Weymouth Compressor Opponents Lock Themselves To Equipment

WEYMOUTH, MA — The group Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station said efforts for a large-scale protest at the construction site of the proposed Weymouth gas compressor station drew hundreds of protestors and included two locking themselves to equipment to halt construction on Wednesday. The protest, which the group said led to "dozens" of arrests, was the latest from FRRACS and similar groups in Weymouth that have resulted in arrests in recent months.

FRRACS released a statement from one the protestors it said locked himself to construction to stop work on Wednesday.

"I have a responsibility, as someone who enjoys breaking fresh air and drinking clean water, to stand up so that people everywhere have access to the same life-sustaining rights," a protester identified as Kiki C. said. "And having seen the devastating effects of climate change firsthand, knowing that things will only get worse, I have a responsibility to stop rogue corporations on behalf of children and future generations."

The compressor station along the Fore River received approval from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management in 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, 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.

Protestors have been pressing the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to re-examine potentially toxic emissions from the construction of the site and running of the compressor station upon completion.

Massachusetts DEP spokesman Ed Coletta issued a statement from the DEP to WBZ-AM amid Wednesday's protests: "The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection remains committed to ensuring that activities at the site of a compressor station in Weymouth meet al state environmental requirements. MassDEP has installed a temporary air-monitoring station in the Fore River area, which is now gathering data while work continued to (the) site to install a permanent station, and the Department continues to provide oversight of the assessment and cleanup activities."

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