Mayor Hedlund and the Town of Weymouth have submitted a letter to FERC, objecting FERC’s request for a “Notice to Proceed” with construction. We extend our gratitude to the Town for continuing to fight for their residents. You can read their letter here.

Yesterday, Enbridge filed two letters with FERC: 1. A request for an NTP — Notice to Proceed; and 2. Response letter to PLAN-NE’s letter. In their response letter, they attempted to discredit a letter that PLAN-NE Pipeline Action Network - Northeast) submitted last Friday, outlining Enbridge’s lack of necessity. PLAN-NE has since responded with a second letter. Enbridge’s pompous, arrogant attitude is not surprising but it is insulting. Enbridge has not initiated any clean up of soil contamination at the site and have not been able to prove necessity for the gas that the compressor would provide. We are deeply grateful for PLAN-NE quick and strong response to Enbridge’s attacks. You can read the series of letters below.

Enbridge’s consultant, TRC, has been collecting soil samples at the proposed site, as part of MassDEP’s requirement to address soil contamination at the proposed site. TTRC found arsenic in their samples at a level that "poses imminent hazard”. MassDEP’s Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) has a new Release Log Form, dated November 12, 2019, documenting this finding.

PLAN-NE (Pipeline Action Network - Northeast), an ally of ours, has submitted a letter to FERC in response to this finding. This imminent risk must be addressed before Enbridge can be allowed to proceed with any construction activities. You can read PLAN-NE’s letter here.

“No compressor station should be built in Weymouth or any of our communities – where it would threaten the safety of our residents and harm our environment – just to support our continued addiction to fossil fuels,” said Senator Markey. “The fight to stop this project is not over, as the battle to block construction of this station will move to the courts. I will continue to stand with the residents and activists who have been warriors in the battle to stop a project this is meant only to send natural gas abroad to the highest bidder. These communities have nothing to gain and everything to lose if this compressor station gets built.”

We have learned that CZM has issued a favorable approval of the Determination of Consistency to Enbridge. We know that this is a difficult day, so please take some time for yourself and know that we will keep fighting. We will never stop fighting.

Our press release is below:

We gathered at the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) today to urge them to deny Enbridge’s Determination of Consistency. We came with lollipops, teddy bears, and a golden star, all to booster moral support for them to make the right decision. Many thanks to our friends from Extinction Rebellion MA, 350, and more for joining us this morning. Will CZM make the right decision?

Mayor Hedlund wrote to Lisa Engler of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) to bring their attention to the lack of need for the gas that the compressor station would supply. Over the past few weeks, we have learned about multiple utility companies (i.e. National Grid and Eversource) stating that they would not need the gas.

We send our thanks to Mayor Hedlund and the Town of Weymouth for continuing to stand with us in this fight.

You can read Mayor Hedlund’s letter here.

FRRACS, Food & Water Watch, Weymouth Councilor Rebecca Haugh, Stop The Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, Eastern Connecticut Green Action, Grassroots Environmental Education, No Fracked Gas in Mass., Berkshire Environmental Action Team, and West Roxbury Saves Energy sent a letter to FERC to support Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast’s (PLAN) call for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) not to issue a Notice to Proceed with any construction of the compressor.

Many thanks to PLAN for issuing their request and to all of our coalition groups for following up with a letter of support. You can read the letter here.

The Town of Weymouth has filed a petition to intervene as a party in a proceeding with the DPU under docket #19-132. This is in response to National Grid’s petition to seek approval of a 14-year firm transportation agreement with Algonquin Gas Transmission Company.

Many thanks to the Town for continuing to put time and resources into this fight. You can read the full petition here and below.

Take Action:  Call Governor Baker and ask him for CZM’s climate resiliency review of the compressor

In July 2017, Governor Baker sent a letter to the Mayor of Weymouth WITH AN IMPORTANT PROMISE. 

Governor Baker promised that his administration, under the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), would review the proposed Weymouth compressor station to ensure it would be resilient to storms, flooding, and future sea level rise.

Last week, WBUR reported that Eversource and National Grid stated that they do not need the compressor. Now there is news of a third utility: Norwich Public Utilities in Connecticut. If these utilities are stating that they do not need the gas that would build the compressor, why is Enbridge still insisting on building it?

You can read the full piece from WBUR here.

“Community advocates have been saying all along that the Weymouth compressor station isn’t going to help Massachusetts consumers—it only helps those in Canada and abroad,” said Senator Markey. “Now, National Grid and Eversource are admitting the same thing. Federal regulators are supposed to gauge whether projects will fill a public need when approving energy facilities. It’s clear that the Weymouth compressor is unneeded, unwanted, and unwelcome in Massachusetts, and should be rejected.”

We held space at the proposed compressor site from sunrise to sunset today, the day that Enbridge recently stated would be their first day of construction. We are happy to say that construction DID NOT start today. We don’t intend to ever allow it to start. Many thanks to everyone who braved the wind and the cold to be with us today. We are immensely grateful for your support.

National Grid and Eversource have officially stated that they do not need the gas that would be coming from the compressor station. We've been saying it for almost five years. Now, the utilities are backing it up with fact. Will FERC listen? Will Governor Baker finally take control as he has been able to do all along? Read more from WBUR.

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility (GBPSR) organized an event at the State House in support of our fight against the compressor. They gathered outside of Governor Baker’s office with dozens of allies to call on Baker to do the right thing. GBPSR have been incredible allies in this fight. They continuously use their platform and expertise to speak out on the serious health and safety risks related to the compressor station proposal. We are immensely grateful for their advocacy.

Here is the trailer for our upcoming documentary! Our "Telling the Stories" project has been ongoing for the past year and is near completion. We hope to premier it in late November or early December. We will keep you updated on that. Many, many thanks to our FRRACS subcommittee for all of their work to make this possible. Many thanks to the Island Foundation for the grant to pay for all of this work!

Read it and weep, Campers! That little valve problem that shut off the gas to 7000 RI customers in January? Right here in Weymouth. And PHMSA finds that Enbridge was NEGLIGENT in programing their valves. Huh. How surprising. As our friend Cathy K. says, "What happens when they program the valve (or some other piece of equipment) incorrectly right at or near that proposed Fore River Compressor Station?" Read more from Providence Business News - National Grid, Enbridge faulted for January’s natural gas emergency (link)

FRRACS members and allies visited 7 agencies that have been involved in the compressor fight on our “Toxic Tour” today and delivered an “Enbridge Enabler” award to each agency. See pictures below!

From our friend Prof. Nathan Phillips. Always be armed with information, Campers!

BU Today - POV: Rollback of Federal Rules to Limit Methane Emissions Poses Serious Threat (link)

MAPC, the agency that conducted the health impact assessment, has hired an outside agency to review the conclusions of their assessment. MAPC’s HIA was faulty and incomplete but came to the conclusion that the compressor station would not have a significant health impact on the community. Their conclusions enabled the approval of Enbridge’s air quality plan approval.

Now that the ink is dry on permits that their study helped allow, MAPC is thinking maybe there was a problem. We find the timing a bit frustrating.