AMHERST — A plan by Eversource to widen transmission lines along a nearly 30-mile corridor by significantly removing trees continues to be blasted by critics, with about 20 people bringing their concerns directly to company representatives at the North Amherst Library late last week.
“We love our environment,” Jeff Weston, a member of the Shutesbury Planning Board, told Eversource officials. “We walk through these lands, our forests and our wetlands. We deeply care about the animals and plants that have been here for 11,000 years since the last ice age.”
As Weston spoke with emotion, one Eversource representative suggested he lower his voice. But Weston said he needed to be clear that there is significant anger in the affected communities.
“This is our home, and when you destroy our environment, you’re hurting us,” Weston said.
Even though Eversource characterized the meeting as a pop-up event to disseminate information, including brochures and maps, and “not a sit-and-stay” session, those wanting to have a say found a stack of chairs and began setting up the meeting room for public participation.
Known as the Transmission Right-of-Way Reliability Program, Eversource is promoting the long-term vegetation maintenance initiative as a way to improve electric system reliability and resiliency. This WT-11 project will take place along an existing transmission corridor that runs approximately from the Northfield substation to the Ludlow substation, with affected towns also being Amherst, Belchertown, Erving, Granby, Leverett, Montague, Pelham, Shutesbury and Wendell.
In those towns, Eversource has a powerline corridor that is between 125 and 335 feet wide, with plans to clear 278 acres and widen this to 252 to 576 feet wide. The plan would remove all species of trees and shrubs with mature heights greater than 30 feet.
Before the meeting started, people stood on the front lawn and garden area of the library, waving signs such as “more trees, less sleaze,” “protect trees and water from Eversource” and “no more genocide of our forests for more power” at passing vehicles at the busy intersection of Montague and Sunderland roads.
Once inside, Sharon Weizenbaum, also of Shutesbury, told Eversource its plans for tree removal are unnecessary and insanely aggressive.
“This is extreme what you’re doing,” Weizenbaum said. “It’s extreme compared to any other electric company.”
Weizenbaum also called the plans an “environmental tragedy.”
“Our message is that this doubling of the corridor is unnecessary,” she said, noting that there have been only three outages caused by fallen trees along hundreds of miles of 345,000-volt transmission lines in the past 23 years, since the lines were upgraded following a 2003 storm.
“The clear-cutting of over 2,000 acres of forest by Eversource is unmerited [and] destructive to animals, wetlands, humans, water quality and control, and for the climate,” Weizenbaum said. “This plan is unprecedented and outrageous.”
However, there was pushback regarding the statistics when the number of trees toppled on a 345,000-volt line was mentioned.
“That’s not true,” said Connor Jennings, who handles community outreach for Eversource. He noted that 14 trees have damaged Eversource power lines in recent years.
Michael DeChiara, who serves on Shutesbury’s Planning Board, said Eversource should only count trees that have come down on the 345,000-volt line.
“Saying 14 is disingenuous. It’s confusing,” DeChiara said.
Jennings also said there is a need to “reduce the risk” of vegetative impacts that can affect wires now and over a 40-year time period.
“It doesn’t make sense to logical people who live here,” Weston said. “You are not mandated to clear-cut, to say that every tree is seen as a danger.”
Stacey McCullough of Pelham said concerns about clear-cutting right to the river’s edge at Buffam Falls in Pelham is also an issue, even though the company is supposed to stay 200 feet away.
“Buffam Falls is a place that really matters,” McCullough said, adding that she would suggest Eversource pursue an option for either selective cutting or raising the power lines.
She noted that the idea of increasing the height of the power is already included in Eversource’s alternatives analysis, but only across the project, not specifically for the parts of the project where it would be most appropriate, such as sensitive areas.
A Draft Environmental Impact Report was submitted last August and Eversource will also be making submissions to local conservation commissions. Jennings estimates Eversource is about 80% of the way through the permitting process.
