What’s at stake in pipeline proposal
“The dispute centers on a plan by Kinder Morgan, a mega-corporation in the energy business (see its website to get a sense of the Goliath in this story) to build a pipeline through the Hilltowns. It’s got to go through our hills, we’re told; otherwise it would impact “congested areas.” The pipes would carry natural gas from fracked fields in Pennsylvania, up through New York State and Massachusetts, to depots in the eastern part of Commonwealth. From there some of it (not clear what proportion) would be distributed domestically, and the rest sold abroad.
The proposed pipeline would follow rights of way owned by electric utilities. How much ledge would have to be dynamited, how many trees cut down to build trenches for these pipes? What if the pipes leaked, and what if the electric lines sparked near a leaking pipe?
One landowner is an elderly widow. Her property, bisected by electric power lines, is up for sale. The money she had expected from this sale is what she has to live on for the rest of her life. When the project’s surveyors came to town, she was negotiating with a potential buyer. He has withdrawn his offer, citing reports of the planned pipeline.”
Robinson, Don. Gazette.com 23 April 2014.