Governor still has time take take action

Sometimes even the most complicated sounding issues can be simplified. This is true in the case of Gov. Maggie Hassan’s recent qualified “opposition” to the NED pipeline project. The legitimacy of her opposition can be summed up simply by the old saying “Actions speak louder than words.”
The people of New Hampshire deserve more than election-year proclamations. This pipeline jeopardizes our children’s health, places our environment at risk, and takes people’s property for the sake of private profit without any justified need or benefit. The governor has asked Kinder Morgan to address our concerns, but the only way Kinder Morgan can address our concerns is to NOT build the NED pipeline.

Therefore, Governor Hassan needs to take action to stop the pipeline. Here are a few suggestions: 1.) become an intervener; 2.) call on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to clearly define the threshold of need for this pipeline on a regional basis; 3.) make her opposition to this project known to the Public Utilities Commission and the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee by supporting the state consumer advocate’s position that this pipeline is not in the best interests of New Hampshire ratepayers;

4.) start now to work with those on the Executive Council and in the legislature who oppose the pipeline; 5.) work with the N.H. Attorney General to prepare a review of FERC’s permitting process and be prepared to file a lawsuit in federal court for any failure by FERC to perform its due diligence, to expose any conflict of interest in FERC’s ruling, or to expose any failure by FERC to adhere to its own policy/procedure; 6.) contact our federal representatives and senators asking that they direct the Government Accountability Office to investigate FERC on the preceding issues; and finally, 7.) meet with the leaders of the N.H. Municipal Pipeline Coalition, Plan N.H., and PLAN New England to implement a coordinated strategy to stop the pipeline.

The governor has been quiet too long. So be it. We can’t go back in time. However, now is the time for action, not just words of qualified opposition — but action. If Gov. Hassan can’t stand with and for the people of N.H. while she is governor, how can we ever expect her to represent our best interests in Washington.

I look forward to Gov. Hassan taking action to stop the NED pipeline and becoming a leader for the people of New Hampshire.

Erik Durmer

Company to be billed for Saturday's gas emergency in Keene, official says

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

Liberty Utilities is on the hook to pay for the massive emergency response to a city-wide gas problem in Keene Saturday, according to the city’s emergency management director. Meanwhile, some opponents of a proposed natural gas pipeline through the area said this weekend’s incident reinforces their concerns about that project’s safety.

After power went out at the company’s Keene distribution center, equipment that mixes propane with air failed, sending pure propane to customers in the city and the potential for carbon monoxide to be released when burned. A backup system at the Emerald Street center also failed.

City officials have determined the situation, which brought brought fire departments from across New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont to the city, was a hazardous-materials incident, said Kurt D. Blomquist, Keene’s emergency management director and public works director.

According to state statute, the business at fault for such an incident pays for it, he said.

Keene officials will spend the next week gathering costs associated with the emergency response, including any overtime incurred by firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and city staff, he said.

He declined to venture an estimate yet of what that cost might be.

Agencies from other communities that responded to the city for the incident are also eligible for reimbursement, he said.

That included 64 fire and emergency medical services departments and 12 local, regional, state and private agencies, according to a news release Monday from Keene Fire Chief Mark F. Howard.

Liberty Utilities also brought in 81 employees, Howard wrote.

The situation lasted for about 15 hours.

Both Liberty Utilities and the N.H. Public Utilities Commission are conducting separate investigations into what happened Saturday to cause the imbalance between air and propane mixture pumped through Liberty Utilities’ distribution system.

Four people were taken to Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, and more than 1,000 homes and businesses were checked for carbon monoxide exposure throughout the day Saturday and into early Sunday morning. The toxic chemical is odorless, colorless and tasteless, and can be deadly if people experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning aren’t treated right away.

Liberty Utilities has 1,220 customers in Keene, according to a notice from the N.H. Public Utilities Commission Monday, which announced the agency’s investigation into the incident.

The company’s distribution system’s facility lost power at 8:50 a.m., but its backup power source didn’t come online, Liberty Utilities and city officials have said.

Eversource spokesman Martin Murray said Monday that the power outage affected about 1,072 customers in Keene, and power was restored by about 9:30 a.m.

In response to questions about why the backup power system failed, how it was supposed to work, if Saturday’s incident exposed any vulnerabilities in the system, and, if so, how those would be addressed, Liberty Utilities spokesman John Shore said they will be examined during the company’s investigation.

The investigation will be “very thorough,” and include members of the company’s engineering and operations departments, and its equipment vendors, he said.

“We will work closely with the PUC throughout the process,” he said.

While Saturday’s incident was centered in Keene, it’s made some residents living in towns south of the Elm City uneasy about a natural gas pipeline proposed by the Kinder Morgan company that would go through the area.

Liberty Utilities is set to benefit from the pipeline should it be built, and has filed a petition with the N.H. Public Utilities Commission seeking approval to own and operate gas franchises in Jaffrey, Rindge, Swanzey and Winchester.

Liberty Utilities is a subsidiary of Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp., which has its headquarters in Ontario, Canada. Algonquin partnered with Kinder Morgan to form Northeast Expansion LLC to build and own the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, with Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. being brought in as Kinder Morgan’s subsidiary to operate it.

Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Tiffany Eddy referred a question about any effects Saturday’s incident could have on the pipeline project to Liberty Utilities.

“This is a Liberty Utilities operation issue and did not involve Kinder Morgan or natural gas,” she said.

Communities in the path of the proposed pipeline — Fitzwilliam, Richmond, Rindge, Troy and Winchester — have been fighting the project for about a year, and among their concerns are the safety of the interstate transmission line and the emergency response in the event the line leaked or exploded.

Area fire chiefs have said they’re worried about whether they’d have the manpower and expertise to respond to a potential pipeline-related emergency.

Richmond Fire Chief Ed Atkins said Monday it was reassuring to see the large number of agencies respond to the Keene incident. “It’s comforting to know other towns have our back” if an emergency hit the natural gas pipeline.

But, he questioned whether that response would be enough.

Fitzwilliam Selectman Susan S. Silverman said in her town and others along the proposed pipeline route, there aren’t as many people as in Keene to notice problems until they’ve become extreme, and that worries her. Even though the system in Keene isn’t natural gas, she said the incident Saturday reinforced her safety concerns about the proposed pipeline.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline officials have proposed building the high-pressure transmission pipeline to carry fracked natural gas from shale gas fields in Pennsylvania through upstate New York, parts of northern Massachusetts and into southern New Hampshire before going to a distribution hub in eastern Massachusetts.

Officials filed the project’s application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has the power to approve or reject the pipeline, last month. Company officials have asked the commission to approve the project by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Rindge resident Maryann Harper, vice chairwoman of New Hampshire Pipeline Awareness, an anti-pipeline group, said her safety concerns about the pipeline became “extremely heightened” by the incident in Keene.

“I think people experiencing something like this close by within our state or general region, you can see this is an unnecessary risk for us to take,” she said.

Richmond resident Seth Reece, another pipeline opponent, said he worries Kinder Morgan and Liberty Utilities will use Saturday’s incident to make a case that the pipeline is needed now more than ever to supply energy because the propane-air system in Keene is aging and out-of-date.

“Who’s to say Kinder Morgan does not just jump on the bandwagon of this emergency saying their pipeline is safer, or Liberty says its equipment is outdated and needs to be upgraded,” he said.

The N.H. Public Utilities Commission will hold a status conference in January to accept a preliminary assessment and factual information from Liberty Utilities’ investigation and its own probe into Saturday’s incident in Keene.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Residents, school board raise concerns on health effects of pipeline plan

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

Local residents and an area school district are voicing concerns about air quality from chemicals that could be emitted from a compressor station associated with the proposed Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline. The town of New Ipswich is slated to be home to a 41,000-horsepower compressor station for the pipeline, which would be the largest compressor station on the East Coast. Compressor stations help transport natural gas and keep it properly pressurized.

The Kinder Morgan company, through its subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC, is proposing the pipeline to run from Pennsylvania to New York, including a section through southern New Hampshire and a number of local towns.

Reports by a Pennsylvania environmental health project and an analysis by a Boston-based pediatrician say that people living near natural gas pipeline infrastructure, including compressor stations, could be at increased risk of health problems.

Groups that have studied the possible health effects compressor stations can have on humans say that public health needs to take more of a priority in the development of natural gas infrastructure. At the same time, they say, more studies need to be done about the potential link between a person’s health and exposure to natural gas infrastructure.

The findings of those recent studies, seeking to link air quality to health problems that people living near compressor stations are experiencing, are among the latest tools New Hampshire pipeline opponents are using to make their case about why the project shouldn’t go forward.

They are also seeking to share the footage of a recent presentation given by pediatrician Dr. Curtis L. Nordgaard analyzing the health risk of a compressor station in New Ipswich. Nordgaard said preliminary reports suggest compressor stations can negatively affect human health.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline says it’s complying with all the federal, state and local regulations and standards on air quality.

ConVal board speaks out

People, especially children, living near natural gas pipeline infrastructure may be at increased risks of cancer, nosebleeds, asthma, throat irritation, severe headaches, heart problems and other conditions, according to a March study by the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project and sources cited in the journal New Solutions. The Pennsylvania project also concluded that babies are at risk for being born prematurely or with low birth weights, which can negatively affect future health.

The nonprofit environmental health project was established in 2011 to help people living in Washington County, Penn., who believed natural gas drilling activities were linked to declines in their health.

A February report from the environmental health project also questions the emissions levels allowed by state and federal agencies for natural gas facilities, and the effectiveness of the equipment in place to manage those emissions.

“Compressor construction and operational phases are generally projected to produce emissions below (EPA-established standards),” according to the report. “The problem posed by estimating tons of contaminants emitted per year is that over the course of a year emissions will vary, often greatly.”

The New Ipswich compressor station is proposed to be about a quarter of a mile from Temple Elementary School.

This proximity caused the ConVal Regional School Board to submit a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in September, taking a stance against the project. The school district covers Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple.

The board said emissions from the compressor station could affect the health of students and staff, both inside and outside the school building. Board members also cited a lack of means to evacuate the school in a timely way, and a lack of local police, fire and ambulance resources if there were an emergency at the station.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline officials filed the project’s application last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has the power to approve or reject the pipeline. Company officials have asked the commission to approve the project by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Compliance and complaints

Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) officials said in a statement Friday that before building and operating the New Ipswich compressor station, they’ll be required to have an air quality permit from the N.H. Department of Environmental Services. The same is true for building compressor stations in other states, according to the statement.

“During the permitting process, TGP must show that proposed facilities will comply with all applicable federal, state and local air pollution regulations and standards. TGP must also demonstrate to the agency satisfaction that such facilities won’t cause an adverse impact to human health or the environment,” the statement said.

In addition, company officials must demonstrate the proposed compressor station will not adversely affect air quality downwind of the facility, according to the statement.

However, some levels of toxic chemicals are expected to be emitted.

According to the Northeast Energy Direct project’s FERC filing, those emissions per year are expected to be 49.62 tons of nitrogen dioxide, 39.72 tons of carbon dioxide, 9.23 tons of particulate matter, 8.53 tons of volatile organic compounds, 4.66 tons of sulfur dioxide and 0.64 tons of formaldehyde. All are within acceptable limits for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a permit, according to the filing.

On Dec. 2, Nordgaard, the Boston pediatrician, presented some of his research on compressor stations to Gov. Maggie Hassan during a meeting with the N.H. Municipal Pipeline Coalition.

The coalition is a group of 15 southern New Hampshire towns either along or near the pipeline’s proposed path that have come together to fight the project. Members are Amherst, Brookline, Fitzwilliam, Greenville, Litchfield, Mason, Merrimack, Milford, New Ipswich, Pelham, Richmond, Rindge, Temple, Troy and Winchester.

Nordgaard told the group and the governor that it could cost a significant amount of money to treat people with health problems stemming from at least three of the toxic chemicals expected to be emitted from the compressor station — nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.

He met last week with members of the public at Temple Elementary School.

“(W)e believe (Nordgaard’s) report, and the dramatic drop in Kinder Morgan’s financial stability in recent months, should provide serious concern to any party involved in the review process as they consider the viability of this pipeline and the damage it would do to our natural environment and the people who live here,” Sam Matthews, a member of the New Ipswich Pipeline Resistance, said Thursday in an email.

The pipeline awareness group proposes having testing done not only of New Ipswich’s compressor station site, but all the new compressor stations planned for the pipeline, he said.

“Collated data from these sites will provide irrefutable evidence of the serious health effects caused by fracked gas infrastructure, and hopefully put an end to these projects that are pushed through against the wishes of the people and cause sickness and harm to local people for large company profits,” he said.

Rindge Selectmen Chairman Robert A. Hamilton said concerns about health effects are another reason to object to the pipeline.

He said he’d possibly like to have independent air quality testing of the town done before and after the pipeline is built, paid for by Kinder Morgan.

John Kieley, a member of the Temple Ad Hoc Pipeline Advisory Committee, said Thursday that the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline is “the largest public health threat since the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station,” and the New Ipswich compressor station would be the “largest and most lethal” ever built in the Northeast.

“For the town of Temple, it’s not just a matter of monitoring the pollutants emitted by this compressor station, and then like other communities across the country, going to court to try to shut down the operation with evidence that the company is violating its permit,” he said.

“This is about defeating the project before we get to the approval process,” he said. “We’re fighting this on the basis that this is absolutely wrong for New Hampshire.”

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Stop NH The Pipeline Newsletter

STOP THE NH PIPELINE / ECHO ACTION NEWS

PLEASE FORGIVE THE LATE REMINDER!!! THIS IS TONIGHT AT 6:00 at the Fitzwilliam Town Hall

FITZWILLIAM PRIME WETLANDS STUDY: Rick Van der Poll presents the preliminary assessment

- Combined Board of Selectmen & Conservation Commission meeting

At the 2015 Town Meeting, Fitzwilliam voted to have the town's wetlands assessed for quality to determine if they can be designated as "prime wetlands". 

"Prime Wetlands in NH Communities
Under RSA 482-A:15 and administrative rules Env-Wt 700, individual municipalities may elect to designate wetlands as “prime-wetlands” if, after thorough analysis, it is determined that high-quality wetlands are present. Typically, a wetland receives this designation because of its large size, unspoiled character and ability to sustain populations of rare or threatened plant and animal species. Field and “desk top” data are used for the evaluation process.

After high value wetlands are identified, the municipality holds a public hearing before the residents of the community to vote on the designation. Once the municipality approves the wetlands for designation as prime, the municipality provides to the DES Wetlands Program a copy of the study and tax maps with the designated prime wetlands identified. DES reviews the submission from the municipality to ensure that it is complete and in accordance with Env-Wt 702.03.

Once the town's prime wetland submission is considered complete and approved, DES will apply the law and rules that are applicable to any future projects that are within the prime wetland or the 100 foot prime wetland buffer.

Review the following town prime wetland and prime wetland buffer maps to determine if your project is within these town designated protection areas. The original files can also be found at the town municipal offices.

Be aware that the town may have other local buffers or setbacks that are not addressed under the prime wetland or prime wetland buffer statute or rules." (NH DES)

To learn more about prime wetlands and see information about towns that have designated prime wetlands, visit:
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wetlands/prime_wetlands.htm

ECHO Action: Earth & Energy • Climate • Health & Habitat • OutreachTwitter: ECHOactionteamBlog: ECHOactionSTOP THE NH PIPELINE: Fitz/Troy/Rich/WinTwitter: StopTheNHPipeNHspirit.org

100% renewable electricity now!

Governor didn't have her own state's back

While the world met and marched in Paris for a clean energy future, New Hampshire, a state known for its scenic beauty, country living and outdoor lifestyle, was denied climate safeguards. Despite facts piled before Gov. Maggie Hassan by state representatives, town officials, health and environmental professionals, she remains unmoved. Given weeks of notice, last Friday she refused to address hundreds of activists and elected officials who marched against the NED pipeline and for climate action in Concord.

The world is saying no to fossil fuels, solar is booming in New Hampshire, but our governor says yes to filthy, outdated energy? This Senate-seat-seeking woman on a mission has her career at center stage, not our needs.

With little to no budget, pipeline opponents are rising up globally, speaking out, empowering their neighbors with information. Pipeline-pushing frackers are systematically poisoning our air, drinking water, soil, farms, wildlife and citizens in crimes against humanity.

Up against limitless resources from companies like Kinder Morgan, which flood the airwaves with propaganda, the message remains strong. We must move away from fossil fuels. The tipping point is at hand. We must act now.

Amongst all of the chaos, one leader’s message stands strong. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is the only presidential candidate to speak without fear, without answering to questionable campaign backers, saying, “If you believe climate change is the most serious threat facing our planet, it’s easy to oppose the NED pipeline” and ban fracking.

At mid-December in a snow-free New Hampshire, the proof is right outside our windows.

Leadership on climate, jobs, families and health is essential to the future of humanity. Move forward, New Hampshire. The time is now.

Stephanie A. Scherr

Founder, ECHO Action!

Fitzwilliam

KFD responding to multiple reports of gas leaks in Keene

By Mel Proulx Sentinel Staff
 

Dozens of potential gas leak are being reported throughout the city on Saturday, including at many downtown businesses and those in the Monadnock Marketplace. About a handful of businesses have been evacuated -- such as the Hallmark on Main Street, Monadnock Food Co-op on Cypress Street and Price Chopper in the Marketplace.

"We are currently working with several agencies and are identifying and correcting the problem," according to a statement from the Keene Fire Department.

Keene Fire Chief Mark F. Howard is currently on scene and unavailable for comment.

Anyone who smells natural gas in their home or dwelling is asked to shut off the gas, evacuate the building and call the Fire Department.

Updates will be made to this as information becomes available.

Mel Proulx can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or mproulx@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MProulxKS.

Home in Winchester historic district approved for demolition

This is what happens when you put the fox in charge of the hen house and just about everything else in town .. Shame on Gus Ruth and Dennis Murphy and the rest of the so-called Historical District Committee .. If this house was so bad when she bought it, why wasn't she made to improve it like every other person in town has to, to keep up their properties ? .. oh that's right, she was handed Leroy's duties by the BOS and became the code enforcer with no training and  then rented out the place. If was so bad and falling apart how did she get away with that and how come 4 years ago when it was looked at inside there were no signs of what she claims now?
Now she's joined by her husband on the town's payroll, someone who's going to tell you if your property is up to codes and if you can rent it out...  This woman is a blight on the community and I hope several of you challenge this decision and force her to do what anyone else would be forced to do .. bite the bullet and fix it or sell it, not raze it. Why should she be allowed to do what others can't in this town?

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff

WINCHESTER — The historic Main Street house at the center of a demolition controversy four years ago is on track to finally come down. The Historic District Commission voted 4-1 Monday night to approve the demolition of the roughly 200-year-old structure at 71 Main St., which is owned by Margaret A. Sharra and her brothers, James S. and Michael P. Shannon.

Commission member Julia Ferrari was the dissenting vote.

Anyone affected by the ruling has 30 days to appeal the decision, which came after a roughly hour-long public hearing, to the Winchester Zoning Board of Adjustment, according to state law. If the decision’s not appealed, the siblings can move forward with razing the house.

The vote count Monday was identical to when the commission decided in 2011 not to allow the developer of a Dollar General, whose officials wanted to build a store on the site, to raze the house.

At the time, Sharra and her brothers, who bought the 4.5-acre property in 2008 with the intention of turning it into a bed and breakfast, had planned to sell it to the Cleveland-based developer. The sale never happened, and the property has remained on the market since.

Sharra, who is the town’s land use administrator and zoning code enforcement officer, told historical district commission members Monday the house is plagued with problems that make it unsafe and beyond repair.

The building’s four exterior walls and roof appear sound, but inside at least six of the 10 support beams holding up the house are either rotted out or cut, she said, and the floors are caving in.

Those conditions existed before Sharra and her brothers bought the house, and have likely gotten worse, she said. Besides the roof, the items holding up the house include concrete- and wood blocks, stones and even a car jack, she said.

Further, she added, three contractors who looked at the house said they’re concerned it could implode with or without renovations.

She presented these contractors’ reports to the commission.

It would cost more than $600,000 to repair the house, according to Sharra.

“There is no reasonable cost. And even at any cost, there is no guarantee the house can be salvaged,” she said. “I think it is in good faith that the historical commission approve the demolition.”

She said if someone wanted to repair and renovate the house, they’d have to be a “filthy-rich millionaire who’d want to do it as a labor of love.”

According to Winchester’s Historic District ordinance, most construction, repair, alteration, moving or demolition of structures in the town’s two historic districts can’t be done without approval from the commission.

Commission members asked few questions of Sharra Monday, with the exception of Ferrari who inquired about specifics such as how long the property had been for sale, where it had been advertised, the asking prices, how the asking prices were set and by whom, the level of interest in the property and if it is a tax burden.

Ferrari also referenced a report from 2011 to support her position that the federal-style home is historic and should be saved.

The report, by historical preservationist Lynne Emerson Monroe, says the house isn’t a candidate for official designation on the National Register of Historic Places, but it makes a “substantial contribution” to the Winchester Historic District.

However, when Ferrari tried to bring up the report to other commission members, Chairman Denis V. Murphy 2nd said it couldn’t be discussed because it wasn’t submitted as evidence during the hearing.

The two-story house was built in 1810, and has had additions put on it through the years. There is very little historical significance left inside the structure, Sharra said.

Earlier in the meeting, Sharra asked Ferrari to voluntarily recuse herself from the discussion and vote because of the actions she said Ferrari took in 2011 to prevent the house from being demolished. They included working with others to get it on N.H. Preservation Alliance’s Seven to Save list, Sharra said.

Ferrari refused to recuse herself and defended her actions, saying she was “acting as a representative of the citizens of New Hampshire,” and did her due diligence as a board member.

When it came time to vote on the demolition proposal Monday night, Ferrari voted against it, saying “given the historic nature of the building” she believes it needs to be preserved.

Some residents and business owners at the hearing spoke in support of Sharra, saying the house is an eyesore and detriment to the ongoing revitalization of downtown Winchester.

“In the interest of the town and its people, I think it’s time for it to come down,” said Robert Patton-Spruill, who owns properties on Main Street including the New England Sweetwater and Farm Distillery.

Patton-Spruill said he’s “personally invested” in the character of the town, and doesn’t believe the loss of the house will affect that.

Resident Joan Gratton, a member of the Winchester Historical Society, spoke against demolishing the house, saying the commission shouldn’t approve it just because the owners didn’t do their homework when they bought it.

“We’re not looking at whether I should have known better,” Sharra countered.

She said she and her brothers have many ideas about what would look nice on the property for the town after the house is demolished, but had no sketches or drawings finalized.

However, when that time comes, they’ll be back before the historic district commission to get approval, she said.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Pipeline: Too many reasons for doubt

On Saturday Dec. 5, a letter from Carol Jameson, chairman of the Richmond Board of Selectmen, was published regarding the grade error on alignment sheet TE-SEG — I-007 of the Kinder Morgan/TGP filing with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
There is another significant error on the same alignment sheet, as well as on sheet TE-SEG — I-006; that is the location of the town line between Winchester and Richmond. The town line is plotted on both alignment sheets approximately 875 feet west of its true location. When questioned about this at the Kinder Morgan open house in Rindge recently, a company representative told me that the town lines were taken off GIS data, so if it was plotted incorrectly, the GIS data must be wrong. Having the opportunity to check the GIS maps, I find that the town line is plotted exactly where it has been for over 250 years.

This error has been on all Kinder Morgan’s documents since it changed the proposed route into New Hampshire a year ago. During the public comment period of the Kinder Morgan pre-filing on this project, the Richmond Board of Selectmen and I both wrote letters to FERC and I addressed this issue at the scoping meeting in Rindge in October 2015. Kinder Morgan obviously has made no effort to check this out, choosing to ignore the public input and public comments even when a mistake of this magnitude is pointed out to them in official documents.

Once again, Kinder Morgan has clearly shown that it has an utter contempt for the regulatory process and utter disdain for the people of the state of New Hampshire in not feeling any need to check and correct these errors. What is especially troubling is to find two such significant errors in less than a mile of the route.

How many other errors are there in the other 70 miles of the route through New Hampshire? The 400 miles from Pennsylvania to Dracut, Mass.? Is safety compromised as much in the mechanical engineering as the town line is in the civil engineering? Is the so-called need for this proposed pipeline as inaccurate and as far off as the grade over Scott Mountain & the Winchester-Richmond town line?

For the Public Utilities Commission to have rubber-stamped this project without even waiting for the official certificate filing is every bit as egregious as the blatant errors and misrepresentations that Kinder Morgan has made part of the official record.

Jennie L. Hill

\

Richmond

Pipeline information events scheduled this week

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

Meetings on two topics related to the proposed Northeast Energy Direct pipeline will be held this week.
First, a Boston physician will give a presentation about the health effects a compressor station could have on area residents. This meeting is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Temple.

There will also be meetings that night and the next day in Swanzey and Rindge about plans to expand natural gas service to those towns.

Dr. Curtis L. Nordgaard of Boston Children’s Hospital is expected to focus his roughly 90-minute talk on the health effects associated with living, working or going to school near fracked natural gas drilling and processing facilities, according to a news release from the Temple Ad Hoc Pipeline Advisory Committee and the New Ipswich Pipeline Resistance. The two organizations are sponsoring the free event, which will be open to the public and at Temple Elementary School, 830 Route 45.

The school is about a quarter of a mile from where Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC plans to site a 41,000-horsepower compressor station in neighboring New Ipswich.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, has proposed building the high-pressure transmission pipeline to carry fracked natural gas from shale gas fields in Pennsylvania through upstate New York, parts of northern Massachusetts and into southern New Hampshire before going to a distribution hub in eastern Massachusetts. The route would cross the Cheshire County towns of Fitzwilliam, Richmond, Rindge, Troy and Winchester.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline officials filed the project’s application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has the power to approve or reject the pipeline, last month. Company officials have asked the commission to approve the project by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Nordgaard said in a phone interview that he has spent the past year and a half focusing his research on the air pollution that pipeline facilities, especially compressor stations, generate.

He’s found that pollutants emitted from a compressor station are toxic and potentially cancer causing, he said, and can lead to increased risks of heart disease, stroke and respiratory diseases.

Pregnant mothers living near compressor stations are at a greater risk of giving birth prematurely, he said. Infants, he added, are also at risk for having a low birth weight or being diagnosed with asthma.

More information: Bev Edwards at nadesha@msn.com.

Also this week, Liberty Utilities’ representatives will meet publicly with selectmen in Rindge and Swanzey this week to discuss their plans for expanding natural gas service.

The Swanzey meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the town hall, is the company’s second meeting with town officials about the expansion plan.

The Rindge meeting is Wednesday. Rindge selectmen’s meetings begin at 5:30 p.m at the town offices.

Liberty Utilities has a petition before the N.H. Public Utilities Commission seeking rights to own and operate natural gas distribution systems in Jaffrey, Rindge, Swanzey and Winchester.

Two of the four towns — Rindge and Winchester — are along the proposed route of the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, while the other two are nearby. None of the towns have natural gas distribution systems.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Kinder Morgan finances raise concerns

A coalition of New Hampshire town officials has announced “grave concerns” with an energy company’s ability to finance and construct a proposed natural gas pipeline through the southern part of the state. It comes on the heels of news last week that Kinder Morgan cut dividends to stockholders by 75 percent.

The N.H. Municipal Pipeline Coalition, a group of 15 towns opposed to the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline project, issued a statement last week pointing to several factors, including the dividend payout, that it says indicate Kinder Morgan is in financial turmoil.

However, Kinder Morgan said the company is financially sound, and the dividend reduction will help ensure its cash flow and even fuel growth of 6 to 10 percent in 2016.

Kinder Morgan, through its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., has proposed the approximately $5 billion project to expand the company’s existing pipeline system in Pennsylvania, New York and New England, and connect it to low-cost natural gas supplies from northern Pennsylvania to New York and New England markets.

The project has met strong resistance from residents and local officials in the southwestern New Hampshire towns slated to be in its path. In Cheshire County, the pipeline would cross the towns of Fitzwilliam, Richmond, Rindge, Troy and Winchester. Their concerns range from the potential environmental and health effects that the high pressure transmission pipeline could cause to concerns about the federal government taking property by eminent domain for the project.

In the New Hampshire coalition’s statement last week, Milford Town Administrator Mark Bender said, “Let’s put this into perspective. Kinder Morgan is the company trying to convince 19 southern New Hampshire towns and over 100,000 residents that they should be entrusted to construct and operate an 80-mile, high-pressure, 30-inch pipeline through our communities, conservation lands, private property, rivers and aquifers. However, recent assurances they made to their own stockholders about dividend increases were flipped on their head Tuesday. This sends up a number of red flags for me.”

Rindge Selectmen Chairman Robert A. Hamilton said in an interview the latest news from Kinder Morgan has him very concerned for what lies ahead if the pipeline is approved by federal regulators.

Not finishing the project “is a large concern,” Hamilton said. “I’d hate to see them come in and start clearing things out and then find out that they can’t finance the rest of the project. That would leave us in a pretty shabby-looking situation.”

Kinder Morgan spokesman Richard Wheatley could not be reached by phone, but said in an email to The Sentinel: “We have reviewed our expected investments in 2017 and 2018 and believe that our stable and internally generated cash flow will allow us to continue to fund the equity portion of our capital budget without the need to access the equity market. Even with the dividend reduction, it enables us to fund the equity portion of our expansion capital requirements using a significant portion of our cash flow. Remember $5 billion in cash flow is projected for 2016, and we expect to fund all of the 2016 project equity and a significant portion of our debt requirements.”

It’s been a rough year for the company.

In December 2014, Kinder Morgan stock was trading for just over $38 per share and reached a high of $44 per share.

As of this morning, its stock is down to $16.67 per share, a drop of nearly 40 percent from its high.

On Dec. 1, Moody’s, a service that rates corporations on their credit-worthiness, downgraded Kinder Morgan’s stock from stable to negative based on its debt ratio (the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt, and its acquisition of the struggling Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC).

“The negative outlook reflects Kinder Morgan’s increased business risk profile and additional pressure on its already high leverage that will result from its agreement to increase ownership in NGPL, a distressed company,” said Terry Marshall, Moody’s senior vice president, in a statement at the time of the announcement. “NGPL is facing potential default on its pending interest payments, suggesting that (Kinder Morgan) will need to provide cash injections, which will likely be debt-funded initially.”

Moody’s, in the same statement, further threatened to downgrade the company’s stock to junk status if it took on more debt. However, the other two big credit rating agencies — Standard & Poor’s and Fitch — did not downgrade the company, and both listed it as stable.

And now, news of the dividend cut caused Moody’s to raise the company’s stock back to stable.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it would be slashing its dividend to shareholders from $2.04 per share annually to 50 cents per share annually.

Richard Kinder, co-founder and executive chairman of Kinder Morgan Inc., explained the move in a conference call to analysts last week.

First, Kinder Morgan’s business model was based on funding its projects through a combination of debt and its own money. With Moody’s threatening to downgrade if the company took on more debt, the company had to look to other options to raise money for the projects in the works, he said.

The company also couldn’t just sell more of its stock, since the price of the stock was so low, it wasn’t financially sensible, he said.

So Kinder said, the company considered abandoning its backlog of pipeline projects.

According to Wheatley, the backlog includes more than 40 projects in the U.S. The total backlog, which includes natural gas projects and projects in other Kinder Morgan businesses, totals approximately $21.3 billion, he said.

About half of the natural gas projects are in progress, in permitting or in various stages of construction, he said.

During the conference call, Kinder said, the company decided against abandoning those projects, figuring those projects mean growth for the company, which is what it needs.

The only option left, Kinder said, was to slash the stock. By doing this, he said, the company anticipates it will be able to cover the construction of nearly all of its backlogged projects, pay down some of its debt and grow roughly 6 to 10 percent in the next year.

Wheatley said the company’s expected cash flow for 2016 is more than $5 billion, an increase of more than 8 percent from 2015.

He also said that Kinder Morgan anticipates meeting all of the rating agencies’ requirements to remain investment-grade.

While the company painted an optimistic picture for analysts, what happens if its projected growth doesn’t pan out?

While Wheatley declined to say whether abandoning the backlog of projects would be a consideration should the company not reach its targets over the next two years, that’s what has the New Hampshire coalition of municipalities nervous.

“This is news that I associate with a company in a cash crunch and struggling to meet its commitments,” said Brian McCarthy, the town administrator in Pelham.

“Over the past year, many towns in southern New Hampshire have been hearing a lot of promises from Kinder Morgan and I now have serious concerns about how this news could impact the NED pipeline,” McCarthy said. “Unfortunately, our country has seen many examples of companies cutting corners on projects to save a buck. This news is not reassuring.”

It’s not reassuring to some analysts either, according to a Dec. 12 report in Barron’s by associate editor Andrew Bary. He said one of the risks for Kinder Morgan is leverage, given its net debt of $42.5 billion and higher debt ratio than similar companies its size. Other companies, Bary noted, which have a lower ratio than Kinder Morgan, have already been downgraded to junk status.

“It has the highest leverage ratio of any S&P 500 company with investment-grade debt ratings,” Bary said. “Kinder Morgan aims to get its debt ratio down to 5.5 next year, but it won’t come through debt repayment and instead through a projected increase in cash flow, which could be tough to achieve in a depressed energy-price environment.”

According to the statement from coalition member towns, they question if Kinder Morgan could become another example of a U.S. company that grew quickly by racking up significant long-term debt, but then became challenged when the inevitable business pressures arose.

Coalition members say they’re also concerned that if the pipeline does get the go-ahead and the company runs short of money to pay for it, it may start cutting corners.

“The regulatory agencies need to look very carefully at the finances of this project and the solvency of its sponsor,” said Mason Selectman Charlie Moser. “If such a company came before a town board proposing a large project in Mason, we would require bonding or other financial assurances to protect our town and its residents from a firm with financial incentives to scrimp on construction costs. The damage towns would suffer from Kinder Morgan’s financial failure during and even after construction could be staggering.”

Wheatley said Kinder Morgan would never do that.

“We don’t cut corners to keep costs down, especially regarding the safety and the operation of our pipelines,” Wheatley said, adding that the company spent more than $400 million in 2014 on pipeline safety and integrity programs.

The N.H. Municipal Pipeline Coalition consists of municipal officials from Amherst, Brookline, Fitzwilliam, Greenville, Litchfield, Mason, Merrimack, Milford, New Ipswich, Pelham, Richmond, Rindge, Temple, Troy and Winchester.

The project is now in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has final say over its approval.

 By Melanie Plenda Contributing Writer

Bridge work to start in Winchester next month

 PUBLIC NOTICE

Traffic along the Route 10 bridge over Forest Lake will soon be reduced to one lane during a multi-month project slated to start next month.

The bridge deck replacement work will begin Jan. 4 and is expected to take five months, according to William Boynton of the N.H. Dept. of Transportation Public Information Office. During the work, the bridge will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic directed by temporary signals.

The bridge is on the state’s so-called “red list,” along with others deemed structurally deficient. The bridge was built in 1900, rebuilt in 1974 and serves, on average, a daily traffic level of 7,000 vehicles, according to Boynton. The upcoming project is estimated to cost $150,000.


 With all the heavy truck traffic coming out of the Mitchell quarry headed down to Massachusetts now, it was just a matter of time before another bridge had to be redone to accommodate the loads and extra traffic ..

Democracy missing from pipeline debate

Growing up in Temple, there were few things we valued more than our land, our voice and our independence from outside interests. When it came time to repave a road or buy a new fire engine, our duly elected selectmen would gather proposals and make their case to the town. Come Town Meeting in the spring, we all got to have our say.
That’s the New Hampshire way.

Now, Temple and neighboring towns are facing the biggest threat to land and self-determination I have ever seen.

In 2014, Texas-based energy giant Kinder Morgan announced plans to build a natural gas pipeline through Temple and 16 other New Hampshire towns, complete with a 41,000-horsepower compressor station in nearby New Ipswich. The Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline would originate in Western Pennsylvania and deliver 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of fracked natural gas to New England — more than twice the projected need for the region.

In order to install the 77 miles of pipeline through southern New Hampshire, Kinder Morgan would cut a 125-foot path and maintain a permanent 50-foot easement through private lands, as well as the existing right-of-way.

Some Granite Staters support the pipeline, arguing it will bring construction jobs and reduced energy prices to meet consumer demand. Others oppose the project, citing devalued property, eminent domain seizures, and a range of safety and environmental concerns from leaks and occasional explosions to expanded reliance on fracking.

Regardless of whether you support or oppose the project, every Granite Stater can agree that it is fundamentally a local concern. The decision must be based on a careful weighing of the costs and benefits to the affected towns and the region — not Kinder Morgan’s bottom line. Yet most of us in New Hampshire do not have the means to buy a seat at the debate table.

Consider the investments Kinder Morgan has made in politics. Over the last two years, the company has spent more than $100,000 lobbying in New Hampshire. The $50,000 it spent on lobbying in 2014 was more than any public interest, nonprofit or labor organization spent that year, and it is expected to rise even higher in 2015. (So far, the New Hampshire secretary of state has failed to publish the mandatory lobbying disclosures for the second half of the year).

Grassroots groups opposing the pipeline did not report any lobbying expenditures of their own.

That means that long before state leaders heard a word from their constituents about the proposed pipeline, they had already been contacted by well-paid lobbyist arguing in support of the project. What’s more, those lobbyists frequently help fund state lawmakers’ campaigns.

Nor has Kinder Morgan restricted its lobbying activity to New Hampshire. Over the same period, the company has spent nearly $450,000 lobbying in Massachusetts and another $260,000 lobbying the federal government for a combined $1,000 per day. Over $100,000 of its federal lobbying expenditures were specifically targeted at influencing the FERC process to ratify the NED Pipeline. That’s money a Texas-based company is sending directly to Washington, D.C., to influence whether or not a pipeline gets built in our backyard.

And while Kinder Morgan touts its policy of political neutrality by saying the company does not make any campaign contributions, many of its top executives do precisely that. Since 2012, Kinder Morgan employees and their families have invested millions of dollars in state and federal races, including presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz. In 2015 alone, Chairman Richard Kinder and his wife have already spent $2.2 million to influence the presidential election (a small fraction of their $9 billion fortune), thanks to the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United allowing unlimited super PAC spending on behalf of candidates.

In a political system where elected officials set energy policy — directly and via appointments to the FERC — while simultaneously raising millions of dollars from special interests to get elected, Kinder Morgan’s investments make perfect business sense. But what about the vast majority of Granite Staters who cannot afford to hire lobbyists or fund state and federal candidates of our own?

As Kinder Morgan holds its obligatory public hearings across southern New Hampshire, complete with slideshows and dozens of company representatives, I can’t help wondering if it isn’t just a charade. Why would a company spend millions of dollars to influence the political process if the voices of affected citizens are the central concern? And how can a democratic republic allow unlimited spending by special interests in the first place?

For the sake of my old town and the values we hold dear, I hope citizens across New Hampshire will make their voices heard in the current pipeline debate and put an end to endless spending in elections.

Daniel Weeks
Nashua
executive director of Open Democracy.