from Colleen Teal, New Lebanon Town Clerk
A public forum on a proposed fracked gas pipeline through Columbia County will be held on Saturday, June 7, from 7 to 9 pm at the Canaan Congregational Church, (at the intersection of Routes 5 and 295, Canaan). Bruce Winn, of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, and Rosemary Wessel of No Fracked Gas in Mass, will speak about the environmental impact of the proposed high pressure fracked gas pipeline, health concerns and the rights of communities.
[private]The proposed pipeline would traverse the towns of Malden Bridge, Old Chatham, Canaan and New Lebanon and continue into Massachusetts. This forum is sponsored by Columbia County Citizens for a Sustainable Future.
The TGP Northeast Expansion is a high pressure fracked gas pipeline being planned by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan) to start in Wright, NY, just west of Albany, and go through New York and Massachusetts to Dracut, MA (directly north of Lowell). The proposed expansion will go through parts of Schoharie, Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia counties.
In Columbia County it is proposed to run parallel to the existing gas line, between Routes 295 and 20. According to the company’s memo, intended customers are local distribution companies, electric generators, industrial end users and developers of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) projects in New England and Atlantic Canada.
This proposed path would run through sensitive ecosystems including conservation lands, wetlands, wildlife reserves, state parks as well as farmland, towns and even crossing over or under the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers. Aside from causing environmental disruption during the construction phase, this project would pose many hazards if there are leaks or explosions and off-gassing at compressor stations (approximately every 50 miles) – all of which happen regularly on similar high pressure pipelines throughout the country. It would also be paid for by taxpayer funds and new tariffs for rate payers recently proposed by electric utility commissions and approved by the Governors of all six states in New England.[/private]