Comments on Tennessee Pipeline Gas Go. Northeast Energy Direct Project (2015)

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Massachusetts AG submitted comments to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a study opposing a proposed natural gas pipeline that would have run through New England.


Topics: Climate Change Mitigation, Energy, Environmental Assessment

Type of action: Administrative Proceeding

States involved: Massachusetts

Summary: Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company proposed a 188 mile-long, 30-inch pipeline designed to deliver up to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from Wright, New York, to Dracut, Massachusetts, at a total cost of at least $3 billion. The Attorney General commissioned a study to examine the region’s electricity needs through 2030 and identify the most cost-effective and clean solutions. The study concluded the pipeline was unnecessary and that the region’s energy needs could be better met by embracing energy efficiency and adopting demand response programs.

The AG submitted scoping comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act urging FERC to conduct a full review of the need for the pipeline while taking into account Massachusetts’ policies of protection of conservation lands and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In May 2016, Kinder Morgan withdrew its application for the Northeast Energy Direct Project.

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