Natural gas pipeline company defends Triad expansion project

A Tulsa-based energy company planning a natural gas pipeline expansion project through the Triad area recently defended its proposal to Guilford County officials.

The Williams Companies' Southeast Supply Enhancement Project would lay 24 miles of new pipeline across the Triad. It aims to increase natural gas output in the area by nearly a third.

But residents have shared concerns that the project could have negative environmental and public health impacts.

Kyle Tarpley, a representative with Williams Companies, said at a Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday that the area has been home to this pipeline for decades.

"I am sensitive to the concerns that we are hearing," Tarpley said. "Some of it is coming from a place of not having the full picture, and I hope that us here today is helping assuage some of those concerns, but what I want to underscore is that we have safely coexisted with energy infrastructure in Guilford County and will continue to do so safely."

According to the presentation, the company does an internal pipeline inspection every six years alongside more frequent aerial and remote monitoring.

If the project receives federal and state approval, construction could begin in the third quarter of 2026.