News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A group concerned about the proposed Enbridge pipeline gathered Thursday in opposition to the State of the State Luncheon sponsored by the same natural gas utility.
Safe, Affordable, Good Energy for Tennessee, SAGE, is a grassroots organization that is dedicated to stopping the pipeline project. Social Media Director Erin Walker said they wanted to shed light on what they believe is an attempt to influence state leaders on decisions being made in Tennessee, when the influence should come from the community itself.
“We just wanted to have something that’s showing an alternative to an Enbridge pipeline,” Walker said. “We wanted to show that there are alternatives, and really demonstrate what there is to lose if we have a pipeline built through our beautiful counties in the Upper Cumberland.”
Walker said they want to put pressure on the TVA to invest in green energy that will be more affordable for TVA consumers in the long run. She said that will also be better for the environment in the long term. She said that includes the areas of tourism the region relies on the could be damaged by the pipeline’s construction if there is any kind of pipeline leak.
Walker said they also oppose the use of eminent domain to continue producing electricity that is prone to blackouts and costs consumers. She made many times these pipeline builds benefit off the rural areas, but the benefit is not always mutual.
“They don’t create a lot of long-term jobs, it’s transitional labor that happens during the build and just a handful are created for the long-term,” Walker said. “They try to push the message that it is an economic boost to the community, but it’ll actually hurt a lot of areas for tourism.”
Enbridge is currently slated to build a 32-mile methane gas pipeline that would pass through the Cookeville community to deliver gas to a proposed new methane gas plant in Kingston, TN.
