Weymouth Files Lawsuit Against Energy Company Over Land Sale

WEYMOUTH, MA — The Town of Weymouth has filed a lawsuit against Calpine Fore River Energy Center and Algonquin Energy over what the town calls an illegal land sale.

Mayor Bob Hedlund recently announced that he filed the lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court last week, arguing that Algonquin, a Spectra Energy subsidiary, did not comply with the law when they purchased subdivided land in North Weymouth from Calpine Corp., the owner of the Fore River Energy Station.

"We rejected their plan and pointed out why the plan failed to comply with the law. Instead of correcting this mistake, Spectra failed to comply. If natural gas companies cannot comply with simple state zoning laws that apply to every landowner, how can we trust them to comply with the federal laws that only apply to natural gas companies?” Hedlund wrote in his announcement on Facebook.

On Oct. 18, Algonquin and Calpine submitted documents to the Weymouth Planning Board seeking an endorsement for the land that was divided into six lots. The lawsuit says the company didn't file a notice with the Town Clerk as required and the Planning Board denied the application on Nov. 9. Despite the denial, a deed purporting to convey three of the six divided lots to Algonquin was registered in Norfolk County land court, according to court documents.

In the lawsuit, the town asks that a judge finds that the sale was against the law, rescind the conveyance of land from Calpine to Algonquin, and block any land sale until it is determined that the land was legally divided.

Spectra has well-known plans to add a compressor station with over 10,000 horsepower to the North Weymouth area. Four miles of new pipes in Braintree and Weymouth are also included in the plan. The project is on hold as they wait for a decision from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission related to the project.

Image: File photo