Letter to Allen Fore, Vice President of Public Affairs at Kinder Morgan - Proposed Northeast Energy Direct Project Outreach to New Hampshire Communities

Letter

Dear Mr. Fore,

I am writing to encourage Kinder Morgan to schedule additional open houses concerning its proposed Northeast Energy Direct Project before it files an official proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

While Kinder Morgan has scheduled open houses in January and February as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's pre-filing process, continued community engagement is vital to these discussions. Therefore, I ask that you plan for additional open houses that will provide critical, continuing dialogue about the NED Project -- before filing with FERC.

In December, Kinder Morgan announced that the New Hampshire Powerline Alternative is now its preferred route for the NED Project. Since then, numerous citizens have raised concerns with me about not having enough time to learn about the proposed pipeline before the official FERC filing. Concerned citizens want to learn about the nature of the NED Project's energy benefits to New Hampshire, as well as understand the potential safety and environmental impacts the Project may have.

The questions and concerns raised by our residents indicate that an extensive and open public-input process at every stage of this proposal, including pre-filing, is necessary. It is important that our residents have the opportunity to fully understand the impacts and potential benefits of the proposed NED Project so that they may fully participate in the federal and state review processes.

Outreach to our local communities should begin promptly with the currently scheduled open houses. But citizens should have additional opportunities -- after they have had an initial chance to learn more about the Project -- to speak with the company about the NED Project. That is why I ask that you schedule additional open houses later in the year and prior to the official submission to FERC.

In addition, I urge you to continue to work closely with the communities and residents along the proposed route in an effort to reduce impacts and to only propose a project that brings significant energy benefits to the people and businesses of our state -- reducing costs to ratepayers while respecting state siting requirements and protecting our natural resources. The best way to achieve a sensible solution that works for New Hampshire is through ongoing, open lines of communication and the sharing of information between Kinder Morgan and local communities.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure the concerns of our residents are thoroughly addressed.

With every good wish,

Margaret Wood Hassan
Governor

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