Pittsfield — As the date after which Tennessee Gas Company can begin clearing land in Otis State Forest draws near, it appears nothing can stop the Kinder Morgan subsidiary from taking its easement for the Connecticut Expansion Project, a 13-mile gas storage loop for Connecticut customers, that will run through three states.
The company’s project requires it to use about three miles of state-owned conservation land in Sandisfield protected under Article 97 of the State constitution.
But the State isn’t about to let a Fortune 500 corporation have its land for free, and a status conference for the scheduling of a compensation hearing is scheduled in Berkshire Superior Court next week for Tennessee Gas and Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.
The company’s plans have angered residents, environmentalists and some politicians over the impact forest clearing will have on the larger forest ecosystem that includes a stretch of old-growth hemlocks. There are also concerns about wear and tear on Sandisfield’s infrastructure, and town officials say Kinder Morgan is backing away from promises, and even an unsigned agreement, to compensate the town.
Berkshire Superior Court Judge John A. Agostini had ruled that the Natural Gas Act of 1938 trumps state law, and so the state can’t stop the company from using the land. But Agostini also imposed a waiting period that ends Friday, July 29 —the wrap up of the Legislative session — to make sure the Legislature had time to weigh in on what is its constitutional purview.
While the Legislature does grant easements on land protected under Article 97, it doesn’t let go of such land for nothing. The state bought over 500 acres in Otis State Forest for $5.2 million. This roughly three miles is part of that. It is still unclear how the value of this slice of land will be determined.
State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D – Lenox) is also wondering. He told the Edge that during former Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, the state valued the land at $300,000. But Pignateli isn’t sure how it came up with that number. “Shame on them,” he said. He says at that price, “it’s a giveaway.”
He says the land should, at the very least, be appraised. Whether that’s been done yet is also a mystery. The Attorney General’s office Deputy Spokesperson Chloe Gotsis told the Edge in an email the office can’t comment yet due to “pending litigation.”
“People are selling building lots for $300,000,” Pignatelli said, adding “pristine property in the Berkshires” shouldn’t be allowed to go for a song. “We have a chance to do it right and make it fair to the Commonwealth.”
And that isn’t the only compensation issue brewing. Kinder Morgan is backpedaling on assurances to Sandisfield that it would fork over roughly $1 million to cover road and other infrastructure damage and pay the $30,000 in legal bills the town racked up negotiating with company attorneys. Town Manager Alice Boyd previously told the Edge she can’t get company officials to return phone calls.
Pignatelli says he may have a strategy for this in the Legislature, which may take a vote to grant the easement by the end of the session. He says he made a proposal to attach compensation for Sandisfield to the legislation, legally forcing Kinder Morgan to pay the town.
Meanwhile, a protest against the easement is planned for Saturday, July 16, at 12 p.m. at the gazebo behind Town Hall in Great Barrington, and at Lower Spectacle Pond in Otis State Forest in Sandisfield from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The scheduling conference for the compensation hearing in Berkshire Superior Court is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20, at 2 p.m.
