#SitWithAndrea Reflects on her State House Sit-In

Andrea Honoré, a FRRACS member and Weymouth resident, led the #SitWithAndrea sit-in during Governor Baker’s tenure. She spent her lunchbreak in his waiting room for months on end, with the hope of getting the change to speak with him about the compressor station. Years later, she sat down with Inside Climate News to reflect on her sit-in.

Inside Climate News - Q&A: The ‘Perfect, Polite Protester’ Reflects on Her Sit-in to Stop a Gas Compressor Outside Boston

“To protest construction of the Weymouth Gas Compressor south of Boston, Andrea Honore sat outside the office of former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker for a total of 211 days over three years beginning in 2017. 

Despite her protest, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Massachusetts environmental regulators approved the 7,700-horsepower compressor, which began full operations in January 2021, pumping 57.5 million cubic feet of gas a day at 1,440 pounds per square inch through a pipeline running from Pennsylvania to Canada. 

The Weymouth compressor occupies a site at the mouth of the Fore River, a gritty industrial area across from Quincy Point and Germantown, two low-income, environmental justice communities. In addition to the compressor, at least eight other existing fossil fuel and industrial facilities are located within a mile, including a gasoline and oil depot, a chemical plant, two power plants, a sewage pumping station and a hazardous waste transfer and treatment facility.” (Inside Climate News)