WILMINGTON, MA — While the Wilmington Selectmen have yet to take an official position on the controversial Northeast Energy Direct pipeline proposal that travels through a portion of Wilmington, several Selectmen appeared very wary of the project during a discussion on Monday night.
“As this is marching forward, I’m evolving in my opinion of this project and becoming less and less favorable on it,” said Selectman Chair Mike Champoux. “I think it’s an ill-conceived project and it ought not be going through our community at all.”
Selectman Champoux would like to see the board have a more substantive conservation on the proposal, with additional information provided, at a future meeting.
“To date, we haven’t really taken an official position on the project. We may want to consider doing so,” said Champoux. “I want to do so with all the information that is available so we can make an educated decision.”
Selectwoman Judy O’Connell agreed, noting she shared concerns and would also like a detailed update from town officials who have been in on the meetings.
Town Manager Jeff Hull provided the board with a memorandum detailing his participation at a recent public hearing on the pipeline proposal in front of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Sitting Board.
Hull outlined three concerns he stressed at the hearing:
- Construction along the pipeline route in Wilmington will directly impact resource areas, including wetlands, buffer zones, and the town’s Zone II groundwater protection district. Hull argued the 90-foot workspace corridor at the edge of the utility corridor will have a negative impact on these protected areas. Hull also noted the construction will result in air quality and noise impacts on area residents.
- The pipeline would be in close proximity to an active quarry (Benevento’s). In spite of an April 21 request for information about the experiences of other active quarries within close proximity to high pressure gas pipelines and follow-up requests, the information was only recently provided via a July 21 letter. The correspondence was not sufficient, providing the location of two quarries, but no pertinent details of the sites. As a consequence, the town has found is extremely difficult to draw any meaningfully comparisons to the current proposal.
- While Kinder Morgan verbally stated that the pipeline route through Wilmington would be altered to move the pipeline away from two drinking water wells and other sensitive areas, that change was not made official until July 24. The town requested the Energy Facilities Sitting Board recommend that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) extend the August 31 deadline for comments to provide for additional time to evaluate the impacts from the new route.
Town Engineer Paul Alunni echoed these concerns in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at a public hearing on Tuesday in Dracut.
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