Towns Battling Against Gas Pipeline Proposals in Central MA

Monday, August 25, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

As news of the Kinder Morgan gas pipeline proposal continues to circle around Massachusetts, there is an increased concern – particularly in parts of Central Massachusetts – that pipeline will do more harm than good to the state.

While the proposed pipeline only runs through the top portion of Worcester County, there is also a Worcester and a Fitchburg lateral line, which would cause even more cities and towns to be affected by the pipeline project.

“This is a project that is going to impact a lot of property in Bolton, much of which is farmland and conservation land,” said Donald Lowe, Town Administrator of Bolton. “As we learn more and more about this pipeline, there has been an increased concern about the effect that it will have on the beautiful land of Bolton and the rest of Massachusetts.”

In addition to land being destroyed, many are skeptical of the motives of Kinder Morgan. Many believe that the pipeline will ultimately be used to export gas to other countries, something that could actually drive up gas prices in Massachusetts rather than lower them.

Standing Together

As towns throughout Central Massachusetts begin to do more research and questioning of the project, more opposition to the pipeline is surfacing.

According to Lowe, many other towns throughout Central Massachusetts are banning together in opposition of this project, something that has also seen a wealth of legislative support.

Bolton is currently working on drafting a resolution in opposition to the gas pipeline, something Lowe encourages other towns and legislators to do throughout Massachusetts. Through a variety of meetings, Lowe knows that the opposition to the project is there; now it is just a matter having legislators and city officials show it.

“We are still unclear as to what benefits this project has,” said Lowe. “We feel that Kinder Morgan is trying to move too quickly; is this pipeline even needed? We are really concerned about how this is going to impact local land and the environment. The town of Bolton doesn’t even have gas service; this is a project that is going to destroy our land with no benefit to our residents.”

Turning to Federal

According to opponents of the proposed gas pipeline, Kinder Morgan is now seeking federal approval, which would ultimately bypass any state or local opposition.

The company has confirmed that they are filing their NEPA pre-filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in September, hoping to be able to the project in-service by November of 2018.

Additionally, gas pipeline opponents are saying that Kinder Morgan is trying to expedite or bypass many of the segments required in various federal filings; this would enable Kinder Morgan to speed up the process and break ground on the project before too much local and statewide attention and opposition to the project is created.

“We have a tremendous amount of momentum on the local and state level, something that hasn’t really happened in any other pipeline case,” said Rosemary Wessel, Founder of No Fracked Gas in Mass. “We are watching Kinder Morgan like a hawk to ensure that we are on top of any moves they make. We are more optimistic than ever that we can stop this pipeline.”