oston, MA – Today, U.S. Representative Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick requesting that the Commission immediately rescind the certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Weymouth Compressor Station. Rep. Lynch’s letter is in response to Chairman Glick’s recent statement in which he acknowledged that FERC “likely erred in siting the Weymouth Compressor Station where it did” due to its location in a heavily populated area.
“Since the inception of the Weymouth Compressor proposal, I have repeatedly underscored to FERC and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration officials the serious public safety and health threats stemming from the siting of this compressor station,” wrote Rep. Lynch. “This 7,700-horsepower compressor station sits within a half-mile of nearly 1,000 households in the densely populated neighborhood of North Weymouth, and in close proximity to several schools, parks, and other high-traffic areas in the City of Quincy, the Town of Braintree, and the Town of Abington. I urge you to invoke the Commission’s administrative and statutory authority to rescind the January 25, 2017, order approving the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for this dangerous and ill-advised project.”
Since operations began in 2020, there have been four emergency shutdowns and multiple blowout events at the Weymouth Compressor Station. These hazardous incidents are definitive proof of the danger the compressor station poses to residents and surrounding communities. In accordance to the Natural Gas Act, FERC retains the authority to “amend and rescind [any] orders, rules and regulations as it may find necessary or appropriate to carry out”. Public safety and the health of surrounding communities demand that FERC exercise its administrative authority and rescind its approval of the Weymouth Compressor Station immediately.
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