Ever since it surfaced as a possibility, there have been no shortage of opinions about the proposed Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline.
The vast majority have been against it, but there also seems to be a quieter but growing base of local pipeline support, mostly from union types who see it as an economic opportunity. In most cases, the arguments have become quite heated and, in some cases, threaten to pit neighbor against neighbor, which, sadly, is what tends to happen with large and controversial development projects. One need look no further than Greenfield’s French King Highway for evidence of that.
Even amid the rhetoric, some public officials have remained conspicuously silent on the matter, much to the chagrin of some long-time supporters for whom this pipeline presents a clear and present danger to their quality of life, and the region. One such official is state Senate President Stan Rosenberg, who has not been nearly as vocal in his opposition as many of his colleagues, even though he’s made it clear that he is not happy about a project which would tear up large tracts of farmland he’s spent the better part of his career trying to protect.
I’ve always assumed that Rosenberg’s silence was rooted mainly in his position in the Senate leadership. It’s easy to fly the flags of discontent when you are a member of the rank-and-file, but it’s a little different when you are one of the “big three” in state government, and where you have to consider the needs of an entire commonwealth, which is in desperate need of new sources of energy, natural gas in particular.
There may be another reason for Rosenberg’s low-key approach — namely, that I’m not sure he believes it is ever going to happen.
“We’re not going to know anything for sure for the next 12 to 18 months,” Rosenberg said. “But we’ve got an ‘ace in the hole.’ Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to play.”
The “ace “in question is Article 97, a provision written into the Massachusetts Constitution mandating that no construction project can go through conservation land without a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature, a vote any lawmaker will tell you is an extremely difficult hurdle to clear.
It’s also a hurdle that, heretofore, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which approves pipelines, has never encountered.
“It’s true that no pipeline ever approved by FERC has ever not been built as a result of local or state challenge,” Rosenberg said. “Courts have traditionally overridden local and state laws to allow construction, but they’ve never had to deal with something like this, where it’s embedded in the (state) constitution.”
Rosenberg said it was apparent from his face-to-face meetings in Washington that FERC officials had no idea of the provision’s existence.
“When I mentioned it, they kind of gave me a blank stare,” Rosenberg said. “They’d never heard of it.”
Rosenberg said he hasn’t done a legislative nose count on the pipeline issue, but he’s fairly confident neither the House or the Senate would vote to allow the construction. He also says the article could wind up being a major factor as FERC considers another pipeline project also under consideration.
“There’s another one being proposed in the eastern part of the state, but that one is along an existing right of way, so Article 97 is not in play,” Rosenberg said. “The hope is that FERC will look at both projects, if they are on the table at the same time. and realize that the eastern one is easier to complete and approve that one. So it could change the conversation.”
There is one potential nightmare scenario, in which the legality of Article 97 is challenged and the U.S. Supreme Court overturns it. That possibility only adds more fuel to the already fiery debate over who next occupies the seat of late Justice Antonin Scalia.
“It is possible that could go before the high court, but if it does, it will be 12 to 18 months from now, so, presumably, that seat will have either been filled by our current president or the new one,” Rosenberg said. “What would happen if it ends up there is anybody’s guess.”
For now, Rosenberg is focused more on making sure FERC pays attention to the concerns of local residents, including those who share the senator’s belief that this pipeline will never be built.
“The Article 97 discussion will be a huge moment in this debate, kind of the final moment,” he said. “But it’s not going to happen right away, and we are learning as we go along, and we’re engaging more and more people who are smart about these things.” Spoken with the quiet confidence of someone with an ace up his sleeve.
Chris Collins, who worked in local radio in a number of capacities, has observed political life in Franklin County for years. He also is a former staff reporter for The Recorder and a Greenfield native.