Work on the controversial Northeast Energy Direct pipeline has been suspended indefinitely by energy giant Kinder Morgan.
“I just came in from hugging my wellhead and telling all my creatures in my vernal pool the news,” said Karen Miller of New Ipswich, who is a member of the New Ipswich Pipeline Task Force, one of about a half-dozen groups in the area that have protested against the project since it was first proposed to travel through New Hampshire in November 2014.
“I cried, laughed, and spun myself in circles,” she said.
Kinder Morgan cited “inadequate capacity commitments from prospective customers” for the decision to pull the plug on the estimated $3.3 billion project that would have cut through Rindge, New Ipswich, Greenville and Mason on its way from the shale gas fields west of New York to Dracut, Massachusetts, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
“We’re going to be doing a dance tonight,” said Rindge Select Board member Roberta Oeser, who was reached by cellphone Wednesday at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
“Unfortunately, despite working for more than two years and expending substantial shareholder resources, TGP did not receive the additional commitments it expected. As a result, there are currently neither sufficient volumes, nor a reasonable expectation of securing them, to proceed with the project as it is currently configured,” the company said.
Local anti-pipeline activists celebrated the news.
“I think this is terrific evidence that a powerful grassroots effort can make a difference against big business and government agencies,” said John Kieley, a member of the Temple ad-hoc Pipeline Advisory Committee.
Temple was not on the proposed pipeline route, but a 41,000 horsepower compressor station to push gas through the pipe would have been built in New Ipswich, within half a mile of the Temple border and Temple Elementary School.
“This is such great news! Like so many of us, I have spent hours of every day sending emails to legislators, going to Concord, writing position statements!” wrote Temple Select Board member Gail Cromwell in an email to the Ledger-Transcript.
But even while celebrating, pipeline opponents aren’t ready to rest easy.
“Of course, the fear is that if the price of LNG comes back up, they could try again, so we have to keep working to get the health standards for air and water quality in place for N.H. to make it really tough for them!” Cromwell wrote.
“We’re not stopping,” said Mason Pipeline Committee member Darrell Scott in an interview Wednesday. “We’re not stopping yet – because we don’t really trust Kinder Morgan.”
Pipeline opponents aren’t going to be backing down on a couple of issues, the most key one being bills currently in the state Senate that deal with the pipeline. One would require that a pipeline company attempting to take a piece of land for an energy corridor by eminent domain be required to purchase the entire property, if that’s the owner’s wish. The other would prevent using a tariff charged to ratepayers to pay for the construction of pipelines.
“We need to push on with those bills, to put Kinder Morgan and anyone else that tries to do something like this here on notice,” said Kieley.
Several state officials released statements or sent out Tweets immediately after the news broke on Wednesday.
“I was proud to lead the fight against the Kinder Morgan pipeline project, which, after countless site visits, forums, and meetings with constituents, I deemed a poor deal for New Hampshire – both for our natural environment and the safety of our neighborhoods,” wrote Congresswoman Annie Kuster in a release Wednesday.
“Thousands of NH citizens have been raising legitimate questions for months. Local voices are being heard!” Tweeted Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte also applauded the move. “I was the first statewide elected official to oppose the pipeline moving forward because of the many unanswered questions and concerns raised by New Hampshire residents who would have been affected by this project, so I am pleased by today’s announcement,” said Ayotte in a written statement released Wednesday.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com
She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.