Committee approves grant of location for New England Power transmission line at Copacott and Quannapaug roads

The Fall River City Committee on Public Works and Transportation voted to adopt an order regarding New England Power Company’s petition for transmission-line crossings at Copacott Road and Quannapaug Road, part of a Line 115 kV reliability project.

The vote came after more than an hour of testimony from neighborhood residents, engineering consultants and city staff about road conditions, a culvert in the project area and environmental safeguards. Committee members approved the committee action by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes.

Neighborhood resident Sarah Riley told the committee that the paved section of Copacott Road is the neighborhood’s only reliable egress and is already in “significant disrepair,” and that heavy construction traffic could worsen potholes and impede emergency access. Riley presented photographic documentation and a 2022 damage assessment she said was prepared by a structural masonry specialist; the report, dated 5/12/22, described a “70-inch diameter culvert with extensive rebar exposure and [being] under-designed for traffic,” and recommended an H-20 load rating assessment and possible pipe replacement, abutment reconstruction or guardrails.

Joshua Lee Smith, outside counsel for National Grid, and company engineers said the project has gone through years of review. “This project goes back to 2018,” Smith said, noting work in the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) process and that the company had submitted extensive discovery responses. National Grid representatives said the petition before the committee is a grant of location—permission to string lines from right-of-way line to right-of-way line—and that many technical and environmental issues are reviewed by state and federal permitting agencies before construction can proceed.

Jamie Durand of Power Engineers said Copacott Road would be one of several access points to the transmission right of way and that the company would perform a video inspection of the paved portion of Copacott Road before and after construction and repair any damage they cause, up to repaving if necessary. “If it’s determined that we’ve made it worse…we will correct those. If it means repaving, whatever it needs, we’ll take care of that section road,” Durand said. He also said the company does not plan to park heavy equipment directly on the culvert and proposed placing steel plates over the culvert during construction to disperse loads.

National Grid representatives and city staff described the broader permitting framework. Marissa Pizzi, in-house siting counsel for National Grid, said the EFSB evidentiary hearings were completed and the board must weigh need, cost and environmental impacts before issuing a certificate to construct. City engineer Dan Agya, who also serves as Fall River’s conservation commission agent, told the committee the council’s scope is limited to the street crossing grant of location: “Essentially, we’re just basically allowing the use of airspace across the street. That’s it.” Agya and other city officials said separate agencies (Conservation Commission, MassDEP, Natural Heritage, Army Corps and EPA/NPDES) are responsible for environmental, water-quality and wetland protections and for permits that would be required before the project proceeds.

City staff and National Grid also discussed mitigation and community measures. The petition includes a mitigation contribution “not to exceed $5,000” intended for the Watuppa Reservoir/bioreserve; National Grid representatives said the payment was intended to support tree planting or other agreed projects in the reservoir/bioreserve area. Conservation staff said the conservation commission issued an Order of Conditions and that mitigation, tree-planting and other conditions were considered in that permitting process.

Committee members acknowledged resident concerns and discussed sending related issues—water quality monitoring, illegal dumping and broader conservation matters—to other subcommittees for additional review, but emphasized that such discussions are separate from the narrow grant-of-location decision before the committee. After questions and comments, a committee member moved to adopt the order related to the New England Power Company petition; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

The committee’s action does not authorize construction. National Grid representatives said they must still obtain a final EFSB certificate and required state and federal permits before beginning work; they indicated they expected a decision from the EFSB in early spring but acknowledged the board’s timing was not guaranteed.

Copies of the EFSB record, conservation commission Order of Conditions and the company’s responses to information requests were referenced during the meeting and remain part of the project record for technical and environmental review.