Parents at Fallston Middle and High schools are calling for a halt to the liquefied natural gas pipeline proposed to run through Harford County ? including a stretch that would cross the campus shared by the two schools.
The Harford County PTA is running a letter-writing campaign trying to halt or slow the review and approval of the 87-mile, 28-inch-diameter pipeline that would run from a gas plant planned at Sparrow?s Point, through Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties to Eagle, Pa., where it would join existing pipes.
By following existing roads and utility rights-of-way, the line could pass through the land shared by the middle and high school complex on Carrs Mill Road, which has upset parents who want to know more about the risks and benefits before the passage is approved.
“The community itself is not aware enough of this project,” said Tina Janouris, president of the Harford County Council of PTAs Inc. “We don?t know where it comes into the county, or where it goes out. ? It?s coming out of the dark for us.”
Harford County schools spokesman Don Morrison said surveyors for the pipeline met with Assistant Superintendent for Operations Joseph Licata on Tuesday to discuss the route, which would run along the southeast edge of the middle
school property.
Approximately 700 feet of pipe would run through the school?s property before following the right-of-way once used by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, Morrison said.
However, most parents don?t know exactly where the pipeline would lie in relation to the property, since aerial photos and maps provided by Virginia-based AES Corp. are unclear, said middle school PTA president DeLane Lewis.
“It doesn?t really matter if it?s on [school property] or just adjacent to it. It?s a danger and a risk to the students and the staff,” Lewis said.
The schools share a single entrance and exit onto Carrs Mill Road, potentially making evacuation and emergency response during a potential disaster extremely difficult, she said.
