Last modified: 2/25/2016 10:29:46 AM
GREENFIELD — Walkers who oppose the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline will walk on Presidents Day, Feb. 15, from Greenfield Community College to the First Congregational Church at 43 Silver St. between 10 a.m. and noon, according to Hattie Nestel of the No NED Pipeline Affinity Group, which will sponsor the walk.
The walk’s route will include a stop to picket with others already gathered at the Berkshire Gas office at 40 Mill St. Pipeline opponents want to stop the Berkshire Gas moratorium declared in late 2014 on new customers and more gas for existing customers. Berkshire Gas has said it cannot accommodate more gas customers until a new pipeline is built.
“The claim of Berkshire Gas makes no sense,” Nestel asserted. “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s comprehensive utilities study the past November indicates that there are already sufficient pipelines in Massachusetts, and we do not need the Kinder Morgan pipeline. It is evident that the Kinder Morgan pipeline is proposed to transport gas across Massachusetts without regard to Massachusetts customers who will be required to pay for the pipeline through a tariff charged to ratepayers for years.”
Walkers and picketers will be welcomed for lunch at the First Congregational Church, and a program will follow lunch, Nestel said. Speakers at a program after lunch will include lawyer Tom Lesser of Conway, who is involved in litigation against the Berkshire Gas moratorium; Sister Clare Carter of the New England Peace Pagoda; Pat Hynes of Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, and Rosemary Wessel of Cummington, president of NoFrackedGasinMass.org.
Walkers will gather at 9:45 a.m. at Greenfield Community College, and picketers will gather at 9:45 a.m. at the Berkshire Gas office.
To register for the walk, contact Nestel at 978-790-3074 or hattieshalom@verizon.net. Nestel said that children accompanied by adults are welcome to join the walk.