Mayor Calls For Pipeline Hearing Closer to Peabody

Mayor Ted Bettencourt is looking to have the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hold a public hearing in Peabody on the controversial Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Pipeline natural gas pipeline project.

FERC has held several public hearings on the project, which would impact a number of communities in Southern New Hampshire as well as Northern Massachusetts, but the closest hearing to Peabody was in Dracut last month.

“Many Peabody residents who may have wanted to provide FERC with their feedback relative to the proposal were simply unable to due to schedule and logistic limitations,” Bettencourt stated.

City officials and a citizens’ group have been working together to voice opposition to the project.

“As part of the project, Tennessee Gas has proposed building a spur of subsurface pipeline in an area of Peabody wholly unsuited for such a utility,” Bettencourt wrote to FERC Chairman Norman C. Bay.

Bettencourt goes on to outline some of the concerns about the project that he included in a previous letter to FERC in June, including the potential damage to natural resources along the proposed path and its potential disruption to the city’s bike path.

“Finally, the area proposed for pipeline construction runs adjacent to one of our city’s most beloved and tight-knit neighborhoods,” stated the mayor. “Families who live here are justly concerned about a disruptive construction project which could forever alter the landscape of their homes. Homeowners have also expressed to me their concerns relative to public safety an protection of property.”