Even as Schoharie County wonders when--and if--the Continental Pipeline will arrive, another natural gas line may be in the works.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline and its parent company, Kinder Morgan, are considering a pipeline extension from the compressor station in Wright to eastern Massachusetts.
And critics who already oppose the Continental Pipeline are keeping on eye on the tentative plans.
Called the Northeast Expansion Project, the venture could include 250 miles of new pipeline and upgrades to Tennessee Gas's existing lines in New York and New England.
Only a few of those miles of pipeline would be in Wright, however, as the projected route would enter Albany County, then Rensselaer and Columbia counties before passing into Massachusetts.
Richard Wheatley, a spokesman for Texas-based Kinder Morgan, emphasized that the route--and the entire project--are still preliminary.
"We're eliciting interest," Mr. Wheatley said. "We need customer and shipper commitments to make this a reality."
It would also need approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other state and federal agencies.
Although Tennessee Gas hasn't finalized a route, the plan is to have the New York portion of the line follow existing pipeline and utility corridors.
However, the company is contacting landowners along "the general route of the proposed project for surveys that will be needed," Mr. Wheatley said.
The pipeline extension is necessary, according to a company fact sheet, "to meet the increased demand in the Northeast for transportation capacity for natural gas."
Critics aren't so sure. Anne Marie Garti is the founder of Stop the Pipeline, an organization formed to protest of the Constitution project. She believes the intent is to pipe the gas to the East Coast so it can be shipped abroad "where they can get more money for it."
"There's already plenty of natural gas here," she added.
Ms. Garti also believes the pipelines will lead to hydrofracking of the Utica and Marcellus shale deposits, a major concern.
And while the proposed route may follow existing corridors in New York, that's not the case in Massachusetts, Ms. Garti said.
At least one town there has enacted a pipeline ban.
"They have a long stretch to go across Massachusetts, and they'll have a lot of trouble there," she said.
Bob Nied of Richmondville, who's a director of both Stop the Pipeline and the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities, also opposes the new Tennessee Gas proposal.
Mr. Nied contests pipelines generally mostly because of safety.
"They're not safe. . .every day we hear of another explosion," Mr. Nied said. "They're becoming commonplace."
He also fears if the project goes through, "Wright would become a hub of all these pipelines."
Mr. Wheatley said that if approved, pipeline construction would begin in April 2017 and would open in November 2018.