Let's Talk About Kinder Morgan's 'Colocation'

Colocation is a word that pops up often in the Kinder Morgan pipeline discussions and it’s imperative you understand exactly what this term really means.

What “colocation” is not

Kinder Morgan is trying their best to convince residents of New England (and especially those who live in towns where the pipeline is proposed to run) that colocation means they will run the pipeline under the existing power line corridors. Sounds like a good idea, right? I mean that land is already cleared for electrical wires, what’s the big deal if we sink a pipeline there?

Colocation – coexist, this makes for a happy world, can’t we all just get along?

The problem is that this is so far from the truth that to call it an outright lie is going easy on Kinder Morgan. But here’s the rub, if you repeat a lie often enough, people will start to believe it. Kinder Morgan is (literally) banking on that strategy. Take, for example, a recent article by Lynne Ober in the Hudson-Litchfield dated January 23rd, 2015. Ober wrote:

“The final pipeline siting decision will be made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Once a FERC permit has been granted, their land can be taken through eminent domain, which is not something that any resident wishes to hear. However, TGP has developed a map showing the pipeline running along existing rights of way already granted to utilities. According to the report filed in December 2014, “If the proposed pipeline were to be routed in New Hampshire, the proposed pipeline would follow the ROW (right of way) of an existing power line in New Hampshire, which would minimize the impacts to the environment and landowners. The proposed power line route would be approximately 70 miles of 36-inch mainline routed through Southern New Hampshire with approximately 64 miles being co-located with an existing 345 kV power line corridor. The correspondingly required station facilities in New Hampshire involve an 80,000 HP compressor station consisting of 3 Titan 250 units, and also a 50,000 dth/d meter station. Of the 70 miles of mainline, 29 miles will be located in Cheshire County, 36 miles in Hillsborough County, and five miles in Rockingham County. Both the compressor station and meter station will be sited in Hillsborough County.”’

As it turns out, Kinder Morgan’s liberal interpretation of the term “colocation” is a far cry from what some people are trusting it to be.

What “colocation” is

Because of electromagnetic fields contributing to high explosion risks, a gas pipeline can’t be located directly under a power line. Ever. In fact, any gas line would have to be moved out a minimum of 150 feet from the power lines and then a path would need to be cleared 50 feet to either side for construction (and then 1000 feet to either side of the pipeline becomes an incineration zone, but that’s another discussion.)

Look at that above photo of a proposed pipeline surveyed area in Massachusetts. The yellow highlighted area is how Kinder Morgan sees colocation. Because they would not be able to put the pipeline in under the power lines, they would have to create a second corridor that would run parallel to the first. That new corridor will need to be cleared and blasted in order to sink the proposed 36 inch pipeline. In residential areas, that yellow highlighted area will cut directly through conservation land, as well as private properties. In order to do this, Kinder Morgan will need to use or take (by eminent domain) the land it needs. Too bad if you live near the route, they get your land – that’s what colocation means to Kinder Morgan. What’s yours is ultimately mine.

It’s not a pretty picture.

So you see, Kinder Morgan’s definition of colocation is not as all happiness-and-rainbows as it sounds. To paraphrase The Princess Bride: “Kinder Morgan keep using that word - colocation. I do not think it means what they think it means.”

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Wendy Thomas can be reached at wethomas@gmail.com