Lenox OKs Pipeline Survey; Preparing Cleanup Comments
 The Board of Selectmen reversed their decision to deny Kinder Morgan the ability to survey town land for the proposed natural gas pipeline. |
The Selectmen previously denied the request for additional survey work to be done near the Woolsy trail and the Arcadian Shop as well as Kennedy Park and the town's watershed areas.
Town Manager Christopher Ketchen requested the denial because the developers of the natural gas line hadn't provided maps of the the proposal on the east side of town.
Ketchen said on Wednesday that the town has received those requests and the Board of Selectmen opted to allow the company to do the requested survey.
Kinder Morgan had already done some survey work on town property and the Selectmen allowed it, saying the work would provide more information. Wednesday's decision is in line with that initial response.
"Ultimately, I don't think we can stop the survey," said Chairman Channing Gibson. "We made the decision before to approve the survey of the other parcels."
Essentially, the Selectmen don't want to get into a legal fight over the survey work because they want to save resources for when a proposal is actually made. There have been talks of proposals going through various parts of the Berkshires or even completely avoiding this area but no confirmation had been made by the company of which route the line would take.
Going through Lenox has been the route mostly talked about and the one the Selectmen are hoping to find out more about.
"Kinder Morgan has provided a map of the remainder of the survey route, so as a matter of good faith and as a matter of what your previous position was on this matter, I am recommending approval," Ketchen said.
Selectman Ed Lane said that while town officials don't have to like the idea of the pipeline, in the future they may be called on to negotiate with the company. If so, "we have to keep a decent working relationship."
Selectman David Roche asked for the town's attorney to give a better idea of what legal ground they have to oppose or stop the work.
"I'd like to know what our legal rights are before we mount an offense and before we start spending money," Roche said.
In other business, the Selectmen want to hold a public forum to help guide them in crafting comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the proposed cleanup of the polluted Housatonic River.
"We have very few weeks to come up with this and we'll be guided, I'm sure, by the public meeting. What we do and say will affect generations," said Selectman Warren Archey.
Archey is calling for the town to submit "comprehensive" document of concerns ranging from the truck routes to loading areas to how storm events will impact the river in the future.
"We've got to get it right. We've got to get that list complete," he said.
The city of Pittsfield is doing a similar process before it submits comments. Meanwhile, a coalition of the six towns affected will be jointly filing comments.
"The biggest impacts are going to be around Woods Pond. We all know that so I think Lenox should be a little selfish and look out for ourselves," Lane said.
Ketchen said he will schedule at least one forum and the Selectmen will later have a working meeting to craft the town's comments.
Tags: cleanup, gas pipeline, Housatonic, Rest of the River,
