Boots on the Ground Needed to Fight Kinder Morgan Pipeline

Regarding the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline in Merrimack - if you say “you don’t want the pipeline,” “you oppose it,” and that “you are concerned about safety issues” - that is not what’s going to win this battle.

It’s not that those aren’t legitimate concerns (and trust me they are) it’s just that if safety concerns are raised, all KM has to say is “we’re using new technology to avoid that” and the Feds give the point to KM. There is no way, the Feds would stop this on a hypothetical “I’m afraid this might happen” argument.

That’s why we *must* gather and present facts. We need numbers on property loss value, we need to know how this will impact the environment and our water ways (along the lines of the excellent water way questions posed last night.) We need to know what endangered species will be affected, how the gas might affect our drinking water. How chemicals used in the process will impact our wildlife and the impact of those chemicals on human health. A list of recent explosions and leaks and the reasons why is also good information, along with the numbers of children and people with disabilities living in the incineration zones (and whether there is an evacuation plan in place that considers them.)

In short, we need to do a ton of research and then compile it into a coherent document that we submit to the FEDs. And we have to do it quickly.

We need to talk to our neighbors, form task forces, and have a battle plan *as a community* As pointed out at last night’s town council meeting, if there is legitimate reason to not go through Horse Hill, KM just might go around it - affecting those surrounding neighborhoods.

This is not a Whittier neighborhood problem, this is a TOWN problem.

We need a town meeting immediately. Our residents need to be able to gather together and come up with a plan. And we have to assume that the March 18th deadline is a go.

The town council is taking steps but they simply don’t have the manpower to get this done. While we’re waiting for them to get a response from KM, we can do the research and we can send representatives to other towns to attend their town meetings. We can ask the questions that need to be asked. We can create a strategy.

There is much we can do if we work together. We’re going to need all boots on the ground if we want a chance of winning this fight.

Wendy Thomas can be reached at wethomas@gmail.com