US Congresswoman Katherine Clark
Washington, DC
Re: Sudbury to Hudson Transmission Line Project
Dear Congresswoman Clark,
I am a writing to you on behalf of Protect Sudbury, Inc. I ask for your immediate support as the residents of our town, along with our locally elected officials, work to stop Eversource from using the MBTA right-of-way to run high voltage lines through Sudbury’s neighborhoods and conservation lands.
Time is of the essence as Eversource intends to file with the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) soon. The plan calls for an 8.9 mile long, 82 foot wide clear cut swath along an MBTA right-of-way, and installation of 100’ towers carrying overhead high voltage transmission wires through Sudbury into Hudson.
The proposed route slices through sensitive wetlands and conservation land, which is prized for its value to our residents and for its ecological importance. Numerous local and state conservation and environmental organizations have expressed their opposition to this project on the basis of the environmental devastation it will impose – you can see their letters of support on our website, protectsudbury.org/official-support. In addition, Eversource plans to use herbicides to maintain the right-of-way, prompting the superintendent of Sudbury’s water district express her concern for the “wide scale herbicide use in any manner…”
Hundreds of Sudbury homes will be impacted by this proposed 82-foot clear cut, a distance roughly the width of the Mass Pike, running through our historic town. Along with unknown health risks, the lines will cut property values, which drive our overall town revenue and school budget. Sudbury has one of the highest percentages of revenue coming from property taxes among Massachusetts towns, and one of the highest concentrations of households with children. This proportionately high tax burden on our residents will only increase if Eversource builds lines along the MBTA ROW.
The sad fact is that although Eversource has presented this to our community as a “reliability” project, that claim is based on 2008 ISO-New England needs assessment report* that predicts a future energy demand that has not come to fruition. ISO-New England over-estimates energy demand growth and underestimates growth of efficiency and renewables, creating a “need” that isn’t there, opening the door to multiple transmission line proposals that are questionable in their necessity and impacts communities throughout New England. In addition to the potentially devastating impact this has on local communities, the regulatory system that currently governs our power grid, according to a June 2016 Acadia Center** report, “skews decisions in favor of legacy power grid investments over cleaner, often less expensive and more advanced solutions, and stand in the way of achieving deep emissions reductions and widespread consumer benefits.”
In addition to the questionable need for this project, the proposed route along the MBTA right-of-way was not the only option: routes upgrading infrastructure on existing utility corridors and alternate underground routes were discarded in favor of the current Sudbury to Hudson option without regard to environmental or community cost. We do not believe the proposal is appropriate to submit to the EFSB. Our concerns are heightened as we have not identified a single instance in which the EFSB has ruled against a utility’s “preferred transmission line route” since 1995.
We are concerned with the impact this project will have on our neighborhoods, the potential health risks to our residents, the alteration of and damage to our conservation areas’ ecology and the loss of our town’s historic beauty and character, all for a project that is questionable in achieving the reliability need it purports to fulfill. We are asking your intervention based on the belief you are in the unique position to insist that Eversource and the Energy Facilities Siting Board revisit both ISO’s original needs assessment and the route selection process in order to appropriately factor in adjusted energy demand growth, as well as environmental and community costs, before petitions are filed. We are asking your intervention to help compel Eversource and the Siting Board the opportunity to do the right thing for the long term health of my town and our state.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing what action you will take to help your constituents in this matter.
Yours Respectfully,
Your Name
Street Address
Sudbury, MA 01776
*ISO Report: http://www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2016/02/01_18_2012_greater_boston_study_needs_assessment_solution_study_update_redacted.pdf
**Acadia Center Report: http://acadiacenter.org/document/the-hidden-costs-of-energy-overpaying-for-an-outdated-system/