Small anti-pipeline victory: More evidence required from EversourceDate: 8/3/2023 Western Massachusetts residents, especially those in Springfield and Longmeadow have been paying close attention as Eversource Energy navigates the regulatory process in their efforts to run a secondary natural gas line through Longmeadow to the Bliss Street regulator station in Springfield.
Eversource proposed this project as a backup to the existing natural gas line that runs across the Connecticut River along the Memorial Bridge in Agawam. The company has asserted that the spare pipeline will serve 58,000 natural gas customers should something happen to the existing 70-year-old Memorial Bridge line. Opponents of the project have said the new gas pipeline flies in the face of the environmental goals set by the state and is a danger to those living along the route, which passes through environmental justice neighborhoods and within a mile of more than one elementary school.
On July 17, state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper released a response to Eversource’s Draft Environmental Impact Report. In the response, Tepper said the company’s study, “Does not adequately and properly comply” with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act or provide “an adequate alternatives analysis.” Tepper also noted Eversource “has not fully justified the purpose and need for the project and does not explain why the risk of outage was determined to be unacceptably high at this location.” The secretary requested a supplemental report addressing her concerns.
Eversource Spokesperson Priscilla Ress told Reminder Publishing, “Our environmental responsibilities are paramount to the Western Massachusetts Natural Gas Reliability Project, and we are working diligently to comply with all the necessary requirements as spelled out in MEPA’s recent request for a supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report. We will continue working with our regulators and local stakeholders to meet all requirements of the process, particularly as it relates to environmental justice.”
Ress insisted that the Western Mass Natural Gas Reliability Project is not an expansion or effort to bring on more customers. “Of the 58,000 Eversource customers currently on the single source of natural gas supply, it is important to note that 33,000 of those customers are located in the city of Springfield, which is an environmental justice community. The primary goal of Western Mass Natural Gas Reliability Project is to provide energy supply resiliency to this important, vulnerable population.”
The Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group is an ad hoc body that has been staging protests and letter writing campaigns in opposition to the project since 2018. Chair Gary Levine pointed out that, as part of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report, Tepper “wants Eversource to respond to comments made by members of the public and those of public officials and advocacy groups.”
Comments were submitted by several organizations, including the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Springfield Climate Justice Coalition, Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Longmeadow Planning Board, Interfaith Council of Greater Springfield, Longmeadow Energy and Sustainability Committee, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Alternatives for Community and Environment and the Conservation Law Foundation with 87 co-signers. More than a dozen individuals wrote letters commenting on the project, in addition to a petition with 6,000 signers.
The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition said in a statement that Tepper’s citing of the comments from the communities “demonstrated once again that when people join together to speak out against injustice, our voices will be heard.”
The organization said it was “thrilled with Secretary Tepper’s response to Eversource which reinforces the importance of environmental justice. The secretary demonstrated that she is truly hearing frontline communities and weighing their voices in her decision-making.”
Civic organizations are not the only ones pleased with Tepper’s reaction to the Draft Environmental Impact Report. Springfield City Council President and candidate for mayor Jesse Lederman said Tepper’s response was “consistent with my ongoing stance that evidence has not been presented to justify passing the cost of this $65 million proposal on to ratepayers in the city of Springfield when there is no clear indication that the existing gas pipeline shows signs of failing, nor has it been indicated that there is a shortage or technical challenge in delivering gas to existing or new customers.”
After praising the people who have stood against the pipeline project, Lederman said he will “continue advocacy for a pragmatic and just shift to more affordable, reliable, and renewable energy sources to power our future.” Lederman has made the pipeline project a focus of public hearings since 2021 and introduced a successful City Council resolution opposing the project.
For more information about the Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group, visit stopthetoxicpipeline.org.
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