NEWS

'That would be huge': State agency may reconsider waterways permit for Weymouth compressor

Jessica Trufant
The Patriot Ledger
The Weymouth compressor station, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.

WEYMOUTH – A state adjudicator has agreed with what opponents of a controversial natural gas compressor station in the Fore River Basin have said all along: the facility did not need to be built near the water or in that location.

Hearing officer Jane Rothchild of the state Department of Environmental Protection said the department should reconsider the Chapter 91 Waterways permit for the compressor station and whether the project should have been allowed to be built there.

The Fore River Basin is a designated port area, meaning development there must be water-dependent. 

Opponents of the gas compressor station in North Weymouth gather during a rally with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and local officials, Friday, April 2, 2021.

Alice Arena, of the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station, said residents were "shocked" that Rothchild agreed that the department got it wrong.

“We live our lives believing they will deny us and we are constantly thinking of our next steps,” she said. “I was completely caught off guard.”

If Enbridge needs to apply for a new permit, Arena said there are a "whole host of new issues," including the impact of the state's 2021 climate law.

More:Superior Court judge tosses out waterways permit for Weymouth compressor station

More:Weymouth compressor station upgrades to address unplanned gas releases

This decision comes months after Superior Court Judge Joseph Leighton vacated the permit for the project and sent it back to the state for further review.

The decision boils down to an interpretation of the word "required," and whether the compressor station is considered an ancillary facility of existing natural gas infrastructure in the basin.

Leighton ruled that regulators incorrectly accepted "required" to mean "suitable," rather than "necessary," therefore allowing the siting of the compressor. 

"The department's interpretation was therefore inconsistent with the plain terms of the regulation and an error of law," he wrote in the decision. 

The compressor station is part of Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge project, which expands the company’s natural gas pipelines from New Jersey into Canada. Since the station was proposed in 2015, residents have argued it presents serious health and safety problems.

The Weymouth compressor station as seen from the Fore River Bridge on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.

State regulators issued several permits for the project despite vehement and organized opposition from local officials and residents.

Local, state and federal officials have called for a halt of compressor operations since the station opened in the fall of 2020. Several emergency shutdowns since then caused hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of natural gas to be released into the air.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reexamined operations and safety at the station following the shutdowns. The commission didn't revoke authorization for the station, but several members said regulators shouldn't have approved the project to begin with. 

'It spread extremely quickly':Hingham officials say wind contributed to devastating fire

In 2020, Mayor Robert Hedlund struck a host community agreement with Enbridge that provided the town with $10 million upfront and the potential for more money in the future. In exchange, the town cannot further appeal the project. 

But the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station and the communities of Quincy, Braintree and Hingham have continued to challenge the project. In an email to supporters, the citizens group said the "true heroes" are the residents who have helped continue the proceedings without Weymouth's legal and financial assistance.

While the town dropped its appeal, Hedlund said attorneys for the town were the first to make the argument that the project is not water-dependent. 

“The town was the starting pitcher who got the win, and (Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station) came in for the save. It was a team effort in that sense,” he said. “Now the big question is: Will, for the first time, an operating compressor station be shut down by a regulatory agency? That would be huge.”

Max Bergeron, a spokesperson for Enbridge, said the company is reviewing Rothchild's recommended decision and considering its next steps.