Fentress Approves Ridgeline Gas Line Agreement

The Ridgeline gasline expansion project received Fentress County Commissioners approval for a use and occupancy agreement to construct the new line through the county.

Enbridge Representative Art Haskins said the new thirty-inch pipeline will be in the same easement as an existing line in the county. Haskins said the company is currently working with landowners to acquire the necessary permits for temporary workspace beyond the fifty-foot easement the line will be in.

“We’re anticipating our federal approval some time this spring with construction starting next fall,” Haskins said. “There’s a six-month waiting period after you receive that so we’d be starting in the fall of 2025. So we’re here to finalize our road permit.”

County Attorney Leslie Ledbetter said there will be a million dollar bond on the project in place for thirty months after the work is complete. Ledbetter said the bond guarantees that the company will return to handle any necessary repairs in that window.

“Essentially anyone who’s going to come across a county road and, I don’t want to say damage it, but certainly use it in a way that, cutting under it, boring, we have this in place so that we one, know where utilities are taking place on our county roads,” Ledbetter said. “And two, so that if there is any issue about repair, if y’all recall we were having to go back out and fix those culverts and do work when the utilities often would be the ones who had done the damage.”

The project will provide expanded capacity for the East Tennessee Natural Gas system. Haskins said the company will restore the land affected by the work and compensate landowners for any trees that are taken down. Haskins said the company is still working to get its state permits but it has gotten through several federal steps already.

“We received our final EIS, environmental impact statement, from the FERC, Federal Energy Regulatory,” Haskins said.