Since 2018, National Grid has been seeking clearance for what has come to be known as a “reliability project” that involves running 12.1 miles of electrical transmission cables from Acushnet to Fall River, and through the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, to deliver safer, reliable electricity to the more than 17 local communities they serve.
They company awaits a final approval and certification from the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board. The Fall River City Council and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation voted to approve National Grid’s use of Copicut Road as a public egress to reach the site, close to the Copicut Reservoir and the “ancient” Quanapoag Road culvert, where construction may commence in March.
While the project itself aims to borrow “air space” above a lane cleared of trees and vegetation that runs tangential to the reservoir, Copicut residents worry about the environmental effect of construction that may not only place further strain on decrepit infrastructure, but may open access for illegal dumping to Fall River’s protected watershed area.
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