Board of Health Misses the Mark

July 29, 2015

Dear Dedham Board of Health,

As residents of the town of Dedham, we would like to thank the Board of Health for issuing a public statement regarding Spectra Energy’s Dedham West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline last week. However, with pipeline-related construction well underway for over a month now, the Board’s open letter to the town misses the mark and fails to emphasize the need for immediate action while the exact risks to the health and safety of this community can be adequately explored.

Despite having broad authority under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111 Section 143, which gives the Board of Health the right to “prohibit the exercise” of any “trade or employment which may result in a nuisance or to be harmful to the inhabitants, injurious to their estates, dangerous to the public health, or may be attended by noisome and injurious odors,” the Dedham Board of Health has chosen to not exert that level of authority. By way of comparison, the Board of Health for the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts, was recently faced with a similar pipeline; it determined that the project posed such severe health risks, in combination with a poor safety record of that pipeline company, that it used its authority to demand that all pipeline activities cease.

The Dedham Board of Health has indicated that the likelihood of harm from the proposed pipeline is small, although a thorough independent assessment of the true risk has yet to occur. Health and safety concerns regarding the effects of such pipelines on local residents and abutters have been well-described, including a recent report from the New York State Board of Health. Furthermore, Spectra Energy’s poor safety record has been well-established by federal agencies charged with oversight. In light of the above, and as the town government body responsible for ensuring the health and safety of the residents of our town, we request that the Dedham Board of Health take a more active role in this issue and specifically demand an immediate cessation of all construction activities until such time as a thorough assessment of the risks to the town can be completed.

Sincerely,

​

Michael Cocchi, MD

Charles Derber

Meg Duncan

Virginia Hickey

Elena Kolesnikova

Agnes Portalewski

Ryan McDermott

Jessica Porter

Rali Weaver

Margaret Whitfield