Proposed Pipeline Expansion To Run Through Upper Cumberland

TVA and the natural gas company Enbridge Gas are planning a 117-mile pipeline expansion that would cut through the Upper Cumberland region.

The natural gas line would run through Fentress, Jackson, Overton, and Putnam Counties following along the already-established East Tennessee Natural Gas System. Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said the northern tip of the county would be impacted.

“They’re going to make sure that once they put the new pipe in that the land will be returned to the exact state it was before they put the pipe in as far as putting grass back and making sure it is seeded and all those kind of things,” Porter said. “They said they’re going to work with landowners to make sure they’re happy.”

Porter said the addition would mostly use the right-of-ways from the existing pipeline. Enbridge and TVA will be in town on November 4th to host a landowner open house.

“I think they’re going to be meeting with each one of the landowners to talk about it,” Porter said. “There’s going to be some public meetings that they’re going to be holding also and make sure everybody is informed.”

A final investment and several permits are necessary before construction begins. According to Enbridge, the Ridgeline Expansion Project would begin in 2025.

“It actually runs through some property through our property that we have where I live, and it’s pretty flat,” Porter said. “But then you go a mile in any direction and then there’s a hill. But, there’s already an existing pipeline there and they have the equipment that they say they can put another pipe in to the existing right-of-way. So, we’re holding them to their word.”

The purpose of the project is to provide natural gas to serve one of the power generation options that TVA is currently considering to replace, the Kingston Fossil Plant.