Feb. 1st
On January 27, Kinder Morgan filed a renewed request for Notice to Proceed with Tree Felling with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the entire CT Expansion Project including an easement in Otis State Forest.
Kinder Morgan has a short time to complete tree cutting before March 31st, the “environmentally preferred window” to protect migratory birds. In their latest filing with FERC, Kinder Morgan claimed to have “received all federal permits needed for tree felling.” That’s not quite true.
In addition to not having a final 401 water quality certification from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), because of the ongoing Citizen’s Appeal, there are severalother issues as yet unresolved that must be completed before FERC can consider allowing tree cutting for the project.
Please submit a comment on FERC Docket No. CP14-529 to make this clear to FERC! (How to eComment.)
This is time-sensitive; Kinder Morgan is requesting a response from FERC within the week!
In your comment to FERC, you can use any of the talking points below (please put them in your own words):
– The Massachusetts 401 water quality certification is not yet final; the appeal is still pending.
– Felling trees and leaving them in place, rather than hauling them out of the forest, would be in violation of the Clean Water Act.
– The eminent domain proceeding to take the land in Otis State Forest is not complete. The compensation settlement hearing is scheduled for Feb 6th.
– The tribal consultations are not complete. Under current plans, one third of the 73 ceremonial landscape features found along the proposed right-of-way face destruction during the construction process.
-Kinder Morgan still has not certified the vernal pools in the path of the pipeline construction as prescribed by the Sandisfield Conservation Commission’s Order of Conditions for the project.
– The Request for Rehearing filed with FERC by Sandisfield Taxpayers Against the Pipeline (S.T.O.P.) remains pending. FERC must rule on the merits of this request.
– You can also say that you support MassPLAN’s 1/30/17 filing in opposition to tree felling.
Kinder Morgan sees all our filings on the docket. We need lots of comments there ASAP not just to inform FERC, but to let the company know that the people of Massachusetts will not just step aside for this pipeline.