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Homeowner Outraged After NSTAR Cuts Down 19 Trees

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Jun 17, 2009 11:47 pm US/Eastern

Homeowner Outraged After NSTAR Cuts Down 19 Trees

Reporting
Christina Hager

NATICK (WBZ) ―

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There's a lot more sun light shining into Terry Payton's Natick home these days. NSTAR sent a tree crew that cut 19 of his pines down to their stumps on his Winter Street property.

"I was never notified they were coming here to cut the trees down," he says. "The grove of pine trees that I had on my property, for and my wife and my family, were privacy against the noise in the street. It looked beautiful."

NStar spokesperson Michael Durand says the electric company hired Lewis Tree Service to prune around the power lines. The pruning is to prevent growth from interfering with service. When branches hit cables, outages can occur.

When high voltage wires are involved, contact with tree limbs can pose a fire hazard.

But Payton's trees were pines, which have to be cut off the top instead of pruned around the sides.

Durand says the tree crew felt they had been topped so much, they wouldn't survive. That's why they took the trees down all the way. NSTAR managers say Lewis went too far, that the crew should have notified the electric company before going to that extreme.

It isn't the first time Natick residents have complained about NSTAR hiring overzealous pruning crews.

Last winter on the other side of town, a crew cut down dozens of trees under high voltage wires near Route 135.

"The machine just turned everything into wood chips," said resident Maureen Allain.

NSTAR has hired crews to re-plant in that area. Now Payton is hoping for the same at his home.

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