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Action needed today!
Petition to make FERC stand up and stop rubber stamping oil & gas projects. Petition closes on 4/14 — Sign today!

"Instead of critically examining all the impacts associated with oil and gas infrastructure, [FERC has] become a rubber stamp for an industry that has shown that it doesn’t give a damn about the health and safety of the American people


Momentum on anti-pipeline petition surging

If you haven't signed out petition yet to Ban New Natural Gas Pipelines by either paper or online, be sure to join the nearly 7,300 who have.
 
Kinder Morgan executives
finally speaking to the people

After declining many requests to come and speak at our informational meetings, Kinder Morgan's Public Relations people have started to come to a few meetings with selectboards of affected towns. Some meetings have been more one-sided presentations by the company with little or no time for questions from townsfolk, their presentation in Montague was mostly allotted for Q&A time at the behest of Chair of the Selectboard, Mark Fairbrother. This format let the people ask questions directly to Kinder Morgan's Public Affairs Director Allen Fore and Tennessee Gas's Enfield, CT office's Right Of Way Agent, Jim Hartman.


If your town has an upcoming meeting between your selectboard and Kinder Morgan executives and you're concerned that the public will be limited or excluded from the dialog, consider asking (or even petitioning) your board beforehand to make sure that public Q&A is included in the meeting format.

If there's no meeting scheduled yet, ask your selectboard members to request one. They may contact Alllen Fore, Kinder Morgan's Director of Public Affairs, 630-725-3044, Email

Montague gas pipeline meeting draws crowd
By CHRIS CURTIS, Recorder Staff
Monday, April 7, 2014

MONTAGUE — Representatives of the company planning a natural gas pipeline through Franklin County and the town made a first appearance at a local public meeting to a mixed reception from a crowd of supportive union members, a crowd of opposed residents from other counties and a mostly opposed local contingent.
READ MORE...

Full meeting video is available on Montague Community Television's page.

— Rose's account of the Montague meeting and links to various media reports are on the NFGiM Montague page.

Company outlines natural-gas pipeline plan
Ashburnham forum attracts big audience

By Anne O'Connor, Correspondent
Posted:   04/10/2014
ASHBURNHAM -- A standing-room-only crowd gathered Wednesday night to hear a presentation on a proposed natural-gas pipeline that would pass through area towns including Ashburnham, Ashby and Townsend.
READ MORE ...

Pipeline presentation draws crowd in Dracut
By John Collins
Updated:   04/11/2014

DRACUT -- When it comes to putting the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline on the agenda, even if you're just talking about it for the first time, they will come, as selectmen discovered Tuesday.
A standing-room-only audience of about 100 consisting of a mix of Dracut residents, local labor union workers, and several curious out-of-towners were drawn to Harmony Hall to hear and view a slide-show presentation made by Allen Fore, the public-relations director of Kinder Morgan, parent company of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. that's considering making Dracut the endpoint of a 179-mile natural gas pipeline originating in Wright, N.Y.
READ MORE...

UPCOMING MEETINGS WITH KINDER MORGAN
WEDNESDAY – APRIL 23, 2014 – ASHBY
Kinder Morgan/TGP representatives to meet with Ashburnham Select Board
7:00 p.m.
Ashby Town Hall
895 Main St., Ashby, MA

THURSDAY – APRIL 24 – FITCHBURG
— Information Night on TGP Project. Kinder Morgan Environmental Expert to attend.
7:00 p.m.
Colomba Legacy Center
59 Walnut Street, Fitchburg, MA
 
Informational meetings continue to spur towns into action across the state
(and now in NY, too)

Bruce Winn of Berkshire Environmental Action Team has been speaking across the state at informational meetings similar to the first one held in Cummington on March 8. For most towns, this has become the focal point for citizens getting together and organizing action in their towns.

After Bruce's presentation along with Atty. Peter Vickery and No Frack Gas in Mass's Rose Wessel in Richmond, MA, organizers there and in neighboring towns are gathering to strategize how to work against the new pipeline for the Northeast Expansion to the other three already that have already been in their communities for decades.  Nearly all of these local actions have a substantial number of people who support resisting the pipeline, but have only two or three people actively working toward making it happen. If you can help out in your town by taking on even one or two little tasks, let us know and we can connect you with organizers there who could use a hand.

Check our town-by-town listings to see what's going on. New pages available for counties in upstate NY.

» Report on Ashby's informational meeting in the Lowell Sun newspaper

UPCOMING INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
(Don't forget to invite town officials, your state representatives and send an invitation the to Governor, so his office knows we're concerned and organizing).

WEDNESDAY — APRIL 16, 2014 — ATHOL
Information Session on proposed pipeline project. Bruce Winn from the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) will give a presentation on the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) route and its contents. He will also talk about environmental and health issues along with economic and regulatory issues. TGP, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, is planning to run a pipeline through North Massachusetts to provide natural gas to a Dracut holding spot. Many people in this area could be affected by this project. Discussion with Q & A to follow presentation.
7:00 p.m.
Athol Town Hall
» More information at North Quabbin Energy


SATURDAY – APRIL 19, 2014 – SANDISFIELD
— Pipeline information event, including presentation by Bruce Winn of BEAT and Rose Wessel of NFGIM.
1:00 pm
Sandisfield Arts Center
5 Hammertown Road
Sandisfield, MA


THURSDAY – APRIL 24 - SHELBURNE FALLS
Buckland Energy Committee is screening Gasland II.  Discussion to follow.
7:00 pm
Arms Library
Shelburne Falls, MA


TUESDAY – MAY 13 – WINDSOR
Information Session on the proposed pipeline project at the Windsor Town Hall. Bruce Winn from the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) will give a presentation on the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) route and its contents. Rosemary Wessel will also be on hand to answer questions. The resolution against the proposed pipeline to carry gas from hydro-fracking through Windsor will be on the warrant for the next town meeting, 5/19/14.
7:00 pm
Windsor Town Hall
Rte. 9, Windsor, MA


New website, focusing on landowners and other stakeholders' concerns
Katy is contributing to a new website, massplan.org (the Massachusetts PipeLine Awareness Network), to reach a broader array of stakeholders.  That site is now up and running, and will be added to as time allows.
 

Resistance to the pipeline gains media attention
Aside from increasing newspaper and some television news coverage of meetings regarding the pipeline, opposition to the pipeline is gaining attention of radio news and feature talk shows.
WAMC's Jim Lavulis interviewed No Fracked Gas in Mass' Katy Eiseman and Montague landowner Laura Chapdelaine. Listen here.
NEPR's Henry Epp put together a short news item on the Montague meeting, talking to Kinder Morgan's Allen Fore and No Fracked Gas in Mass' Rose Wessel, and is planning a longer feature story talking to landowners. Listen here.
— Out ahead of the others, Northampton's WXOJ hosted Bruce Winn and Rose Wessel on Occupy the Airwaves with host/producer d.o. back in February. Audio from last week's Enviro Show with guest Rose Wessel, George Aguiar of Climate Action Now and Joel Wool of Clean Water Action should be available for online listening soon.

Reaching out to media is crucial to spreading the news. Please don't hesitate to write a letter to the editor of your local paper or talk to local TV / Radio reporters about your concerns about the pipeline.


Looking for fairs and events across the state
We're looking for any large events or fairs anywhere in the state, but especially along the proposed route of the pipeline. Having a table or booth at large gatherings is a great opportunity to get the word out. We're also working with Dorian of the Climate Summer program who is coordinating a project where participants will ride their bicycles along the pipeline route, talking with people who have been active in working against the pipeline, in towns where little is happening and possibly at large events along the way. Please send any information you can find on what's happening in your area.

New PSA for No Fracked Gas in Mass!
Don Ogden (aka d.o.) of The Enviro Show created a great radio PSA to use on local radio. Rose picked it up and turned it into a Video PSA that is now available for local TV stations. If you have a connection with a Community TV or radio station in your area, please consider submitting it to them to put in rotation!
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

THURSDAY – APRIL 17, 2014 – GREENFIELD
Follow-up meeting with Climate Action Now – MA, Toxics Action Center and other organizations and citizens looking at how to help fight the pipeline – lots of new ideas!
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Green Fields Market
Meeting Room
Main Street, Greenfield, MA


MONDAY – APRIL 28 – DEERFIELD
Town Meeting, during which the petition to ban new fracked gas pipelines will be read into the record. 7:00 PM
113 N Main St.
South Deerfield, MA

New to the NoFrackedGas mailing list?
Catch up on previous newsletters:
Issue 1 - Action Report: Steps you can take now!
      February 22, 2014
Issue 2 - Updates from the Front Line
      February 26, 2014
Issue 3 - Act This Week! Contact Your Legislators
      March 3, 2014
Issue 4 - Pipeline Petition Now Collecting Signatures!
      March 10, 2014
Issue 5 - New Pipeline Route Maps Available
      March 18, 2014
Issue 6 - Advice for Action Against the Pipeline
      March 31, 2014

Feel free to share newsletter this widely with neighbors and friends and family across the state. If you received it from a friend, feel free to sign up and join the mailing list.
DONATIONS ALWAYS WELCOME
NFGiM is accepting donations by PayPal or check (or cash if we're meeting in real life), to cover growing operating expenses.  Thanks to recent fundraising through West Cummington Church's Broader Mission program, we'll soon be able to order yard signs to help people stake a claim on their piece of the Commonwealth! If you'd like to help us cover costs and other logistical expenses, please consider donating - any amount is helpful. Visit our Donate page to see how.

We are proud to have Berkshire Environmental Action Team as our fiscal sponsors (501c(3) ).
 
Copyright © 2014 No Fracked Gas in Mass, All rights reserved.


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