Pipeline opponents discuss strategies

Pipeline opponents discuss strategies
Close to 500 gather to plan their opposition

Joseph Benavidez
News Staff Writer

Nearly 500 people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York gathered at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School on Saturday for a Pipeline Summit to discuss the controversial Tennessee Gas Pipeline Northeast Expansion.

“It’s really critical all of us stick together — for us to stay united,” state Rep. Stephen Kulik, DWorthington, said during the legislative panel. “We (the legislators) will be very aggressive because public input is really the most important tool in having our deeps concerns heard.”

News Staff Photo by JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ

Ed Galat, of Winchendon, points out his family’s farm on a detailed map of the best estimated route of the pipeline. Mr. Galat’s family has had the farm for 40 years and according to the map, the pipeline would bisect the fields.

 

According to organizers, the summit was designed to educate residents on what the average person can do to make comments during Kinder Morgan’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission application process for the pipeline and allow residents to network with residents from neighboring communities.

Ken Hartlage, president of the Nashoba Conservation Trust, shared the story of learning how the proposed pipeline route would cut through one of Pepperell’s forests. He said the day after he heard that the news, he went to the land and looked around. Mr. Hartlage said he remembers thinking “this place is special, it’s the type of place worth protecting.”

Mr. Hartlage said that if the pipeline were constructed, an estimated 1,500 acres of forest and open land, 230 wetlands and 118 bodies of water would be damaged. He also said that 144 Massachusetts households live within 50 feet of a construction site.
One of those households would be Winchendon resident Ed Galat’s family. Mr. Galat said his son’s family lives on a farm that would be bisected by the pipeline. The Galats have had the farm for nearly 40 years and have tried to gather as much information on the pipeline as possible.

“We need to know what could happen,” he said.


All along the walls, summit organizers hung informational posters and maps of possible routes including where the pipeline would be near schools. One of the many complaints residents have had about Kinder Morgan is the lack of information on the project. In the past, representatives have said that since the project is developing, information is still being compiled.

State Sen. James Eldridge, DActon, said that residents should continue to gather and discuss the pipeline because it allows for legislators to show proof of the worry residents have.

“We need state agencies to hold public hearings to keep everyone on record of why they’re against the pipeline,” he said. “We need to show FERC that the pipeline does not meet their standard.”

Every community directly affected by the pipeline has passed a nonbinding resolution stating that the pipeline is not wanted in their town or city, Mr. Hartlage said.

Attorney Anne Marie Garti, who has represented previous groups against pipelines, said that the resolutions are just one way to show FERC that the pipeline expansion is not wanted. She said

another is to comment to FERC directly.

Ms. Garti said that residents must register with FERC, find the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Northeast Expansion application packet and make a  formal  comment  to  the commission.

“Be precise and detailed but relevant,” she advised. “Have a friend or relative review your comment before submitting.”

It is sometimes easy for residents to be overzealous, Ms. Garti said, and that FERC members read hundreds of comments. She said that it was important to be professional but passionate in order to be taken seriously. She also said not to have spelling or grammar mistakes.

The summit ended with an action group network session where residents could meet one another to collaborate efforts for futu e events such as protest rallies.