SANDISFIELD, Mass. (AP) — The company that wants to expand a natural gas pipeline through state land in Berkshire County has agreed to pay $1.2 million for the right.
The agreement announced Thursday settles a lawsuit brought by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, which wants an easement through Otis State Forest in Sandisfield to expand an existing pipeline.
The settlement includes $300,000 for the Department of Conservation and Recreation to identify and acquire additional conservation land in the vicinity; $300,000 toward mitigation and improvements to Otis State Forest; $40,000 for the fair market value of pipeline easements; and an additional $640,000 for environmental monitors and other mitigation.
The federally-approved Connecticut Expansion Project extends existing pipeline infrastructure in Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut, adding four miles of new underground pipeline in Massachusetts.
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