Now that Eversource has filed its petition with the Energy Facilities Siting Board (docket EFSB17-02) and we’ve had our public hearing, we know a lot more about what Eversource is actually planning. We had some fantastic comments at the hearing on May 25th – thank you to everyone who attended and who commented. Please also submit … Read more
This time last year, one of Protect Sudbury’s most popular blog posts, Let’s do the numbers, was published. Now that Eversource has filed with the EFSB, here are the numbers, updated with all the most recent information: 3 alternatives in Eversource’s filing to the Energy Facilities Siting Board. “Project” (i.e. underground along the MBTA right … Read more
We expect Eversource to file their Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to the Mass. Environmental Protections Agency (MEPA) at some point. Meanwhile, there’s plenty going on behind the scenes. A lot has happened already this year and we’ve lined up plenty to come: The President’s Office: Protect Sudbury president, Ray Phillips, attended the Environmental Business Council’s program on … Read more
Sudbury is not alone in its opposition to Eversource. Towns across the region are fighting transmission line projects that have long- term impacts on the health and well being of our communities, threaten water supplies, degrade the environment and adversely affect property values. In each case, Eversource demonstrates it listens with a tin ear. Concerns … Read more
A very heartfelt Thank You to Susan Iuliano, Bob Haarde, Richard Kanoff, Chris Hamilton, Ray Phillips, Julie Lieberman, Melissa Rodrigues, and Bill Schineller for representing the Sudbury community at the meeting with Eversource on November 22nd. We began the meeting with a few questions: 1. Given the widespread opposition to its proposal to use the MBTA’s right of way … Read more
Drama in the hall The evening of October 26th brought applause, laughs, boos, and children on stage; Eversource was the antagonist, the community was the chorus. On a weeknight evening with several high profile competing events, Eversource came to Sudbury to present to the Board of Selectmen in an open meeting. The turnout from the community was … Read more
The Protect Sudbury outreach video is here! Thank you to the dozens of volunteers who helped make it happen. Please share far and wide. Keep an eye on Protect Sudbury’s web site, Facebook Page, and YouTube Channel for more to come. And to get updates (every couple of weeks – we won’t fill up your inbox), … Read more
Throw a rock into a pond and the single splash creates concentric circles, rippling outward. Do a good deed and it improves someone’s day, and the positive effect ripples along, metaphorically speaking. Propose a transmission line project through the heart of a small, semi-rural town, and the ripples just keep coming: a hit on property values, destruction of … Read more
The impacts of Eversource’s transmission lines, if the project goes forward as proposed, are many. There’s the environmental impact of clear cutting 82 feet through neighborhoods and conservation lands. There’s the visual pollution of 100 foot tall steel towers, strung with high voltage transmission lines. There are health worries and concerns for our drinking water based … Read more
Eversource’s contractor, VHB, is currently working along the MBTA right-of-way (ie the route of the proposed Sudbury to Hudson transmission lines), surveying vernal pools, marking wetlands delineation, and forest-cover mapping. Which makes a lot of us wonder, are these transmission lines a done deal or not? NO – The Eversource project is not a done deal, … Read more
When it comes to running our towns and cities, in some ways, our democratic system predisposes us to think or say “they should do this.” We elect people to represent us and they are there to do things that keep the wheels of civic life turning. But what happens when something comes up in the community that’s not open … Read more
Sometimes, it’s nice to keep it simple, so today, let’s just do the numbers. COMMUNITY 3,025 – number of members on Protect Sudbury’s Facebook group (as of June 1, 2016). What a great crowd and how nice to have so many friends! THE MAP 4.3 miles – Portion of the entire 8.9 mile proposed project that will … Read more
With more than 3,000 Facebook members and a team of dedicated volunteers, every day, dozens of Protect Sudbury members contribute in some way – posting on Facebook, donating to the legal fund, attending an event, or talking to their neighbors about Eversource’s transmission line proposal. One of the most important aspects of this effort is our letter writing … Read more
The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value. -Theodore Roosevelt, 1907 Walk along the MBTA right of way west from Dutton Road and the tree-lined pathway quickly transports you into a different world with sights and … Read more
When it comes to Eversource’s Sudbury to Hudson Transmission Reliability Project proposal, we’re fighting against a corporate giant with deep pockets, rooms full of lawyers, and a laser focus on its bottom line. In this context, it’s easy to fall into the trap of concentrating on what we’re fighting against. It’s natural to be against hundred foot monopoles … Read more
The euphemistically named “Sudbury to Hudson Transmission Reliability Project,” has provided us with plenty of opportunity to get to know Eversource in the last month or so. Their powerpoint presentations online and in community meetings are slick and shiny with references to concern for community and environmental impact. Their vegetation management plan runs over a hundred pages and talks … Read more
Community. That’s what I saw at the high school auditorium Tuesday night. Community, uniting in opposition to a corporation that threatens the fabric of the town they live in. A core group of people, in the form of Protect Sudbury, stepping up, already organized with officers, a board, and working groups, holding an open meeting … Read more
Welcome to Protect Sudbury blog, a place for information and ruminations about the community and natural areas that we are seeking to protect in response to Eversource’s Sudbury to Hudson Transmission Reliability Project. The project proposes to cut an eighty foot wide gash of hundred foot poles carrying high voltage transmission lines through the heart … Read more