BRPC's executive committee was briefed about the upcoming workshop.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — BRPC won't be weighing in on the need for alternative projects when it comes to the proposed natural gas pipeline that will run through Massachusetts.

But the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will do what it can to make sure the towns are as prepared as they can be should it come through the Berkshires.

"We don't really have the necessary background to be able to offer anything more than an opinion," BRPC Executive Director Nathaniel Karns said of taking a position on the proposed Northeast Energy Direct Project from Kinder Morgan that is eyed to cut through the Berkshires.

 

"What we do have and have strong credibility is in how to mitigate impacts in our communities if it comes to pass."

 

On Wednesday June 3, BRPC is bringing attorneys from BCK, a firm with experience with these types of projects, for a workshop focused on local permitting. That is being funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through a grant awarded to BRPC.

 

The session will be for boards of selectmen, conservation commissions, planning boards, town managers, and others to understand what type of control they have in the process.

 

"Towns may be more of a partner to this than we initially expected but it takes work," Karns said.

 

Local permitting and ordinances can help mitigate and reduce the impact the pipeline could have, Karns said, and the attorneys will provide information on how and what.

 

Meanwhile, BRPC is launching  a series of workshops with the property owners who would have their land taken from them. These workshops will help the owners understand how their property will be valued or the effects the actual construction will have on the rest of their land. 

 

Seven towns have hired BRPC to provide an array of technical support as the pipeline continues its way through the federal permitting process.

 

In other business, BRPC is supporting the city of Pittsfield's application to the U.S. Economic Development Administration, a possible funding source because it matches with the Comprehensive Economic Development committee's efforts in recent years. The EDA asked BRPC to review and comment on the request.

 

The grant application is to help the construction of the Berkshire Innovation Center. The state has awarded the city $9.75 million for the construction but isn't enough to accommodate all of the goals the city wants — especially with a recent change in parcel on the William Stanley Business Park.

 

The grant would help the following construction projects: additional site work like driveways, parking lot lights, retaining walls, landscaping; a water line extension on Woodlawn Avenue; a traffic signal at Woodlawn Avenue and East Street; extend fiber optic cable from Lyman Street through the property; installation of a photovoltaic array; and purchase of additional manufacturing equipment.

 

"There wasn't anything in the application that raised objections," said Commissioner Roger Bolton.