Sandisfield — The week before the end of a court-imposed waiting period on pipeline work here, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company surveyors were out in Otis State Forest preparing for tree cutting and other clearing needed to widen an existing pipeline corridor for the installation of a third pipeline.
Kinder Morgan spokesman Richard Wheately told the Edge that while the company’s subsidiary did not yet have all environmental permits in place for its Connecticut Expansion Project, including its 404 water quality certificate from the Army Corps of Engineers, the court had allowed the company to begin this preliminary work.
The pipeline will be a natural gas storage loop, roughly 13 miles long and will run through New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The gas is intended for Connecticut customers.
Berkshire Superior Court Judge John A. Agostini in May ruled that the company was entitled to an easement here under eminent domain, since the 1938 U.S. Natural Gas Act trumps the state constitution’s Article 97, under which the conservation land in question is protected, having been purchased by the state about 10 years ago.
Agostini had imposed a July 29 stay that will be lifted tonight at midnight.
Tennessee Gas, however, must still pay the state for the land, and Attorney General Maura Healey’s office was back in court with the company last week to set up a plan to arrive at an agreement for compensation. A status conference for compensation was scheduled for August 30. Healey’s office would not comment this week on those negotiations, including questions about whether the roughly three mile-long swath of forest had been appraised. But spokesperson Chloe Gotsis said Thursday (July 28) the office was “continuing to evaluate our legal options going forward,” and may decide to appeal. She further said that the appeals period had not been “triggered” yet.
Meanwhile, a group of Sandisfield landowners and local and regional environmentalists filed an appeal of the decision by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to issue the company a 401water quality certificate. The appeal was filed July 20.
Kathryn Eiseman, Director of the Massachusetts Pipe Line Awareness Network said this pending appeal means a delay, that FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) “cannot issue a notice to proceed with tree cutting.”
Eiseman further said in an email that there are people “trying to keep an eye on the company’s activities in Sandisfield, and I have asked that anyone who goes out to the state forest goes with the intention of making sure that the laws are upheld (water quality laws and otherwise).” She said while she knew the surveying work was taking place “all week,” she did not know whether the Department of Conservation Resources (DCR) had authorized the surveying. DCR officials could not be reached in time for this article.
And there is yet another issue stemming from Tennessee Gas’ plans here. Sandisfield town officials say the company has reneged on promises to compensate the town — population around 800 — for wear and tear on roads and bridges, as well as $30,000 in legal fees the town spent negotiating with the company.
Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) has gone to bat for the town over this, and continues to express frustration at Kinder Morgan for backpedaling.
“All we can hope for is that Kinder Morgan will do something honorable for the pain and aggravation and legal fees,” he said.
