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MA Gas Pipeline Opposition Advocates Decry New Energy Front Group

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

 

Gas pipeline opponents throughout the state of Massachusetts are outraged about a new pipeline support coalition that has formed because the group not only has ties to the company trying to put the pipeline in place, but is also putting big businesses before residential concerns.

The Coalition to Lower Energy Costs – a recently formed non-profit corporation in Massachusetts that is campaigning to increase the flow of natural gas to New England in an attempt to lower high energy and electricity costs throughout New England – was recently announced by their spokesperson Anthony Buxton, a Maine Attorney who not only is a registered energy industry lobbyist, but also represents Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company.

“Buxton's stated goal is an admirable one which we should all strive to achieve,” said Vince Premus a founding member of Stop the Northeast Energy Direct (StopNED). “What he doesn't explicitly say is that their plan to lower electricity costs is predicated on stealing people’s land, contaminating municipal water supplies, and endangering the health and safety of families throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

Pipeline opposition groups throughout the state are concerned that this new coalition is nothing more than a front group, designed to give Kinder Morgan an additional voice in gaining momentum in the gas pipeline debate. Despite these claims, the Coalition to Lower Energy Costs says that they are standing up for “individual consumers, labor unions, larger energy consumers and institutions concerned about the threat to New England’s families and economy from skyrocketing natural gas and electric prices.”

A Misleading Goal

Because the coalition seems to be largely made up of industrial energy consumers and not residential consumers, pipeline opposition groups are concerned that the interests of Massachusetts residents and even New England residents for that matter are not going to be properly attended to.

The group claims that bringing in more gas and pipelines to Massachusetts would benefit New England by reducing costs for energy consumption. If this coalition and others are serious about reducing energy costs rather than selling more natural gas, they would be advocating for energy efficiency options rather than more gas pipelines.

a popular sign circulating throughout Massachusetts

“This pipeline could actually cause energy costs to rise because export of natural gas, which appears to be the major motivation behind many proposed pipeline projects throughout the Northeast, would subject U.S. wholesale gas purchasers to competition in global markets, where prices are 2-5 times higher,” said Kathryn Eiseman, director of the Massachusetts PipeLine Awareness Network (MassPLAN), a statewide coalition of organizations opposed to Kinder Morgan's proposed pipeline expansion.

Standing Together for Cheaper Energy

While many opposing the pipeline are concerned about this new coalition’s intentions and whether not they formed just to push the Kinder Morgan message along, the coalition assures people that first and foremost, they are looking out for the citizens of New England, hoping to get energy costs as low as possible.

Because the demand for natural gas in the area is so high right now, natural gas and industries such as the electric industry are forced to raise their prices – National Grid says customers can see a price increase of 37-percent over last year this winter for electricity – which is putting Massachusetts residents in a bind.

“It is an economic tragedy for New England that we are unable to access the low cost, domestic natural gas being enjoyed by the rest of country, even though Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale is less than 250 miles from Boston”, said Buxton. “Our businesses and families are struggling with skyrocketing energy costs and we know that we need 2 bcf (billion cubic feet) of gas in order to end this crisis.”

 

Related Slideshow: Mass. Leaders Speak out About Gas Pipeline Project

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Elizabeth Warren

Massachusetts State Senator

“Before we sink more money in gas infrastructure, we have an obligation wherever possible to focus our investments on the clean technologies of the future — not the dirty fuels of the past — and to minimize the environmental impact of all our energy infrastructure projects. We can do better — and we should.”

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Paul LePage

Governor of Maine

"It has come to my attention that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has decided not to continue additional gas capacity for New England. This is a colossal mistake. New England desperately needs additional natural gas capacity."

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Jim McGovern

US State Representative, Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District

"Let me be clear: I believe that this pipeline is irresponsible. The proposed route was made with little consideration for the environment, cutting through land that has been permanently conserved by multigenerational farmers, individual landowners, land trusts, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The majority of this land has been protected with tax dollars and donations.”

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Donald Lowe

Town Administrator, Bolton, MA

“We are still unclear as to what benefits this project has. 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.”

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Katy Eiseman

Director & Legal Liaison, MassPLAN

"Kinder Morgan has been taken by surprise by the opposition it has met here. Winchendon’s local paper reports that a company representative lamented to the town manager, “We let them get ahead of us.” In other parts of the country, opposition often hasn’t even formed until after the company gets to FERC. Here, we have already had part of our Congressional delegation and a growing number of state legislators come out against the proposal, the Governor has expressed “skepticism” about the project, and in July, we had a statewide pipeline resistance march and rally in Boston."

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Richard Wheatley

Director of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Kinder Morgan

"The NED Project is being developed to meet the increased demand in the Northeast United States for transportation capacity of natural gas. Natural gas is a clean, environmentally friendly energy source that is produced domestically.”

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Edward Markey

Massachusetts State Senator

“I oppose this pipeline as it is now proposed because it raises serious questions about whether it is too massive for Massachusetts’ energy needs, does not respect the rights and wishes of local residents, would worsen climate change, and could lead to the export of natural gas to foreign countries, raising prices for Massachusetts businesses and consumers.”

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Janet Morrison

Executive Director, North County Land Trust, Inc

"We are very concerned about this project. From an environmental standpoint, this pipeline would fragment a protected landscape. What you are doing here is creating a fossil fuel infrastructure. As a nation we really need to focus more on renewable energy.”

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Robert Dorko

President, Industrial Energy Consumer Group

“Recent studies by New England’s grid operator, ISO New England, have shown that New England electricity consumers paid three billion dollars more for electricity last winter than they would have if there were enough natural gas pipeline capacity to meet New England’s needs. [The Northeast Energy Direct Project is] a critical first step in eliminating the energy cost crisis that every winter hammers all New England energy consumers.”

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Maeve Vallely Bartlett

Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs

"Tennessee Gas has noted that the NED Project is projected to provide capacity scalable from approximately 800,000 Dth/d to 1.2 Bcf/d to 2.2 Bcf/d of additional natural gas to the region. However, it is unclear whether Massachusetts needs additional infrastructure to meet demand, and if so, how much. We urge the Company to share any data available regarding regional demand for natural gas."

 
 

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