UGI work to begin on $6M pipeline

Will change fuel mix at Northampton County’s Keystone

At least one Keystone pipeline project is moving ahead.

UGI Utilities said Wednesday that it will begin work next week on pipeline construction in East Allen Township that will supply Keystone Cement with fuel for its production.

The work, which is scheduled to start Monday, will affect motorists traveling along Nor-Bath Boulevard (Routes 329⁄987) in the Bath area, according to UGI, which is installing a gas main and regulator station.

Most work will take place parallel to a railroad rightof-way, UGI said in a news release. However, a portion of the project will cross

Jacksonville Road. UGI said commuters and residents in the vicinity must follow directions on posted signs or those signaled by personnel in the construction zone.

The pipe is to be placed underground within a rightof-way along Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and would run north to the plant across Jacksonville Road from an existing substation at Locust Road west of Route 512. Most of the plant is in East Allen, with a small portion in Bath.

Construction will occur between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, with the work expected to end in July, UGI said.

Keystone said the project has a capital investment of more than $6 million.

The company said using natural gas to make cement helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its Lehigh Valley plant. Switching to natural gas is also expected to remove 3,000 trucks per year hauling some 60,000 tons of coal to Keystone’s quarry from local and state roads. The company has primarily burned coal and “energy from waste” fuels to burn cement.

“Keystone directly employs approximately 135 workers in the Valley, and indirectly supports over 400 additional jobs in the surrounding area,” Stuart Guinther, Keystone’s plant manager, said. “With the addition of natural gas to support our operation, this move will not only reduce our emissions from burning, but further solidify our commitment to continuing to produce cement locally,”

The company, which began cement production in 1928, said it opened its newest plant in December 2009, retaining jobs and contributing more than $36 million annually to Pennsylvania’s economy.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development approved a $321,000 grant toward the gas pipeline, but Keystone officials said Wednesday the company has not yet received money.

“Given the stipulations on the funding, we currently do not believe we will be eligible in the future,” said Stephen P. Holt, a Keystone vice president.