Pipeline News

• Mass Turnpike path among options for natural gas pipeline

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Among options being considered for a natural gas pipeline is following the Mass Pike and then connecting to an existing pipeline. T&G Staff/Christine Peterson
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  By George Barnes
  Telegram & Gazette Staff
  

  
  Posted Dec. 31, 2015 at 6:18 PM
  
  
  

  A proposed Massachusetts Turnpike path for a natural gas pipeline through the region will be studied among other potential routes.

  The preferred route for a proposed natural gas pipeline from New York to Dracut, Massachuetts, still would be mostly through Southern New Hampshire, but several alternatives through Massachusetts are being reviewed as part of the regulatory process.

  In a letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this month to J. Curtis Moffett, vice president of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., more detailed information was requested about alternatives to what is called the preferred pipeline route.

  That route would in large part follow existing power lines in New Hampshire. There are several alternatives. Among those, one would follow the Mass Pike in Western Massachusetts and then connect to an existing pipeline that travels through Charlton and other communities in southern Central Massachusetts. It would eventually run adjacent to Interstate 495 before diverting toward Dracut.

  Another route would run adjacent to Route 2 through northern Central Massachusetts. It would also follow I-495 for part of its route before diverting to Dracut.

  Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Co. The company announced the New Hampshire route in December 2014. The decision moved the likely route of the pipeline out of Central Massachusetts. Instead the pipeline would run through Western Massachusetts from New York, heading north into New Hampshire near Wendell and Warwick, Massachusetts. An earlier plan had the pipeline running through rural areas of the most northern towns of Central Massachusetts, eventually reaching Dracut.

  Richard Wheatley, a spokesman for Kinder Morgan, said the request for information about the alternatives and other information is routine for FERC filings. He said the preferred route for the pipeline remains the route through Southern New Hampshire, but added that nothing is certain until approval is received from FERC.

  "We continue to review the viability of the route alternatives," he said.

  Mr. Wheatley said developing alternatives is a required part of the review process. Also reviewed as an alternative is one that would follow power lines in Massachusetts, diverting from the preferred route near Wendell, down across the northern tip of the Quabbin Reservoir and through parts of Petersham, Barre and Oakham, Massachusetts. Near Oakham, it would head north into Princeton, Leominster and eventually into Middlesex County north of Devens.

  A fourth alternative, also not chosen for similar reasons, was to co-locate the pipeline entirely adjacent to an existing pipeline that runs from New York, through south Western and southern Central Massachusetts and eventually up to Dracut after passing through Charlton and other southern Central Massachusetts towns.

  In a report included with a filing with FERC in November, Kinder Morgan indicated it did not choose the Mass Pike alternative because it would be a longer overall route, 152 miles versus 128, with significantly more cultural and environmental impacts and a greater number of stream and wetland crossings, and the route would impact a greater number of residences and developed areas.

  The Route 2 alternative was not selected for the same reasons. It would have a 144.5-mile overall length versus 128 miles through New Hampshire. Co-locating along a highway would also present challenges both during installation and when repairs were being made, according to the report.
  

  The power line route through Massachusetts was not selected, in part, because it would pass through some sensitive areas, including state-owned land and land with conservation restrictions. It would also require construction in some congested areas and require building longer lateral pipelines to serve customers.

  Along with more detailed answers about the alternatives, FERC also asked for a response to concerns raised by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

  In October, the attorney general questioned the need for additional gas capacity in the state. On Monday, Curtis Cole, director of business development for the pipeline company, responded that gas utilities in New England are planning to add 1 billion cubic feet of additional pipeline capacity by 2018. The current capacity is at 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

  Mr. Cole also disputed the assertion by the attorney general's study that more pipeline capacity for power generation is not necessary because New England's power market can use more oil back-up and liquified natural gas for peak days in the winter. He said the study ignored that New England generators are more dependent on natural gas to generate electricity in recent years, and the region is expected to require more natural gas for generation in the future.

  Mr. Wheatley said he would not speak for FERC, but Kinder Morgan anticipates the project would remain under review for most of 2016, with the possibility of a decision by the end of the year.

  If it is approved, work would begin in 2017 with a completion expected on all, except a loop in Connecticut, by November 2018. The Connecticut loop would not be completed until November 2019.