Kinder Morgan stands firm on proposed natural gas pipeline route
Energy giant Kinder Morgan is playing hardball on its proposed natural gas pipeline through upstate New York and Massachusetts.
Its affiliate, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., told federal regulators this week that it opposes major changes to the projected route of its 250-mile project extending from Wright, west of Schenectady, N.Y., to Dracut in northeast Massachusetts.
Despite widespread community opposition and the prospect of legal challenges, the pipeline project continues on a company-preferred course that affects portions of eight Berkshire County communities — Richmond, Lenox, Washington, Pittsfield, Dalton, Hinsdale, Windsor and Peru.
Public and town-government opposition has been especially strong in Lenox, Richmond, and Dalton, while Pittsfield Mayor Daniel Bianchi has voiced support for the pipeline. In Lenox, the Select Board is considering options that may include a legal challenge.
A 177-page document filed Wednesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reveals for the first time plans for a proposed meter station on about 1.5 acres in Dalton. The company also provided current maps to replace outdated ones dating back 25 years.
And it also details a separate, nearly two-mile loop extension line in Pittsfield.
The federal agency has the final say on whether the pipeline will be built, but its decision is not due until 2016.
Significant alternatives for the Northeast Energy Direct project — along Route 2 in northern Berkshire and Franklin Counties, east to the terminal in Dracut, or along the Massachusetts Turnpike to interstate 495 — are off the table, according to the document.
The document, part of Kinder Morgan's pre-application filing schedule to FERC, details the broad scope of the pipeline's impact, including a 91-mile route, plus 37 miles along a corridor parallel to existing utility lines.
The 127 miles of pipeline construction on about 2,000 acres of land in Massachusetts would follow an "as the crow flies" route as much as possible, Kinder Morgan officials have emphasized.
The updated filing also dismisses other options to address a potential shortage of electrical power generation in New England, such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear and coal resources, energy conservation or "no action."
"After review of all construction, fuel source, system and no-action alternatives, it is evident that the proposed project is the preferred alternative," the document states.
However, Tennessee Gas has agreed to consider several route deviations to avoid crossing municipal or state-owned land protected by an amendment to the state constitution known as Article 97.
The company stated that it is coordinating with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation on possible changes to avoid such properties or reduce the pipeline's impact on them.
The company cautioned that potential route shifts are likely to impact more congested, urban and highly developed areas and would be more than nine miles longer than the preferred route. It would also present "construction difficulties."
The Tennessee Gas document acknowledges that the route it continues to favor would cross 85 acres of wetlands, including the Lenox watershed, 118 bodies of water, including the Housatonic River, 1,139 acres of forest, 118 acres of farmland, 30 acres of federal land, 107 acres of state forest or parkland, and 52 acres of wildlife management land.
The route would cross 357 acres of land containing threatened or endangered species and would affect 144 private properties located within 50 feet of construction. The preferred route also crosses the Appalachian Trail and impacts nearly seven acres of recreational sites, including campgrounds and ballfields.
Supporters of the project have backed Kinder Morgan's case that a dramatically increased supply of natural gas is needed to address New England's electricity generation requirements. If approved, the Northeast Energy Direct Project would supply 2.2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas once it goes online in November 2018 following at least 18 months of construction.
"If existing natural gas transmission systems are not enhanced or expanded, energy shortages in times of peak demand may occur, or users may consume different fuels, which would likely include oil and coal," according to the document.
The company also states that if the pipeline is not built, supply shortages, especially in the Pioneer Valley, would intensify, causing "winter-premium pricing" and increasingly volatile prices for natural gas users.
According to the company, this would "lead to higher consumer gas and electric rates in a region which is already experiencing the highest rates in the country, and even energy shortages during times of winter peak demand."
National Grid's winter pricing for electricity that took effect Nov. 1 imposes a nearly 40 percent rate hike on the supply side of customers' electric bills. In the coldest weather months, users could see prices up to $150 a month higher than last winter's already elevated rates. Western Massachusetts Electric Co., which serves about half of Berkshire County including Pittsfield and Lee, has yet to post its winter-season rates.
The company cited regional topography, population density, existing land usage, environmental factors and "construction safety and feasibility considerations" for its rejection of several potential alternate routes.
It argued that one proposal to run the pipeline alongside an existing Tennessee Gas route would add 20 miles to the project and would significantly increase the impact on homes, other developed areas, streams, wetlands and other cultural and environmental resources.
An option along Route 2 from North Adams to Interstate 495 was faulted for similar reasons, as was a route along the MassPike.
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