As Berkshire County residents prepare to join the latest in a series of nationwide "No Kings" protests on March 28, co-organizer Robin Oherin says, "the closest thing [to what] we are going through now [was] the American Revolution."
Is there a significant need for natural gas in Connecticut to cause Tennessee to proceed [with the pipeline] despite the fervent opposition? The answer appears to be “not anymore.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is now requiring, among other things, clarification “that Tennessee would not fell trees in areas where it has not obtained an easement or purchase of property…including lands protected under Article 97 of the Massachusetts State Constitution.”
“This is very exciting news. While very few people see the need for this gas line, all that we have ever asked of Kinder Morgan and FERC is to follow the process, be open and be fair to this beautiful community of 800 residents."
-- State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli
“This is a case of a forest of clean air machines being literally traded for the transmission of fossil fuels. Not a step in the right direction.”
-- Arborist Tom Ingersoll, on the Kinder Morgan proposal to cut a swathe through protected old-growth forests in Sandisfield to build a natural gas pipeline extension to Connecticut
"The purchase of this spectacular property [Otis State Forest] ensures its lasting protection and is an example of our prudent investment in the Commonwealth’s rare and irreplaceable natural resources.”
--- Gov. Deval Patrick, in 2007
“We’ve been FERC’ed!”
-- Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, upon learning that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had approved a Tennessee Gas Pipeline route through the protected lands of Otis State Forest in March of 2016
