BEL AIR, Md. (AP) Federal officials have approved work to expand and modernize a natural gas pipeline from Baltimore County into Harford County.

The Daily Record reported Nov. 25 that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval allows Columbia Gas Transmission to move forward with the $180 million project. The company says construction on the 21.3 mi. (34.3 km) pipeline is set to begin next year and be complete in 2015.

The line stretches from Owings Mills through Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville and terminates in Harford County north of Bel Air. The existing line passes through Gunpowder State Park, but path of the new project is expected to shift north to avoid the park.

State Sen. Bobby Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat who opposes the project, called the decision “a sad day for Maryland."

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