Residents in the Boston area are concerned about Duke Energy’s new plans to extend the proposed HubLine lateral facilities from Deer Island through three densely populated communities to affiliate Algonquin Gas Transmission’s existing pipeline facilities in Everett, MA, said a spokeswoman for a Boston-based group involved in urban land preservation last week.

“We’re trying to keep an open mind” about the proposed extension that would run through East Boston, Chelsea and Everett, “but we’re concerned about the safety implications” of the project, given that “these are very dense urban neighborhoods,” said Lauri Webster, vice president of special projects for the Boston Natural Areas Network.

These Boston communities “already bear the brunt of the region’s energy needs,” she told NGI, noting that they are the site of several oil tank farms, a jet fuel terminal for Logan Airport, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operated by Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC.

On the other hand, “we realize this [planned extension] may mean greater cleaner air” due to increased supplies of natural gas to the Boston area communities, Webster said. “A lot of the people around here still have oil deliveries.”

Duke Energy plans to file a proposal at FERC by the end of January to add the planned extension to its HubLine project. The seven-mile extension (four miles on land, and three miles in Boston Harbor) would run from Deer Island through the three communities and terminate in Everett. “The extension would interconnect with Algonquin’s existing facilities [in Everett], thereby providing high-pressure gas” at that end, and would supply gas to an Exelon Corp. power generation plant that is under construction in Everett, said Duke Energy spokesman John Sheridan.

FERC approved the HubLine expansion project in December 2001 as a companion to the larger Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline III expansion. The integrated expansions, which are under various phases of construction, will give the Boston area access to Atlantic Canadian gas supplies. As part of HubLine, the Commission gave the go-ahead for a 5.4-mile lateral to be built to a wastewater treatment plant on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. Duke Energy now wants to extend that lateral to Everett, which was not included in the agency’s original order approving HubLine.

Duke Energy’s Sheridan downplayed the communities’ reaction to plans for the new extension. “Initially, there was some concern, but as we hold these open houses [in the area], more often than not [they] leave feeling pretty comfortable.”

Boston Natural’s Webster acknowledged that Duke Energy has conducted open houses in the affected communities, and she said company-affiliated attorneys “have offered to give us a presentation so we understand the big picture.”

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