Pipeline concerns spur Monkton to set aside $50,000 to protect town’s interests

by Andrew Stein March 7, 2013 vtdigger.org Concern about a natural gas line proposed to run through the town of Monkton has prompted the community to set aside up to $50,000 to pay for legal costs and consultations on the project.
Monkton approved the expense of the funds, if needed, after a Town Meeting Day vote and discussion on the plan.
The funds are aimed at ensuring the town has a voice in the quasi-judicial Public Service Board’ s approval process, which many residents and lawmakers consider unfriendly to public participation.
The Monkton floor vote came one week after Vermont Gas Systems (VTGas) submitted a supplemental filing to the board for its proposed 42-mile pipeline expansion. The application filing proposes to reroute the $70 million transmission line.
VTGas announced its intent to relocate the pipeline in January, after bumping into strong opposition from residents and local officials in Monkton and Hinesburg. Both towns took issue with the line running through residential areas and requested VTGas build the line along the utility transmission corridor owned by VELCO.
‘ After several public meetings and work sessions with town officials and community members, we designed a route that follows the VELCO corridor to the extent possible,’ said VTGas spokesman Steve Wark.
But John Phillips, the Monkton selectboard chair, said townspeople in his small community, located north of Bristol, still have concerns.
‘ There still appears to be a couple places where the new route is much closer to people’ s homes than we’ d like to see it, even though they’ ve tried to move the line in the VELCO corridor,’ he said.
Jennifer Baker is the Monkton resident who spearheaded opposition to the original pipeline route and the creation of the legal fund. She said that if the town doesn’ t set aside dollars for legal assistance, Monkton wouldn’ t have a say in the Public Service Board process.
Wark said his company welcomes the town of Monkton’ s input in the application process and called the legal fund ‘ a positive development.’
‘ We’ re optimistic we can arrive at an understanding to address the communities needs,’ he said.
Jennifer Baker is the Monkton resident who spearheaded opposition to the original pipeline route and the creation of the legal fund. She said that if the town doesn’ t set aside dollars for legal assistance, Monkton wouldn’ t have a say in the Public Service Board process.
‘ It’ s very legalistic. It’ s very constrained. It’ s pretty hostile to your average citizen,’ she said about the board’ s process. ‘ It’ s really too bad that it has to be this way that these huge utility companies come to a town, and the town has to dig into its pockets to have a say over anything that’ s going on in its own town.’
Baker isn’ t alone in her frustration with the board’ s procedures. In response to citizen complaints, a Vermont Senate committee recently passed a bill aimed at giving towns greater say over energy generation applications to the board. Additionally, Gov. Peter Shumlin formed a siting commission ot evaluate this issue, and James Volz, chair of the board, has acknowledged that the statutory procedures his body must follow under Vermont Statutes Section 248 are cool to public participation.
The Monkton Selectboard will decide how to apply the funds. Aside from legal fees associated with the Public Service Board process, it could go to paying outside consultants, like geological surveyors, Phillips said.
‘ It is a specific amount of money strictly to be involved in the approval process for Vermont Gas,’ he said. ‘ We will only tax for what we honestly feel we need to be involved in the process.’
Phillips hopes that amount will be less than the $50,000 limit residents approved.
In addition to proximity issues, Phillips said, the town of Monkton is concerned about traffic control, blasting to lay the pipeline, impacts to farmland, and ensuring that VTGas distributes this cheaper natural gas heating fuel to its residents.
‘ I think we should be entitled to distribution, and I think we will get some,’ he said. ‘ It’ s just a matter of what, and that’ s part of the negotiations.’
VTGas has said the costs of running pipelines dictate that it distribute to homes and businesses in more densely populated downtown areas or developments with quarter- or third-acre lots.
Although Monkton is a sparsely populated town, Wark said VTGas is committed to providing natural gas to many residents.
‘ We are genuinely interested in serving Monkton, and 2016 is our target date,’ he said. ‘ That is the same year we would serve Bristol and New Haven.’