We are all very weary after the devastation in the Merrimack Valley on Thursday.  Our thoughts are with those affected, but more importantly, our actions must make a difference as the days turn to months in this terrible tragedy.

Members of FRRACS recently met up with Jessica Trufant of The Patriot Ledger to talk about our fight against the compressor station and what's to come. You can read Jessica's detailed piece in the Ledger here. Many thanks to Jessica and The Patriot Ledger for keeping this front and center in the community.

We were in Lakeville all day Thursday and Friday for the Wetlands hearing. Very interesting testimony from the Town of Weymouth. And we cannot thank our intervenor group and our attorneys Mike and Lori Hayden enough for all of the hard work done on the prefiled testimony--and for showing up to NOT be questioned by Enbridge or the DEP. Only Dr. Nordgaard was seated for testimony. Thanks for being in the hot seat, Curt!

The Massachusetts House and Senate released their compromised energy bill tonight. To say that we are disappointed by the outcome would be a bit of an understatement. While there are some good parts to this bill--such as forcing the DPU to quantify the gas leaks, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is below what was needed (2% instead of 3% and going DOWN to 1% after 10 years) and now burning trash to create energy is considered "clean and renewable!" Perfect.

You can read more about the disappointing energy bill here.

Called by the Houma Nation in Louisiana fighting the Bayou Bridge project, we were called to stand in solidarity with all pipeline and climate warriors across the country. At yesterday's stand-out we protested TD Bank's involvement with funding Enbridge and Energy Transfer Partners. Thank you to all who joined us!

If you want to learn more about the fight against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, visit NoBayouBridge.global.

FERC recently announced that they are reviewing their approval process for their Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Facilities.

Comments are due July 25, 2018. 

How to submit comments:

You can submit comments on FERC's website. You will need to enter docket #: PL18-1-000 under eFilings. 

For detailed info, please visit the Pipe Line Awareness Network NE (PLAN-NE) website. They put together a great outline of information and resources. 

It is this amendment that has the potential of keeping dangerous gas infrastructure away from population centers like the Basin. Of course, we in the Basin do not want these infrastructures on the planet, but the fight continues.

FRRACS would like to offer our most sincere thanks to Sen. O'Connor for keeping the pedal to the metal on this one until it passed. You can read his statement here.

Sen. Barrett also said "this is not just about Weymouth but about every compressor station and about whether constituents stay warm in the winter." No, Sen. Barrett, it is not. It's about an out of control industry wanting to use MA as a freeway to get their filthy product sent to Canada to ship overseas.

RED ALERT: There are bills coming up today (6/13) and tomorrow (6/14) in the House and Senate. Can you make a call or send an email?

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued Spectra (Enbridge) a conditional waterways permit last year but the permit was only good for one year. It has now been a year, so the Town of Weymouth has requested that the State throw out the conditional permit. You can read the full article about this development in the Patriot Ledger here. 

Jessica Trufant, a reporter for The Patriot Ledger, joined FRRACS members to help spread the word about our new health-related project, called "Telling Our Stories." Volunteers handed out hundreds of flyers to residents who live in North Weymouth, East Braintree, Quincy Point, and Germantown.

To read the full article in The Patriot Ledger, click here. 

Do you know anyone in and around the Fore River Basin who has experienced illnesses that could potentially be linked to environmental toxins? We are collecting stories as part of the fight against the compressor station to illustrate the fact that we cannot bare to have anymore toxic facilities in the community. 

If you, your friend, or your family member feels comfortable sharing their story, please contact us and we will set up a time to meet. You can email us at nocompressor@gmail.com

FERC recently announced that they are reviewing their approval process for their Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Facilities. They are seeking input from the public on this matter.

Comments are due July 25, 2018. 

For detailed info, please visit the Pipe Line Awareness Network NE (PLAN-NE) website. They put together a great outline of information and resources. 

Our attorney is working with us on both our wetlands and waterways appeals. In addition to the legal costs associated with filing appeals and prepping for these hearings, we plan to file as intervenors on the air quality permit. With these three appeals, our legal costs will likely amount to more than $20,000--so we need to raise as much as we can as quickly as possible. 

That is why we are asking for your monetary support. We understand that this is a lot to ask and WE are grateful for ANY amount that you are able to give. Please know that your prior generous donations have allowed us to come this far with the appeals process.

Time to make some calls! We need folks to call their representatives to demand that fossil fuels are NOT included in Governor Baker's climate change bill as a "clean peak" resource. We also need folks to urge their reps to support a new Environmental Justice bill (H2913) that could strengthen Environmental Justice standards in the state. Please take a moment to call your reps to address both of these items.

Comments must be submitted in writing by April 24th to Kelly Race, licensed site professional from TRC Environmental Corp.

Itai Vardi details how Rep. Howitt blind-carbon-copied William Ryan, lobbyist and Enbridge consultant, on an email with a constituent. The constituent had contacted Rep. Howitt over concerns related to Governor Baker's climate change bonding bill. 

Background: Governor Baker recently introduced a bill to the legislature that would provide money and other resources to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as funding to build sea walls in coastal areas. You can read more about the bill, “An Act Promoting Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental and Natural Resource Protection, and Investment in Recreational Assets and Opportunity”, here. Though mitigation is needed to combat some of the effects of climate change (i.e. rising sea levels), we can’t rely solely on band-aid fixes; we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to prevent climate change from worsening. That is why we are concerned about language in this bill that could be used as a way to institute a pipeline tax or otherwise allow the gas industry to say that natural, or fracked-gas, is a form of clean energy.

Action Item: Contact your representatives, senators, and Governor Baker’s office and ask that they make sure there is language in the bill to exclude gas, and all fossil fuels, as an option for clean energy. You are welcome to use the sample call script and email template below.

Twitter users who oppose fracked-gas infrastructure, including the compressor station, made their arguments heard in a heated twitter exchange with former lieutenant governor, Tim Murray. 

Read more about their exchange here.

FRRACS is supporting the new environmental justice bill, H.2913 An act relative to environmental justice and toxics reduction in the Commonwealth. H. 2913 reported favourably out of committee and has been referred to the committee on House Ways and Means. We encourage you to contact your representatives asking them to support this bill, as there are environmental justice communities located near the proposed compressor site