have a very strong foothold for our business here in Butler County,” said Cedric Flowers, an engineering manager for EdgeMarc. “It’s a huge development opportunity for Butler County as a whole.”

EdgeMarc will not drill wells in Center Township. Most of its proposed drill sites are clustered in Allegheny and Washington townships, though others are spread across Oakland, Concord, Donegal, and Clay townships.

The pipeline will move gas from those wells to the plant in Evans City, where it will then be piped across the United States.

While the gas may reach different parts of the country, Flowers said it may fuel Butler County homes soon.

“It’s ideal for us to sell it locally,” he said. “Otherwise we’d have to pay transportation fees.”

Flowers said people will be happy with the product coming from the county.

“The gas quality in Butler County is fantastic,” he said.

The pipeline will be on private property. EdgeMarc has been negotiating with landowners since August to lease property.

“We don’t have eminent domain,” Flowers said. “We have to work with each landowner. And we work with the landowners to see where they want it on their property.”

EdgeMarc will have a 50-foot wide easement for the pipeline. Landowners will not be able to build in the easements.

Finding willing landowners, along with environmental concerns, have caused the pipeline to snake through the township.

It will enter the southwest corner of the township, winding north across Elliot Road before dipping south and eventually entering Oakland Township north of Stony Run.

The company has finalized agreements with all but a few landowners along the route, and has already cut down trees for the corridor.

The deadline to cut down the trees is the end of March because of environmental regulations concerning bats.

The 16-inch thick pipeline will be buried three to five feet below the surface.

About 20 township residents attended the meeting, many with questions regarding the safety of the pipeline.

Flowers said the line will be built to the highest safety standards.

“It’s designed well above the state and federal codes,” Flowers said.

It will be installed to meet federal Class 3 code standards.

Class standard is determined by counting the number of homes within 660 feet of the pipeline for one mile for Classes 1 through 3, or by determining that four-story buildings are prevalent along the pipeline for the highest Class 4.

Most of the pipeline will be in rural Class 1 zones.

“We’re going above and beyond what is required,” Flowers said.

The pipeline will be monitored periodically with a robotic device that will run through the pipe. It will be capable of checking for damage to both the interior and exterior of the pipe.

There will be a manual shut-off valves every eight miles of the pipeline. There will be shut-off valves at the Bluestone Gas plant and at a compressor station in Oakland Township. The compressor station also will have an officer on site at all times.

EdgeMarc will work with emergency response crews and fire departments on pipeline safety.