Eversource must do more research and outreach before the state decides whether to allow a controversial plan to install a secondary gas line through Springfield and Longmeadow.
In a 244-page response to the utility’s draft environmental impact report, Energy Secretary Rebecca L. Tepper asked Eversource to submit a supplement that answers additional questions.
“I have reviewed the draft environmental impact report and hereby determine that it does not adequately and properly comply with MEPA (the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act) and its implementing regulations,” she said.
Eversource has applied for approvals to construct a new 5.3-mile, 16-inch diameter gas pipeline, make upgrades to the existing Bliss Street Regulator Station in Springfield and build a new Point of Delivery facility in Longmeadow.
The $65 million project is in the midst of a years-long review. Eversource will continue to work with regulators and local stakeholders to meet requirements of the process, said Priscilla Ress, Eversource spokeswoman.
“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,” Ress said.
The project will also need other permits, including a zoning exemption from the state Department of Public Utilities, approvals from the Energy Facilities Siting Board and a highway access permit from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. It also needs Conservation Commission approvals from Longmeadow and Springfield, the state report said.
In its application, the company has argued that the new pipeline is needed as a backup to the existing 70-year-old system. The line serves people in Springfield, Longmeadow, Agawam, West Springfield, Southwick, East Longmeadow and Chicopee.
The company says a disruption in the current aging pipeline would impact 58,000 businesses and households and more than 200,000 people and could take eight weeks to repair and restore service, if the system were damaged for any reason.
Ress said a second source to deliver natural gas is critical for “such a large concentration of customers.”
“It is also important to note that this is not an expansion project, and any potential new customers in the area will still need to be served by the existing infrastructure,” Ress said.
The Longmeadow Board of Selectmen and its Planning Board, as well as the Springfield City Council, have voted against the proposal.
Activist and environmental groups, including the Interfaith Council of Greater Springfield, have written letters in opposition. The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition submitted a petition against the pipeline signed by 6,000 people who live across the state.
Trade unions are among those that support the project.
State’s critique
In her response to Eversource’s application, Tepper cited questions that have gone unanswered. She asked for more information to back up the company’s arguments for the pipeline.
The state report seeks more information about whether alternatives, such as trucking in gas in the case of an emergency, or the use of liquified or compressed natural gas, can be used during peak times instead of adding a second pipeline.
Tepper’s report questions why the region needs the pipeline and called for a study of alternatives to increasing use of fossil fuels.
“The (draft environmental impact report) 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 so as to warrant immediate action,” the report said.
Tepper also called for Eversource to do more outreach in Springfield, which is considered an environmental justice community where more residents are poor, are racial minorities or don’t speak English well.
“The proponent should continue to conduct focused outreach in Springfield prior to filing the (supplement impact report) and should hold at least one, well-publicized public meeting in Springfield to discuss the impacts of the project,” the report said. “The meeting should be held in person at a location that is accessible by public transportation, and reasonable support services such as childcare and food should be provided to encourage attendance. The meeting should provide on-site interpretation in Spanish and Russian without the need for advance requests.”
Ress responded that of the 58,000 customers served by the pipeline, 33,000 are located in Springfield and it is important to ensure there is a resilient energy supply to “this important, vulnerable population.”
A spokeswoman for the Springfield Climate Justice Coalition did not return requests for comment Sunday.
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State says Eversource application for a second gas line in Springfield, Longmeadow is incomplete - MassLive.com
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