Pipelines offer safer and continuous transportation of fossil fuels while avoiding densely populated areas
The Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) held a public hearing on Thursday in Cookeville to discuss Enbridge, Inc.’s Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP) for the so-called Ridgeline Pipeline.
Enbridge is constructing the 122-mile natural gas pipeline expansion stretching from Smith County to TVA’s Kingston power plant. The pipeline will crossover waterways over 400 times across Middle and East Tennessee and was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). It will cut through Smith, Jackson, Putnam, Overton, Fentress, Morgan and Roane counties and already runs from Robertson County to Trousdale County.
According to a release by SAGE TN (SAGE), a group that opposes the Pipeline, it will cross “Blackburn Fork just below Cummins Falls and 300 feet of permanent impacts to Flynn Creek.” SAGE says the meeting is an opportunity for TDEC to deny the Pipeline Permit, “protect Tennessee’s waterways,” and calls on those opposed to make their voices heard.
“Ridgeline construction would involve methods like temporarily damming rivers and using explosives to blast through waterways,” according to the release by Sage.
Enbridge says its community presence fuels “quality of life through ongoing tax revenue.”
According to the company, in 2024:
- Enbridge paid $4.8 million in property tax across Tennessee for our pipelines and related facilities, such as terminals, storage facilities and pump/compressor stations.
- Enbridge paid $9.6 million in sales-and-use taxes, $1.7 million in franchise tax and $536,000 in corporate income tax across Tennessee.
- On a national scale, Enbridge paid $663.5 million in property tax, $432.4 million in corporate income tax, $97.7 million in sales-and-use taxes and $52.2 million in other taxes (including franchise tax and payroll taxes) across the U.S., for a total of $1.24 billion.
The so-called, Ridgeline Expansion Project, will provide “affordable and cleaner energy for the utility’s customers,” according to Enbridge.
“We are proposing to design, construct, and operate the Ridgeline Expansion Project (Ridgeline), an expansion of Enbridge’s existing East Tennessee Natural Gas (ETNG) system. The purpose of this is to provide natural gas to serve TVA’s natural gas replacement of the Kingston Fossil Plant,” according to Enbridge.
Pipelines offer safer and continuous transportation of fossil fuels while avoiding densely populated areas and creating lower energy use while reducing transportation costs and decreasing emissions.
The hearing will be held at the County Commission Chamber Building at 300 East Spring Street in Cookeville. There will be a TDEC presentation, Q&A and public comments at 6:30 p.m.
Photo via Freepik.
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