Selectmen Vote Unanimously to Oppose Gas Pipeline

Wilmington’s Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Monday night to oppose the Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Company’s proposed pipeline through Wilmington, adding them to a list of dozens of communities throughout the state opposed to the line’s construction.

Dozens of residents were in attendance at Wilmington’s Board of Selectmen meeting Monday night to speak out against the proposed Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Company pipeline planned to affect neighborhoods throughout Wilmington, as well as Tewksbury and North Reading.

Residents voiced their concerns about the proximity of the proposed 20-inch, high pressure gas transmission line which could come as soon as 2018 as part of a controversial $5 billion Northeast expansion.

From the proximity to local neighborhoods to the town’s drinking water supply, residents in an open forum voiced their concerns to the town’s leaders about the gas line coming through their neighborhoods and the town, as did selectmen. The proposed gas line would come very close to the the town’s drinking supply, of which Town Manager Jeffrey Hull said Monday night supplies 64 percent of the town’s water.

The board addressed the pipeline expansion as part of an agenda item in their Monday night meeting, in advance of a meeting open to the public Thursday night sponsored by the group Wilmington Pipeline Awareness which will address the project and effects it will have on the town of Wilmington and impacted communities.

Sponsored by the group Wilmington Pipeline Awareness, the meeting is scheduled for Thursday night, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Wilmington Memorial Library. The meeting, which will provide updated information on the pipeline and allow residents to ask questions, will include speakers: State Representative James Miceli, Eminent Domain Attorney George McLaughlin and a representative from the Ipswich River Watershed Association.

Town selectmen said they will do all they can to address their opposition to the project in the hopes of working with Kinder Morgan, although one resident warned in some areas of the country Kinder Morgan came in and took property by eminent domain.

Additionally, Kinder Morgan plans to have open houses throughout the state over the next month, town officials said, with the closest meeting to Wilmington being held in Andover on February 17 at the Wyndham Hotel. Selectmen are urging concerned residents to attend these open houses and express their concerns.

Construction of the gas line could affect a dozen different neighborhoods in Wilmington, Tewksbury and North Reading, including Hathaway Acres, Apollo Park, Martins Brook, Lucaya Circle, Cold Spring Road, Crestwood Drive, Damon Street and other areas in town. It would cross through many yards, while also cutting a 75 foot swath through Apollo Park. If built the project would be one of the highest operating pressure gas lines in New England.

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Photo: Ipswich River Watershed Association