The Eversource powerline corridor involved in the project runs 29.3 miles, through Northfield, Erving, Wendell, Montague, Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham, Belchertown, Amherst, Granby, and Ludlow. In these areas, Eversource has already cleared a powerline corridor 125-335’ wide. Their right-of-way (ROW) is wider, and they want to clear 278 acres more of it, making it 252’-576’ wide. Eversource calls this plan the 100-foot Modified Alternative. “100-foot” refers to the distance that clearing could extend out from each outer edge of the wires. The plan would remove all species of trees and shrubs with mature heights of greater than 30 feet.
View/download a summary of the project
The documents that comprise the Draft Environmental Impact Report:
Some Context (Deja vu)
If you’re thinking, “Didn’t they propose this a few years ago?” the answer is yes. At that time, Eversource was hoping to proceed with an abbreviated process. The MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs rightly responded that no, the project must go through the formal Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process. The current stage of the project is the draft of that EIR (i.e., DEIR).
In that prior phase, Eversource proposed cutting 371 acres. Almost all of the reduction to 278 acres is due not to any concessions on Eversource’s part, but rather to error correction now that they have better images of what they already have cleared. Just six acres are saved via their “Modified” plan, where they realized there’s no need to cut.