For most of my childhood, I grew up in the small town of Temple, NH. Here, the population is under 1,400, and I often like to joke (with some realism) that there are more livestock than people. For thirteen years I’ve lived here, in a place where the biggest concerns are usually ensuring that all houses located in the center of town are painted white, to maintain the historical value. However, in 2014, that all changed.

In November, it was announced that Kinder Morgan had proposed a fracked gas pipeline to travel through the state of New Hampshire. While our town’s name remained off the map, a 41,000 horsepower compressor station was set to be built less than a half a mile away from our town’s border, in New Ipswich. This compressor station would have helped in pushing gas through the proposed pipeline. However, even though it wasn’t directly in our town, we discovered quickly that we would still feel it’s affects.

One of the biggest fears of the proposed pipeline and compressor station was the risk of an explosion. A map was drawn up, which showed that anything within a half a mile radius from the proposed compressor station was considered in the “incineration zone”. On top of many family homes, farms and a nunnery, the Temple Elementary School was also within the incineration zone. As someone who attended this school, watched her younger siblings attend, knows the teachers very well and whose mother substitute teaches here, I found this incredibly alarming.

In 2015, the school had roughly 55 students from Kindergarten to Fourth Grade. If they needed to evacuate, a fear arose that there would not be enough time to do so. In order to get busses to take the children home, it takes 30 minutes for them to drive from neighboring towns. Even if they enlisted family members to pick their children up, it may not be enough time. On top of this being concerning to have so many young people close to a potentially explosive area, the Elementary School also functions as our emergency shelter. If the worst should happen, where would everyone go?

Another large problem of the compressor station were the health and safety concerns that followed it. In December of 2015, the town gathered at the Elementary School, to listen to a presentation given by a pediatrician at the Boston Children’s Hospital regarding health concerns a compressor station could pose to the community. One study he referenced looked at children living within a mile from a compressor station in New York. Children living in this range had bad headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. Another scary thing about this was that the compressor station listed in the study was only a 12,500 horsepower station, whereas the proposed one near our border that would be less than half a mile from the Elementary School would have 41,000 horsepower.

Further health concerns included a rise in asthma, having a toxin released that’s linked to cancer and more. There were also concerns regarding livestock. One study completed in 2012 by Cornell University reported infertility and death with livestock who were on land near compressor stations. Sitting right next to the proposed area for the compressor station is a large meat cattle farm. I wondered even if this farmer’s livestock didn’t exhibit any effects from the Cornell study, if people would want to purchase meat from a farm that close to a compressor station.

The noise would also be an issue. The noise was reported to sound anywhere as loud as a commercial jet to multiple diesel trains running.

All of this news scared me. My home is about .3 miles from the Elementary school, which meant we would be close to the compressor station as well. Noise seemed like a superficial worry, until I considered the possibility of lying in bed awake because it sounds like a jet airplane is taking off. Then comes the list of health concerns referenced above – who wants nosebleeds, nausea or to be around a cancer causing toxin, especially in their own home? It sickened me that this is allowed to happen, that pipelines are not uncommon, and the monetary gain – that we weren’t even going to see – apparently outweighed our quiet way of life.

There was a neighbor on my street who was understandably anxious to move and get away from all the pipeline and compressor station concerns. Unfortunately, she found it was impossible to find a realtor who would take on her house. Who would want to buy a house that was near an incineration zone of a compressor station? In addition, as I mentioned earlier, who wants to deal with all the noise and health concerns while in the “safety” of their own home? As I was watching This Changes Everything the other day in my New Media class, I realized something significant –  I don’t think viewers often take into account that some people are forced to stay in places of ruin or unrest. We watch their lives from behind a screen, and ask why they don’t just escape all this trouble, why they stay. Perhaps, much like this instance, they have no choice but to stay.

So, what did Temple do? As much as anyone can do, we protested the proposed pipeline and compressor stations. People bought white signs for their yards that read “No Pipeline”. The town wrote to our senators and governor to try and gain their support in fighting this matter. We knew in order to get a big company like Kinder Morgan off our backs, we needed loud voices. This proved to be a frustrating process in of itself. Finally in December of 2015, Senator Kelly Ayotte stepped out and publicly opposed the pipeline. Our other senators, congressmen and governor remained unswayed either way, calling for more meetings and information. While I personally do not agree with Kelly Ayotte’s politics as a whole, I appreciated her stepping out against the pipeline and standing with us. This experience reared an ugly side of politics I try to overlook, where politicians sometimes put their needs ahead of those of the people they govern. We think of our representatives as those who support us, but that sometimes isn’t the case. While I understand it can be complicated, sometimes I don’t think it has to be.

Aside from campaigning for an end to the pipeline, signs were put up where the compressor station would be built. It pointed out where it would be, and also where the incineration zone was located. Another method of coping was also to poke fun at the project. In a town written production for the annual Temple Drama Club show, one character mentioned there already being political signs out in town. They were referring to the “No Pipeline” signs, but for comedic affect, treated it like a candidate, reading it in an Italian accent – “No Pip-el-een-ee”. Laughing was a way to cope with all the uncertainty and frustration, a tactic that has been employed in difficult situations for a long time.

Luckily, after a great deal of protesting, writing to government officials and not walking away quietly, on May 23, 2016, the Application to build the pipeline and compressor station was officially withdrawn, and haulted indefinitely. When I received news, I felt a weight being lifted from my shoulders. I don’t live in Temple full time anymore, and I was able to escape from thinking about it, but I know that certainly wasn’t the case for the full time residents. I worried for my family, friends, and the town that I feel privileged to call home. I am also thankful that we were able to walk away victorious, as this isn’t always the case. Being a part of an issue such as this also gives me a greater perspective on others dealing with their homes being taken or tampered with. While my experience was worrying, I know full well there are those who have it much worse than I. While I am incredibly relieved the pipeline will not go through, I’m walking away with a personal account of an imposing force on my home, which I feel gives me a personal perspective when looking at similar cases in the world.

Sources:

Garofolo, Chris. “Senator Ayotte Opposes Pipeline.” (n.d.): n. pag. Templenh.org. 2 Dec. 2015. Web.

Photo: No Pipeline Sign at Temple Elementary. 2015. Newipswitchpipeline. Web.

Pierce, Meghan. “Neighbors Bemoan Pipeline Compressor Station Would Force Them to Move” UnionLeader.com. N.p., 18 July 2015. Web.

Pierce, Meghan. “Pipeline Health Concerns Aired in Temple | New Hampshire.”UnionLeader.com. N.p., 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2017.

“Pipeline Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee.” Templenh.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2017.

Saari, Ashley. “PIPELINE SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY.” Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. N.p., 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 21 Jan. 2017.