Spectra Pipeline on May 9th Town Meeting Docket

Norfolk residents will be able to voice their opinion on Spectra Energy’s Access Northeast pipeline project at the May 9 town meeting. Opponents to the pipeline have gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the town meeting warrant.
The group No Norfolk MA Gas Pipeline would like the town to take a public stand against the pipeline in a resolution designed to urge state officials to oppose the project in Massachusetts.
An informational meeting with a question and answer period will be held on Tuesday, April 25 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Public Library. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting and learn about the pipeline and its potential impact on the town, as well as ongoing efforts to fight it.
Spectra Energy plans to install a high-pressure, fracked gas pipeline through Massachusetts as part of its Access Northeast project. The 21-mile pipeline, called the Q-1 Loop, will go through nine towns, including Norfolk. Residents and activists against the project cite safety concerns as well as environmental impacts in the area. The Access Northeast project is part of a bigger effort to expand pipeline capacity along the East Coast into Canada.
According to Angela Wilcox, a member of No Norfolk MA Gas Pipeline and a direct abutter to the proposed pipeline, the town meeting resolution, if it passes, will send a message to Spectra Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as well as state officials, that the town opposes the expansion of the pipeline.
“It doesn’t necessarily change things or make it go away, but it does come out to say that this town, like other towns in the area, are opposed to the pipeline,” said Wilcox. “There is some weight to that. I think it’s really important for the town to be unified and really have a position on it.”
Pipeline opponents note that studies have determined that more gas pipelines are not needed, and believe the country should be investing in alternative sources of energy. They cite studies such as the one conducted by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy (dated November, 2015, http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/energy-utilities/reros-study-final.pdf) and more recent ones conducted by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire (https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/perspective/nh-electricity-markets), as well as Synapse Energy Economics (http://www.synapse-energy.com/sites/default/files/New-Englands-Shrinking...), disputing the assertion that more gas infrastructure will help the country’s energy needs.
Pipeline activists theorize that pipeline expansion will ultimately be used to export gas overseas.
Wilcox says it’s also important to acknowledge the connection between the proposed Weymouth compressor station and Spectra Energy’s pipeline expansion. In January, federal energy regulators gave Spectra the green light to build the compressor station, but Weymouth officials and citizens hope the Baker administration will deny the final environmental permits necessary for the project to move forward. Wilcox notes that pipeline opponents can pressure the Baker administration in support of the town of Weymouth, because if the compressor station isn’t built, the pipeline project could be derailed.
“This would go a long way to help squash Access Northeast, which includes the Q-1 loop,” emphasized Wilcox.
The next No Norfolk MA Gas Pipeline monthly meeting will be held on April 13 at 7 p.m. at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary. Contact Angela Wilcox at 781-241-2083 for more information, or visit the group’s Facebook page. Visit www.NOspectraMA.org for information about Spectra Energy’s Access Northeast project.