AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE TO GRANT EASEMENTS TO ALGONQUIN GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC AND COLONIAL GAS COMPANY D/B/A KEYSPAN ENERGY DELIVERY NEW ENGLAND.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and the division of fisheries and wildlife respectively, may, notwithstanding sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, convey permanent and temporary easements, including extra work space rights and permanent and temporary access road rights and any improvements located thereon, over, under and through portions of certain parcels of land in the Shawme-Crowell State Forest and the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve and other lands within the Massachusetts Military Reservation and located in the towns of Sandwich and Bourne which are currently under the control of and used by the department of conservation and recreation and the division of fisheries and wildlife, for recreation and natural resource purposes to Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, its successors and assigns, solely for the purposes of laying, constructing, maintaining, accessing, operating, replacing, repairing, abandoning and removing natural gas pipelines and appurtenant facilities for the transmission of natural gas, including cathodic protection and related facilities, subject to the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of this act, and to such reasonable additional terms and conditions consistent with this act as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and the director of may prescribe. The parcels are more particularly described: (a) as the so-called “Dillingham Lots” in a deed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recorded in Book 517, Page 155 of the Barnstable county registry of deeds, and (b) as parcels of land that were taken by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts pursuant to 2 Orders of Taking recorded in that registry of deeds at Book 400, Page 428 and Book 409, Page 8, respectively. The pipeline shall be situated on such land for 14,224 linear feet in the aggregate, more or less, and the permanent easement to be granted shall apply to 16.1 acres of land in the aggregate, more or less, as more fully described on 6 plans each entitled “Algonquin Cape Cod Project, Proposed 18” Pipe Line, Sandwich & Bourne, Mass., Article-97 Filing” prepared by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC and numbered respectively as Dwg. BB-Z-2023, Dwg. BB-Z-2024, Dwg. BB-Z-2025, Dwg. BB-Z-2026, Dwg. BB-Z-2027 and Dwg. BB-Z-2028. The permanent and temporary access roads that will affect land, believed to be owned by the commonwealth pursuant to this deed and Orders of Taking and an Order of Taking recorded in that registry of deeds at Book 514, Page 127, are more particularly shown on a plan entitled “Algonquin Cape Cod Project, Article 97 Reference Plan – Access Roads” prepared by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, which plan is numbered as Dwg. BB-Z-2030. Each of these plans is filed with the department of conservation and recreation and the division of fisheries and wildlife. The temporary work easements, extra work space easements and temporary access road easements that are shown on the plans shall expire and revert to the commonwealth upon completion of initial pipeline construction and restoration of permanent easement areas. Modifications to the easement description set forth in the plans described above may be made in order to conform to the requirements of the federal energy regulatory commission and with a final land survey, as accepted by the division and the department before any conveyance to carry out the purposes of this act.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, may, notwithstanding sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, convey permanent and temporary easements, including extra work space rights and permanent and temporary access road rights and any improvements located thereon, over, under and through portions of a certain parcel of land in the Shawme-Crowell State Forest located in the towns of Sandwich which is currently under the control of and used by the department of conservation and recreation for recreation and natural resource purposes to Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, its successors and assigns, and Colonial Gas Company d/b/a/ KeySpan Energy Delivery New England, its successors and assigns, solely for the purposes of laying, constructing, maintaining, accessing, operating, replacing, repairing, abandoning and removing natural gas pipelines and appurtenant facilities for the transmission and distribution of natural gas, including a meter station, receiver, cathodic protection and related facilities, subject to sections 3 and 4, and to such reasonable additional terms and conditions consistent with this act as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioners of conservation and recreation and the director, may prescribe. The parcel is claimed and administered by the commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of the Shawme-Crowell State Forest and is believed to be a portion of a 117 acre parcel of land situated north of Forestdale on the public or private way now or formerly known as the Falmouth – Sandwich road conveyed to the commonwealth of Massachusetts under a deed recorded in the registry of deeds at Book 517, Page 155. The parcel is otherwise described as Lot 7 on the town of Sandwich Assessors Map 32. The pipeline and related facilities shall be situated on this parcel of land for 226 linear feet in the aggregate, more or less, and the permanent easement to be granted shall apply to 0.77 acres of the land in the aggregate, more or less, as more fully described on a plan entitled “AGT Cape Cod Project, Proposed Meter Station and Receiver, Located at Rte-130 and Rte-6” prepared by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC and numbered as Dwg. No. BB-Z-2029. The land includes the interest of the commonwealth of Massachusetts in the public or private ways now or formerly known as “Old County Road” or “Old State Highway” to the full extent of the interest of the commonwealth therein. The permanent and temporary access roads that will affect land, believed to be owned by the commonwealth pursuant to this deed and Orders of Taking recorded in the registry of deeds at Book 400, Page 428, Book 409, Page 8 and Book 514, Page 127, are more particularly shown on a plan entitled “Algonquin Cape Cod Project, Article 97 Reference Plan – Access Roads” prepared by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, which is numbered as Dwg. BB-Z-2030. Each of these plans is filed with the department of conservation and recreation. The temporary work easements, extra work space easements and temporary access road easements shall expire and revert to the commonwealth upon completion of initial pipeline construction and restoration of permanent easement areas. Modifications to the easement description set forth in the plans described above may be made in order to conform to the requirements of the federal energy regulatory commission and with a final land survey, as accepted by the divisions and the department, before any conveyance to carry out the purposes of this act.
SECTION 3. There shall be an independent appraisal, or appraisals, of the easements described in section 1 and an independent appraisal, or appraisals, of the easements described in section 2 to be conveyed as authorized by this act to determine the full and fair market value, or the value in use as proposed, based upon 1 or more professional appraisals as commissioned by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. In order to expedite the conveyances authorized by this act, the commissioner may, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and the director of fisheries and wildlife, accept any appraisal or appraisals of these easements which may have been conducted before the effective date of this act and which may have been accepted and agreed to by the division and the department. The grantees of these easements shall compensate the commonwealth in an amount greater than, or equal to, the full and fair market value, or the value in use of these easements as proposed, whichever is greater, as determined by these independent appraisals. The grantees of these easements shall assume all costs associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals, deed preparation and other expenses deemed necessary by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance to execute the conveyances authorized by this act. All money paid to the commonwealth by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC and Colonial Gas Company d/b/a/ KeySpan Energy Delivery New England as a result of the conveyance of the easements authorized by this act shall be deposited in the general fund of the commonwealth.
The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall submit these appraisals and a report thereon to the inspector general for his review and comment. The inspector general shall review and approve the appraisal or appraisals, and the review shall include an examination of the methodology used for the appraisal or appraisals. The inspector general shall prepare a report of his review and file the report with the commissioner for submission by the commissioner to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairmen of the joint committee on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets. The commissioner shall submit copies of the appraisals, his report, and the inspector general review and approval, and comments, if any, to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairmen of the joint committee on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets before the execution of the conveyances.
SECTION 4. No easement instruments conveying, by or on behalf of the commonwealth, the easements described in sections 1 and 2 shall be valid unless such instruments provide that the easements shall be used solely for the purposes described in section 1 and section 2, respectively. The easement instruments shall include a clause which shall state that if the easements cease to be used by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC and by Colonial Gas Company d/b/a/ KeySpan Energy Delivery New England, or their respective successors or assigns, for the purposes described in sections 1 and 2 at any time, the easements shall revert to the commonwealth under the control of and used by the department of conservation and recreation and the division of fisheries and wildlife, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may determine. If these easements revert to the commonwealth, any further disposition of the easements shall be subject to sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, and the prior approval of the general court.
SECTION 5. The military departments of the commonwealth, specifically including the special military reservation commission, the Massachusetts National Guard, the Massachusetts Air National Guard and their respective commandants, commanders, adjutant generals and quartermasters, shall consent to the easements and conveyances described in sections 1 and 2 to the extent these departments and officials have commands, duties or responsibilities with respect to the Massachusetts Military Reservation that are affected by these easements and conveyances.
Approved August 9, 2006.