(1/8) As early as today, Enbridge, the company behind the Weymouth #naturalgas compressor station, could start releasing gas into the Fore River Basin. These "controlled venting" events will occur as the compressor station gets "tied in" to the interstate pipeline system.
(2/8) But as this letter 👆 from the Mayor of Braintree points out, a court recently vacated part of the company's air quality permit. Here's some background on that decision: wbur.org/earthwhile/202…
(3/8) With the state's Dept of Environmental Protectiion taking another look at the air permit, those who oppose the project are left wondering how this is legal:
(4/8) The part of the permit in question has to do with a turbine and so isn't necessarily relevant to controlled venting. But the optics of a controlled venting event right now don't look that great.🧐
(5/8) Here's what I got from a company spokesman: "We will be conducting controlled venting of natural gas near Bridge Street and Route 3A in Weymouth as part of the pipeline tie-in for the Weymouth Compressor Station, in accordance with applicable regulations ...
(6/8) ... "Controlled venting of natural gas is a safe, routine procedure which has been used near this location previously. The tie-in activities are part of the construction process, and the Weymouth Compressor Station is not becoming operational at this time ...
(7/8) ... "We will make every effort to minimize the volume of natural gas released by using recompression equipment at the site, safely diverting gas into another section of the Algonquin Gas Transmission system."
(8/8) As WBUR has also reported, @SenMarkey and @SenWarren asked federal regulators to push pause on the company's ability to continue construction until the air permit is resolved: wbur.org/earthwhile/202…
