We learned in early May at the Annual Town Meeting that the Kinder-Morgan Corporation plans to ram a three-foot interstate gas pipeline through the center of Pepperell on its way from New York state to Dracut.  This corporation has billions of dollars in the bank and seems to have most politicians of both parties in its (deep) pockets, including the governor.

With its 100-foot swath of destruction through the town, the pipeline may well have the greatest impact on the town of any single development since settlement in the 18^th century. If it comes to pass will property values and tax revenues plunge, leaving the landscape permanently scarred? If so, the population will rapidly decline, making future commercial development increasingly unlikely. Stay tuned.

Opposition throughout the state is forming, but for now the 1 percenters appear to hold all of the cards.  For the latest developments, see Gerald Couper’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline Northern Expansion Interest Group Yahoo Group and  www.nofrackedgasinmass.org.