I think it’s safe to now bid an official farewell to the natural gas pipeline that had been proposed for western Massachusetts.
The Kinder Morgan Co. pulled the plug on that project months ago, but there was always a feeling that it would eventually be brought back at a more politically and financially advantageous time.
That trapdoor appears to have slammed shut, now that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a proposed “pipeline tax” allowing electric companies to pass on pipeline construction costs to ratepayers is prohibited under existing state law. The ruling effectively blunts one of Kinder Morgan’s primary means of financing the Northeast Direct Pipeline project.
“The SJC got it right,” state Sen. President Stan Rosenberg said. “Existing law prohibits passing these costs on to ratepayers, and to do otherwise would have been unprecedented and contrary to the commonwealth’s best interests.”
The SJC decision does not mean local officials are done talking about the gas, however. The day before the ruling, a group of legislators from Franklin and Hampshire counties filed for “intervenor” status in the legal battle surrounding the Berkshire Gas Co. moratorium on new natural gas hookups.
“This is something which is having a huge economic impact on our communities,” 1st Franklin District Rep. Steve Kulik said. “Berkshire Gas kind of put all their eggs in one basket with the pipeline, and we want be part of the solution in ending this moratorium.”
The court ruling would have appeared to detonate that basket, but that doesn’t mean Kulik and his colleagues will be named intervenors anytime soon. The last time he requested that status on the pipeline project, the state Department of Public Utilities told him to basically go pound sand, but Kulik believes things might be different this time.
“There are eight towns impacted by this, all of which cut across multiple districts,” Kulik said. “In addition to Stan and myself, Rep. Paul Mark is on the list of applicants, as are (Reps.) John Scibak, Ellen Story and Peter Kocot in Hampshire County. I really don’t see how they can say ‘no’ to all of us.”
Don’t be too sure. This is, after all, the DPU, possibly the most obtuse agency in state government, outside of our friends at the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority).
If you want to weigh in on the Berkshire moratorium, they are coming to town for a hearing later this month at the Greenfield Middle School.
I think it’s safe to say that former Greenfield Selectman Peter Ruggeri has had better weeks.
Ruggeri lost a key piece of Federal Street real estate to fire last Friday, and, while nothing can replace that, there was a little piece of good news for him and other sun enthusiasts tucked into an economic development bill signed recently by the governor.
In the new law was a line item to establish a committee to study the pros and cons of doing away with Eastern Standard Time in Massachusetts.
There are apparently some people who believe that sticking with Eastern Daylight Time might be better for the economy, because people may use those extra daylight hours to go out and spend money, rather than retreating to their homes and hibernating, as they are wont to do when the sun goes down at 5 in the winter.
Ruggeri was way ahead of his time on this one, suggesting as far back as the late ’90s how nice it would be for the commonwealth to consider such a change — which, though still a long shot, is at least on the state’s radar, farther than the idea has ever gotten to this point.
I understand that misdirection is as common in politics as lawn signs, but in the age of the low-information voters, such tactics are not only unethical but can be downright dangerous.
Consider what we are seeing right now in the campaign for state ballot Question 2, which would remove all current caps on the number of charter schools in Massachusetts.
There are strong and impassioned arguments on both sides of the issue, which is great. What is not great are the TV ads being run by the pro-Question 2 forces that make the case that people should vote “yes” on 2 to “create stronger public schools.”
Really? Exactly how does siphoning money out of already underfunded regular education districts and funneling it into what are essentially private schools funded with public money create “stronger schools” for everyone?
What it does do is offer new choices to students looking to get out of struggling districts, but to argue that lifting the cap creates stronger schools for everyone goes beyond simple misdirection. It’s a flat-out lie, and the people who are spewing out that talking point should stop it right now.
These issues are complicated enough without unethical campaign tactics muddying the waters, which is why it’s more important than ever for voters to take some time to examine the worm closely before biting on every political hook dangled in front of them.
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.