Fore River Compressor Station Approved, Braintree Officials Upset

BRAINTREE, MA — A proposed natural gas compressor station along the bank of the Fore River was approved by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Tuesday. This was the last of four regulatory hurdles Algonquin, the energy company behind the project, needed approved.

The 7,700-horsepower facility has been opposed by elected residents of Braintree, Weymouth, Quincy and Hingham, all communities that have coast along the river. Coastal Zone Management officials in a letter to Algonquin reviewed the project and said it met all of the office's regulatory requirements. Katie Gronendyke, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the project met all state and federal safety regulations prior to its approval. She said health impacts and air quality testing were large parts of the approval process.

“While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has primary jurisdiction over the siting of interstate pipeline projects, the Commonwealth completed a comprehensive and science-based evaluation of air quality and health impacts in advance of approving an air quality permit for a proposed natural gas compressor station in Weymouth, Massachusetts," Gronendyke said in a statement. "In addition, the Office of Coastal Zone Management has now completed its Federal Consistency Review of the project and applicable state and federal permits, and determined that these are consistent with the policies of the Commonwealth’s federally approved coastal management program. "

Throughout election season Braintree officials and residents have told Patch they do not want the compressor station to be built because of environmental threats that could potentially come from it. Specifically, some have been worried about formaldehyde levels in the area, and that building a massive compressor station will only exacerbate concerns. Others have expressed fears of potential explosions.

"To be honest I'm upset," Town Councilor David Ringius told Patch. "This has been an ongoing battle for the residents of east Braintree and all of Braintree. The state continues to push forward and doesn't want to address any of the concerns the residents or local officials have brought up.

Ringius said this isn't an issue that just the council, mayor or residents of Braintree can solve. He said residents, incoming and outgoing officials, as well the other impacted communities need to come together to decide where to go from here.

"I think we need to continue to stand strong as a group of communities in terms of putting out the message that this is something we don't want, we don't need and is only going to increase risk for our kids and the community as a whole," Ringius said.

District 1 Councilor-elect Julia Flaherty was also strongly against the compressor station and argued the area is far too densely populated for it to be built.

"The proposed compressor station is an issue that I am fully committed to fighting," Julia Flaherty told Patch in her candidate profile. "If it is built, it will be the only compressor station in America built in an area as densely populated as ours. Other compressor stations are built in far more remote locations because of the danger of explosion."