Worcester needs to support gas-leak bills
Mary Keefe
There are two street trees across from my house that have me disturbed. Planted 30 years ago, they are clearly in decline. You sense that these two trees are really struggling. Even though they are trying their best, factors that we can't see are killing them – slowly. Could the cause be leaking natural gas?
Natural gas is our major fuel here in Massachusetts. The gas is sent to our homes and businesses through cast iron pipes that are old, have been in the damp ground for more than 50 years and are in disrepair. When pipes corrode, the gas leaks out and drifts into our ground and our atmosphere. Utility companies now run surveys of all streets every six months to two years. One of the signs that they are trained to look for is damaged vegetation and dying trees.
Trees are just one of the casualties associated with leaking gas. Besides the risk of explosion with resulting death and injury, there are also serious questions around human health impacts as it increases ground level ozone. Moreover, natural gas is made up of methane, is more destructive to our climate than carbon dioxide and creates long-term damage to our atmosphere.
Thanks to the work two nonprofits, Home Energy Efficiency Team and Clean Water Action, we have a better understanding and plan for fixing the problem. HEET tracks, maps and researches leaks identified across Massachusetts. In Worcester alone, we have 841 identified gas leaks. Your jaw will drop when you see HEET's map of Worcester leaks. Go to www.Squeakyleak.org, and check out your neighborhood.
The cost of natural gas leaks is wasteful and expensive. Utilities pass the cost on to the ratepayers by factoring the lost gas into what we pay per therm. That means consumers like you and me are paying for gas that is wasted when utility companies fail to repair the pipes. A 2014 Harvard University-led study calculated the total lost gas to cost $90 million per year in the Greater Boston area.
Two current bills that are sponsored by Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead) and Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) will help Massachusetts to take the national lead:
H2870: A Bill Protecting Consumers prohibits utilities from passing the cost of gas leaks onto consumers. When a similar bill was passed in Texas, 55 percent of the leaks were fixed within 3 years.
H2871: A Bill Requiring Gas Leaks Repairs During Road Projects requires that whenever a street is open for construction that gas companies check and repair all gas leaks.
I recently presented a resolution to support this legislation to the Worcester City Council on March 8th. My hope is that Worcester will join with more than 24 other Massachusetts cities and towns and do so.
My office, along with HEET, the Worcester Tree Initiative and Clean Water Action, has organized a public forum to be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29 at the Worcester Public Library. The forum will include featured speaker Professor Nathan Philips from Boston University.n
Mary Keefe is a Democratic Massachusetts state senator representing Worcester.
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