Legislators are wary of pipeline plan

Some are concerned about the environmental impacts to conservation lands that their towns have paid millions to protect. Others worry their home values will plummet and their insurance rates will rise if eminent domain makes way for the pipeline to come through their property. Some say the safety and health risks posed if something goes wrong with the pipeline are making it tough for them to sleep at night.

For Harrington, the closed-door nature of the discussions to this point, as well as the increased reliance on fossil fuels, are two of the most troubling parts of the proposal.

“This is a wake-up call to legislators that we all need to find new clean renewable-energy sources and to utilize them more fully. But the time to develop the infrastructure is what we’re lagging behind on,” said Harrington, a Republican from Groton whose district includes Ashby and Townsend. “Gas heat will be a bridge to that in the future, but the future won’t look much different unless we start looking seriously into infrastructure to support alternate energy forms.”