Wicked Local Hingham
By Ed Baker
WEYMOUTH – U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch said two recent gas leaks at the compressor station in the Fore River Basin are proof the site is not a proper location for the controversial facility.
“On Sept. 11, there was a release of 169,000 cubic feet of natural gas,” Lynch said during a press conference at the site on Friday. “We had a second incident on Sept 30, and it involved a release of 275,000 cubic feet into the area.”
The compressor’s owner, Enbridge Inc., previously said it is investigating both incidents and the facility has ceased operation while the investigation is being done.
Lynch has requested the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revoke its certificate of approval for the project.
Federal regulators ordered Enbridge on Thursday, Oct. 1 to investigate the gas leaks, which forced an emergency shutdown of the facility following both incidents.
Lynch said Enbridge must have an independent firm investigate the gas leaks and submit a restart plan to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration before the facility can resume operation.
“If the agency is not satisfied, they won’t issue a restart until they (Enbridge) is in full compliance,” he said.
Lynch said the FBI had been requested to look into a possible cyber intrusion for causing the gas leak on Sept. 30.
“They (Enbridge) seem to think it was electrical,” he said.
Lynch said there are plenty of questions about why the gas leaks occurred, “but not a lot of answers.
“For the communities surrounding the plant, they are losing trust,” he said. “There is no margin for error.”
Lynch said the federal Department of Transportation has identified the compressor site as a “high consequence area” if a catastrophic explosion occurred.
“You have a bridge that has thousands of cars that go over it,” he said. “It’s very heavily traveled. The DOT sees a high consequence area, and we see these fears realized.”
Lynch said State Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, State Sen. Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, and State Rep. James Murphy, D-Weymouth, plan to continue pressuring the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and other state agencies to determine how the gas leaks occurred.
Mariano said the causes of the two gas leaks demand answers.
“As the congressman said, there are a lot of unanswered questions,” he said. “We will continue to pressure the state agencies until we get answers.”
O’Connor said the gas leaks validate the lawsuits and steps various municipal officials have taken to prevent the construction of the compressor station.
“This is something we will continue to fight,” he said. “This is not a responsible place for a natural gas compressor station infrastructure.”
Murphy said the compressor station could create a potential catastrophe that might be similar to the natural gas explosions which occurred in the Merrimack Valley, Sept. 13, 2018.
“The (recent) gas leaks give credence to that,” he said. “This is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Ted Langill, chief of staff for Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund, said many of the concerns the town has raised during the process are coming to fruition.
“The town has filed 22 lawsuits and spent $1.6 million in legal costs,” said Langill. “It’s disappointing the (compressor approval) process is rigged against the community. We are trying to get answers.”
Alice Arena, leader of the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station, said the group is grateful for Lynch’s quest to get answers about the gas leaks.
“We have been fighting this for six years, and this is a ‘we told you so moment’,” she said after the legislators’ press conference Friday. “The state regulators have refused to listen to anybody.”
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