Pittsfield before rejoining the original route
National Grid is currently using the right of way — which runs through Schodack, Nassau and Stephentown — for both electrical power lines and natural gas lines, Stella said. This path would allow the Kinder Morgan 36-inch gas pipeline to enter Massachusetts in Hancock, about 10 miles north of the original border crossing, and continue north of Pittsfield before rejoining the original route to the east of that city.
Kinder Morgan filed for the route detour in paperwork with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Should National Grid and Kinder Morgan reach an agreement over the right of way, the state Public Service Commission may have oversight before any deal becomes final. All utility transfers or leases must be filed with the PSC.
In this instance, if the value of the transfer is more than $100,000, the agreement is subject to PSC approval. If the value is less than $100,000, a transfer can move forward, as long as the PSC does not object.
"It depends on the type of rights we propose to grant them," Stella said. "Those rights may be different in different parts of the right of way as well. So, the final outcome may be subject to PSC approval depending on the final plan."
Called the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, the project has been drawing increasing attention since becoming public this spring. Opponents in Columbia County have been rallying against it, and this summer a coalition of local and regional lawmakers in Massachusetts also came out against the pipeline because of environmental, economic, public safety and public health concerns.