FERC staff said it would hold another public scoping meeting for Kinder Morgan Inc.’s proposed Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline Project (NED) Sept. 29 in Cheshire County, NH, and has extended the scoping comment period until Oct. 16.

The public comment period was originally set to expire Aug. 31. But in a memo last Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said the period would be extended and a 14th public meeting scheduled, though the meeting date and new deadline were, at that point, not determined (see Daily GPI, Sept. 1).

The meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29 at 6 pm EDT at the Franklin Pierce University Field House in Rindge, NH. FERC will also accept written comments through the end of the scoping period [PF14-22].

FERC said it chose to extend the comment period because of staff concerns that the Commission would not have enough time to address public comments in its draft environmental impact statement. Members of New York’s congressional delegation had urged FERC to extend the scoping period through November, saying there wasn’t sufficient time for constituents to review, analyze and respond to the proposal.

NED would upgrade Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) infrastructure in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut to add 2.2 Bcf of Marcellus Shale capacity to New England states. It would add 412 miles of pipeline, nine compressor stations, delivery laterals and make other modifications to existing infrastructure in all five states. The company entered the pre-filing process in September 2014, while anchor shippers signed up in March for about 500,000 Dth/d of incremental capacity on the project’s market path segment (see Daily GPI, March 5).

The scoping extension comes after a series of filings with FERC in which Massachusetts officials said they were opposed to the project, expressing concerns about possible leaks, ruptures, explosions and diminished property values (see Daily GPI, Aug. 27).

Kinder Morgan has said 91% of the NED market path segment would be co-located along existing utility corridors or near the TGP mainline, while both the supply and market segments would be 82% co-located along such paths.