Warren, Markey Want Fore River Natural Gas Plant To Be Halted

WEYMOUTH, MA — Massachusetts' two U.S. senators have come out in opposition to the natural gas plant being built on the banks of the Fore River.

In a letter to Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, all Democrats, called for Monaco to suspend operations on the 7,700-horsepower facility.

The compressor station is nearing completion, and Enbridge has filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to place the compressor station in service and have it operational by Oct. 1.

Warren, Markey and Lynch have all expressed concern that the project is being brought online prematurely, especially after an unplanned 265,000 cubic feet of natural gas was released at the facility earlier this month. The lawmakers also argued putting a plant in an area where 3,200 people per square mile live is dangerous and could lead to higher rates of cancer, pediatric asthma and cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

The compressor station along the Fore River received approval from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management last November in the final of four regulatory hurdles Algonquin, the company behind the project, needed approved.

Residents and elected officials in Braintree, Hingham, Quincy and Weymouth have expressed concern and have opposed the project. There have been numerous protests outside the plant's constructions site and several arrests.

But Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs spokesperson Katie Gronendyke said upon the final approval that the project met all state and federal safety regulations, and that the project had passed air-quality testing impact assessments.

But in Warren, Markey and Lynch's letter to Enbridge, the lawmakers argued residents' worries shouldn't be ignored, especially since the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is working on a court-ordered reassessment of the technology being used at the facility.

"Given the broad opposition to building the compressor station at the proposed location, we strongly urge you to heed the concerns of these state and local officials and experts, and immediately seek an alternative for this project that does not involve siting a compressor station in the middle of a community that rejects it as unnecessary and dangerous," the lawmakers wrote in their letter. "Although your company has received approval from federal and state agencies and is currently awaiting remaining permits, we urge you to listen to those in the communities that would be most directly affected by the building of a compressor station in North Weymouth and reconsider this project."