Bill > H3690

This bill authorizes the commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of Conservation and Recreation, to grant permanent subsurface and surface easements to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. for pipeline purposes in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, overriding certain existing laws. These easements will allow for the installation and maintenance of gas transmission lines and related infrastructure, including access roads, on land managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bill specifies that the compensation for these easements will be based on their full and fair market value or value in use, determined by an independent appraisal, with the pipeline company covering associated costs. The appraisal and a report will be reviewed by the inspector general before the conveyance is finalized. Furthermore, the bill mandates that the easement instrument will stipulate that if the pipeline is abandoned and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the easement will revert to the Commonwealth for conservation and recreation purposes. To ensure no net loss of protected natural resource lands, the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company must either convey equivalent lands or provide funding to the Department of Conservation and Recreation, with the value determined by the same appraisal process. Any payments made to the Commonwealth under this act will be deposited into the Conservation Trust.