Pipeline
Update
A
large crowd attended the informational meeting held at Greenfield Community
College last night. Franklin Regional Council of Governments moderated the
meeting. Representatives from Kinder
Morgan made a presentation and then the moderator
asked questions that were prepared by board members of the Franklin
Regional Council of Governments.
The
presentation was recorded and should be available on the FRCOG website.
Fact
– Kinder Morgan has an existing 600-mile pipeline in MA already. This pipeline
supplies fracked gas and non-fracked gas to customers throughout Massachusetts.
This existing pipeline is at capacity.
Fact
– Kinder Morgan needs signed contracts to supply natural gas on the proposed
pipeline. So far no long-term contracts have been signed.
Fact
– This past winter New England states including Massachusetts came very close
to rolling blackouts due to peak demand for electricity. This demand was
created by existing power plants going off line as well as increased
demand. Grid reliability is a major concern of ISO-NE and FERC
Fact
– there are other alternatives to a natural gas/fracked gas pipeline to meet
the energy demands of the NE region. There is a different proposal to bring
electricity from Hydro Quebec to Massachusetts. Most of the easements are in
place for this transmission line.
Here
is map of some Kinder Morgan’s pipelines in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma:
These
states are much larger than Massachusetts. This map looks as if it were created
and planned out by pre-pubescent chimpanzees with red poster paint. These red
lines are only Kinder Morgan’s pipelines! There are other companies in these
areas with pipelines as well.
In my opinion, a
better alternative would be to expand the existing 600-mile Kinder Morgan
pipeline along existing easements and ROWs. In that way, supply can keep pace
with demand and Kinder Morgan’s “unitholders” can be assured of their 24 per
cent average annual return without an electric tariff on all electric customers
in Massachusetts. Leave the northern tier of Massachusetts alone!
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
There were some pretty upset people in the group, and I can understand why. This pipeline will take a fifty foot right of way through the property of the people in it's path. In this instance, it would mean going through a families apple orchard in Colrain, Ma. along with other farmland that provides income for a good many people. This apple orchard has been in their family for generations and would be passed down to their future generations. About the only thing that will change the path of this pipeline would be a indian burial site, or if they could not get enough long term commitments. Most of us understand the need for gas as a way to heat, and that is not the point. The point is the fact that they have not looked hard enough to find another path to get this gas where it needs to go, so they could avoid disrupting everything in it's path. The people in our town need to be aware of the progress of this gas line's route, as it would not take much to push it south over our town line. For those of us that have lived in Templeton for a good number of years, think about what taking Rt.2 did to Louie Johnsons farm. Yes, it split it right down the middle, putting him out of a business he lived for. Bev.
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