The Fore River Basin is home to the largest herring run in New England, many historic and current industrial uses, and thousands of human residents.
Existing Impacts on the parcel in question
The Fore River Basin is home to a wealth of industrial facilities, including a sludge pelletizing plant, a fracked gas power plant, an oil and gas depot, and a biofuel refinery.
At the site of the compressor station, there are chemical and fuel storage tanks that have leaked.
To prevent further environmental damage to the Fore River Basin, we demanded that Enbridge complete a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the current environmental conditions at the site and the potential environmental impacts that could result from the compressor station. Enbridge ultimately did not have to conduct a full EIR, and instead released a shorter Environmental Assessment (EA). We continue to raise concerns about the environmental damage that Enbridge could cause while working to make this compressor does not operate for long.
Risks of Leaking Fracked Gas Into The Harbor
The compressor station will increase pressure on the Hubline, an existing fracked gas pipeline running underwater from Weymouth to Peabody. Although "out of sight and out of mind," the 30" pipeline does have an ecological impact that continues to be mitigated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection [more info]. Additional compression in the line increases the pressure on the pipeline.
When a pipeline ruptured at a Spectra facility in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015, it resulted in a release of "3.9 million cubic feet of natural gas" into the Arkansas River and took Spectra two days to notify town officials.
The Weymouth Herring Run
Each year, thousands of herring swim from Boston Harbor to Whitman's Pond through the Weymouth Back River. The herring run in Weymouth dates back to 1648.
The Fore River is the largest Smelt Run in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Back River is a significant herring run in New England.
The Fore River has a herring run in the Fore and Monatiquot Rivers that are a part of a restoration project to remove the Armstrong Dam in Braintree and bring back river herring to Great Pond in Braintree and Randolph.
There is an ongoing project to restore Smelt Brook a tributary to the Fore River in Weymouth Landing. Learn more at www.smeltbrook.org.
Further Reading on Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas Industry
This compressor station is just one piece of much larger concerns about the environmental impacts of the fracked gas industry. A pattern emerges: these facilities have been built on promises of safety and profits to the companies, but its the local citizens who end up bearing the brunt of the impact on their environment and communities.
Sources: