STATE OF VERMONT PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

Transcription

1 STATE OF VERMONT PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD Docket No. 0 Petition of Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. for a ) certificate of public good, pursuant to ) 0 V.S.A., authorizing the construction of the ) Phase of the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project ) to extend natural gas transmission facilities ) through Franklin and Addison Counties to the ) International Paper mill in Ticonderoga, New York, ) and construction of two gate stations for ) distribution service in the towns of Cornwall ) and Shoreham, Vermont. ) PREFILED DIRECT TESTIMONY OF TYLER MILLER ON BEHALF OF VERMONT LAND TRUST, INC. (Conservation Interests Group) Mr. Miller supplements the testimony of Sylvia Jensen submitted on behalf of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets and which expresses the position of the Conservation Interests Group. His testimony is to endorse that position.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction... II. Discussion... III. Conclusion....

3 Page of DIRECT TESTIMONY OF TYLER MILLER 0 0 I. INTRODUCTION Q. Please state your name, occupation, and business address. A. My name is Tyler Miller. I am the Director of Field Stewardship for the Vermont Land Trust ( VLT ). VLT s headquarters address is: Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, Vermont 00. I work out of VLT s Richmond, Vermont office. Q. How long have you worked at VLT? A. I have worked at VLT for more than years, the first years as a Regional Stewardship Manager, and the last years in my current position. Q. Please describe your background and experience. A. I grew up in Grand Isle County, Vermont and have lived around and worked on farms much of my early life. I received a bachelor s degree from the University of New Hampshire and I hold a master s degree in resource management and administration from Antioch University. In my current position with VLT, I oversee VLT s field stewardship staff which is responsible for monitoring conserved land and ensuring compliance with conservation easements held by VLT. I am responsible for managing VLT s conservation stewardship work on over 00 working farms. In addition to farmers, my work puts me in frequent communications with a range of agricultural agencies and organizations: Vermont Agency of Agriculture (VAAFM), Farms and Markets, US Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), University of Vermont Agricultural Extension Service, US Farm Services Agency (FSA), VT Natural Organic Farmer Association (NOFA), and

4 Page of 0 0 others. In connection with my work, I frequently visit farms in every part of the state and am very familiar with sound agricultural practices. Q. What is VLT s role in farmland conservation? A.. VLT is a Vermont public benefit non-profit corporation that has been in existence since and which has as its purpose the conservation and appropriate use of land in Vermont. VLT is qualified under IRC 0(c)() as a tax exempt charitable organization operating for the public good. As such, VLT is a qualified holder of conservation easements under 0 V.S.A Chapters and. VLT, either solely or in partnership with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board ( VHCB ) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets ( VAAFM ), holds conservation easements on over 00 working farms all over the State of Vermont. The primary purposes of these conservation easements are to ensure and enhance the agricultural use and economic viability of these farms, as well as to protect unique natural features. VLT works with its conservation partners and the owners of conserved farms to enable uses that will further those purposes and to protect against uses that will detract from them. Included in these farm conservation easements are provisions enabling land owners to convey rights and easements to third parties only with the approval of VLT upon a determination that those rights and easements will not adversely impact the purposes of the conservation easement. Q. Have you previously testified or provided public comment before the Public Service Board?

5 Page of 0 A. Yes, I provided pre-filed testimony on behalf of Vermont Land Trust, Inc. in the socalled Phase I Petition of Vermont Gas Systems, Inc., PSB Docket No. 0. Q. What is the purpose of your testimony in this case? A. The purpose of my testimony is to offer an opinion on particular subjects as to the means by which the gas pipeline which is the subject of this matter ( the Project ) can be undertaken without undue adverse impact upon the purposes of the conservation easements co-held by VLT, VHCB and VAAFM on the five () farms in the path of the VGS pipeline and to express my agreement with the similar testimony offered by Sylvia Jensen on behalf of VAAFM. Q. Please summarize your testimony. A. If the rights to construct, use, maintain, repair, replace and access the Project are undertaken in a manner that minimally and temporarily disrupts farming operations and enables the continued utility of the land for commercial agriculture, this Project may be deemed consistent with the conservation easements held by VLT. II. DISCUSSION 0 Q. Are you familiar with the proposed VGS petition? A. Generally, yes. I am aware that the Project involves the extension of the VGS gas pipeline westerly from its proposed Phase I terminus in Middlebury, Vermont through the towns of Cornwall and Shoreham to Lake Champlain, then under Lake Champlain and to the International Paper Ticonderoga Mill in Ticonderoga, New York. I am more particularly familiar with the Project s impact on the five conserved farms in its path. Q. What general concerns does the petition raise with respect to conserved farmland?

6 Page of 0 0 A. The major concern is that the pipeline, and the rights associated with its construction, use, maintenance, repair, replacement and access will not conflict with the agricultural use of the land under conservation easements and will not be detrimental to the sensitive natural and archeological features under the special protection designations in those easements. Q0. What specific concerns does the Project raise with respect to those conserved farms? A0. Generally, the concerns are: () depth of pipeline; () the construction process, reclamation and remediation; () impacts on areas of special natural and archeological features; and () minimizing disruption to farm production and farm viability. Q. Do you have suggestions as to how those concerns can be addressed with respect to the Project? A. Yes. The pipeline should be buried at least four feet below grade level in order to ensure that it is below plow depth. The construction process, including access, should involve as little land as possible and should include provision to return the land to its preconstruction condition rendering it available for agricultural use. Herbicides should not be applied. Construction of the pipeline through any special natural features such as special treatment and riparian areas identified for protection under the conservation easements should be via horizontal directional drilling and post-construction maintenance should be minimally disruptive of the surface of such areas. Archeological features should be professionally inventoried and preserved under the supervision and with the approval of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Division of Historic Preservation. Financial loss due to unavailability of land during construction

7 Page of 0 can be mitigated by payment of fair compensation. Post-construction work in the pipeline corridor should take place outside of growing season. Q. Has VLT and the other members of the Conservation Interests Group shared these concerns with the Petitioner? A. Yes. The Conservation Interests Group has worked with the Petitioner and entered into a Memorandum of Agreement that specifically addresses these concerns and to which are appended forms of an easement deed, access agreements and specifications regarding pre-construction actions as well as post-construction remediation and maintenance activity in the pipeline corridor where it passes through areas of special natural and archeological features. In keeping with the Board s directive that the three members of the Conservation Interest Group file a single set of exhibits, the Memorandum and the appendices thereto are attached to the pre-filed testimony of Sylvia Jensen on behalf of VAAFM and are not appended hereto. VLT joins with VAAFM and VHCB in recommending to the Board that the Memorandum and its appendices represent best practices for the construction, use, and maintenance of the Project on farmland. III. CONCLUSION Q. Does this conclude your testimony? A. Yes. 0