Schoharie County supervisors Friday morning were cool to plans for a second proposed natural gas pipeline through the county.
Representatives from Tennessee Gas Pipeline and parent company Kinder Morgan outlined why another 157-mile pipe from Pennsylvania into New York was needed and where it would be placed.
The pipeline, which would range from 30 to 36 inches in diameter, would run from an existing Tennessee Gas line in northern Pennsylvania into New York and basically parallel the proposed route for the Constitution pipeline, according to Allen Fore, the director of public affairs for Kinder Morgan.
The line is necessary for increased demand in New England, Mr. Fore said.
The line would run about 95 miles in New York through five counties, including Schoharie. A new compressor station would be built in Wright and the line would then head east to Dracut, Massachusetts.
The proposed line would run through the towns of Cobleskill, Jefferson, Middleburgh, Richmondville, Schoharie, Summit, and Wright.
Though the new "greenfield" line would be "co-located" for about 70 miles with the proposed Constitution line, supervisors weren't satisfied Friday.
Gene Milone of Schoharie raised the most opposition.
"Who has labeled Schoharie County as a passageway for these pipelines?" he asked.
"How many pipelines are we going to have here?"
Mr. Milone pushed company representatives to provide natural gas to county residents, but Mr. Fore replied that Tennessee Gas just transports gas and does not supply it to homes and businesses.
That job, he added, would be up to another company if there was enough need.
Mr. Milone continued to press for an answer.
"Then you are saying it's no," he said to Mr. Fore.
Mr. Fore responded that he thought it was a yes, if someone else wants to direct it to people's home.
Tennessee Gas started notifying landowners that may be affected on May 29. All the homeowners in the western section of the extension, including those in Schoharie County, have been contacted, according to Jim Hartman, principal land specialist for Kinder Morgan. The company has received survey permissions from 28 percent of the property owners.
Mr. Milone warned company officials that if they trespass after being denied access, they would be subject to further action.
Mr. Hartman said Tennessee gas wants to work with landowners.
"That's quite different from what we're had so far," Mr. Milone responded. He added that he is aware of several letters of denial for access in the Town of Schoharie.
Tennessee Gas has been an "excellent neighbor" in the Town of Wright for years, said Ambler Bleau, Wright supervisor. The company has a major compressor station in the town.
She urged supervisors to tour the pump station.
Transporting gas in an underground pipeline is much safer than gas hauled by trucks, Ms. Bleau added.
Earl VanWormer of Esperance and former Blenheim Supervisor Gail Shaffer had their misgivings about the proposed line.
The line and the gas companies are liabilities, they said. Towns have had lawsuits with Tennessee Gas because they want their assessment reduced, Mr. VanWormer noted.
"Pipelines are not always good neighbors," Ms. Shaffer argued, noting the fatal gas explosion in Blenheim in 1990 and the subsequent leaks in pipelines in the county.
Jim Buzon of Middleburgh wondered why Tennessee Gas and Constitution could not share a pipeline.
That is highly unlikely, as Mr. Milone had produced a letter from Constitution stating that the proposed Tennessee Gas line was "completely unnecessary."
The approval process from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has just started, according to Mr. Fore.
More detailed maps will be unveiled in September and open houses will be scheduled in the fall. "There will be lots of opportunities for public comment," Mr. Fore added.
The applications should be submitted in 2015 and, if approved, gas would start flowing through the new line in the fall of 2018.