A Vermont company has signed a deal to build a natural gas pipeline under Lake Champlain to transport fuel to a New York paper plant.
Vermont Gas says the line to International Paper in Ticonderoga, N.Y., is to be completed within three years.
The deal is costing the plant $70 million. It will need state and federal permits.
Vermont Public Radio reports Vermont Gas had already planned to run a line south from Chittenden County to Middlebury. Company spokesman Steve Wark said the Champlain project means Vermont Gas can extend the line further south sooner than planned.
International Paper spokeswoman Donna Wadsworth said the switch to natural gas will reduce fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company now burns fuel oil.
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