FERC's Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 122-mile Ridgeline Expansion gas pipeline in Tennessee glosses over safety risks.

SACE has conducted a high level review of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 122-mile Ridgeline Expansion pipeline project in Tennessee. The need for the project is based on TVA’s compromised and flawed Record of Decision for the 1,450 MW Kingston fossil gas plant, and it would be constructed and operated by East Tennessee Natural Gas Company, LLC (ETNG) which is a subsidiary of Enbridge. We are disappointed that FERC did not take our concerns about both the need for the project and its significant environmental risks seriously. SACE filed comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and then followed up with additional concerns about the lack of safety regulations that address the increasing likelihood of landslides.

We are disappointed especially in light of the clear demonstration of the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change on our lands and our communities. Hurricane Helene caused more than 2,000 landslides in September, and similar climate change-fueled rain events could happen anywhere in the Tennessee Valley and anywhere along the pipeline route through Trousdale, Smith, Jackson, Putnam, Overton, Fentress, Morgan, and Roane Counties.

FERC’s finding that safety and environmental risks can be mitigated by ETNG is concerning in light of the fact that a similar pipeline project in our mountainous region, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, has been fraught with construction and runoff violations in West Virginia and Virginia. The Mountain Valley Pipeline demonstrates clearly that the risks associated with building large diameter, high pressure pipelines in this type of terrain are impossible to mitigate. Further, Enbridge’s safety record does not inspire confidence that they will construct and operate the proposed pipeline to the highest standards.

FERC has not yet formally approved this project by issuing a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and it is SACE’s recommendation that they deny approval. We will continue to review the FEIS, and we will update you with any new developments.