Next steps for Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline across New York
Following a series of forums in the Albany area, Kinder Morgan plans to continue outreach as it pushes forward with plans for a natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.
Some protestors on both sides of the issue gathered outside at the final forum on Thursday, according to media reports. That’s not unusual for infrastructure projects like the $5 billion Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, said Allen Fore, vice president of public affairs for Kinder Morgan.
“There are those who support and those who oppose,” he said. “There are also those who don’t have an opinion or need more information — these forums are really designed for those people.”
The pipeline is projected to create about 2,300 temporary construction-related jobs in New York, according to the company. The bulk of those will be union jobs, as the company has committed to hiring union contractors to build the pipeline.
The pipeline would transport as much as 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas across the Northeast.
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The project is supported by both the Business Council of New York State Inc. and union groups. It faces an uphill battle in the face of environmental groups’ opposition and a grassroots movement.
Fore said the company will continue to work with landowners and meet with elected officials to build support for the project. Kinder Morgan has been working with Troy-based public relations firm Gramercy Communications for more than six months and hired a top Albany lobbying firm, Statewide Public Affairs, about two years ago.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) is the parent company of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, which is seeking approvals to build the pipeline. The project faces similar challenges in New York as other pipelines in the works.
New York state has blocked hydraulic fracturing, the method used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale that would be transported by this pipeline. The one-year anniversary of that ban was hailed by environmentalists while some business groups called for a re-do.