In Merrimack, some are raising concerns about proposed natural gas pipeline

Things may have quieted down in Hollis, but reaction to a proposed natural gas pipeline has started appearing in Merrimack, Mason and elsewhere as more people consider the new route put forward by the energy firm Kinder Morgan.

Were trying to come up with a game plan of questions for the town council, said Don Miner, of Merrimack, who has cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens on a small farm on Peaselee Road, next to the possible route of the interstate gas pipeline though the Horse Hill Nature Preserve. He expressed a number of concerns about the pipeline. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

Things may have quieted down in Hollis, but reaction to a proposed natural gas pipeline has started appearing in Merrimack, Mason and elsewhere as more people consider the new route put forward by the energy firm Kinder Morgan.

Were trying to come up with a game plan of questions for the town council, said Don Miner, of Merrimack, who has cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens on a small farm on Peaselee Road, next to the possible route of the interstate gas pipeline though the Horse Hill Nature Preserve. He expressed a number of concerns about the pipeline.

Tim Tenhave, chairman of the Merrimack Conservation Commission, is among those asking questions about the pipeline and its effect on the preserve, a well-used, 560-acre recreational and wildlife site along the Amherst border of town that Merrimack bought in 2002. Miner said a number of people in town have begun discussing the issue and are organizing for a response.

Its still developing, Miner said. There are lots of questions lots of concern.

Texas-based Kinder Morgan, through its Tennessee Gas Pipeline subsidiary, wants to build a 75-mile gas pipeline through southern New Hampshire, most of it alongside or underneath PSNH power lines. The route, which has only been sketched out at the point, would enter the area from the Monadnock Region; cross Mason, Milford, Brookline, Amherst and Merrimack; pass underneath the Merrimack River near the Anheuser-Busch plant; then cross Litchfield and connect to existing pipeline networks in Londonderry.

It would bring gas from shale fields in New York and Pennsylvania, meeting demand for more natural gas in New England to produce electricity and heat homes, with the possibility that some would be exported.

Kinder Morgan previously wanted to build the pipeline through northern Massachusetts, with a small connection through Hollis, but formally shifted its preference to the New Hampshire route Dec. 8.

The company plans to have public meetings with town officials and residents throughout the state in January and February. It already has met informally with selectmen in Milford and elsewhere. It wont formally launch the next phase of the long approval process until fall 2015 before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The state Site Evaluation Committee also must give its approval. The pipeline would not go into effect until 2018 at the earliest.

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In Merrimack, some are raising concerns about proposed natural gas pipeline