Red Bank gas line release alarms neighbors with noise
Strange noises heard in Red Bank this week came from a gas line releasing pressure, officials said.
The gas line, operated by Enbridge and East Tennessee Natural Gas, released pressure Friday and Tuesday nights from a metering station on Freudenburg Lane, Red Bank City Manager Martin Granum said in a phone call Wednesday.
The releases are a normal part of the line’s operation, Granum said.
“It was determined that the relief valve that is in place for over pressurization was properly operating and expelling unodorized natural gas up into the atmosphere (NG is lighter than air),” Red Bank Fire Chief Brent Sylar said in an email to city officials, shared with the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Residents nearby, including Granum himself, reported hearing loud hissing noises at roughly four-second intervals.
“It woke me up the first time it happened,” Granum said. “It freaked me out, to be honest with you.”
Granum said he reported the noises twice to 911 and was told during his second call that the dispatch center had been receiving “a lot of calls” about the hissing.
Red Bank police and fire crews responded to the metering station to make sure there was no danger to residents, Deputy Fire Chief Eddie Iles said in a phone call Wednesday. Utility company workers also responded, Sylar said in his email.
Since the natural gas released from the line is lighter than the air, it likely didn’t linger long in Red Bank, Granum said. The gas is unodorized, meaning it has no smell, according to the fire chief.
The release didn’t affect any of the city’s infrastructure or cause any damage, Granum said, other than likely waking up residents in the surrounding area.
“It isn’t necessarily an emergency situation,” Granum said. “It’s impactful, it’s irritating, but it isn’t indicative of an emergency response.”
Residents speculated about the noises on social media. In response to a video posted to Chattanooga’s Reddit group Tuesday, users speculated the loud periodic exhales they heard could be a gas or water line leak.
The gas line is a regional line operated by pipeline company Enbridge, based in Canada, and used by local utilities East Tennessee Natural Gas, Atlanta Gas Light and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, according to the fire chief’s email. Representatives for the utilities did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
“It woke me up the first time it happened. It freaked me out, to be honest with you.”
— RED BANK CITY MANAGER MARTIN GRANUM