Enbridge sends mailer to local residents
/Enbridge gave us another laugh today. We found out that some residents of Braintree and Weymouth received a mailer from Enbridge, where they refer to themselves as a “neighbor”. Let us make this clear: Enbridge is not our neighbor. They dump their toxic facilities in communities all over — not a neighborly move.
Our good friend Andrea H. transcribed the text on the mailer with her [notes] added in brackets and italicized.
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Weymouth Compressor Station, July 2021
An update for our neighbors
[the photo is not from the weymouth site]
As you may know, the Weymouth Compressor Station entered into service in January, and is now helping to keep natural gas flowing through Enbridge's Algonquin Gas Transmission system, which provides natural gas for ultimate use by homes, businesses, power plants, and manufacturers throughout the Northeast U.S. The Algonquin system has been in operation since the 1950s and the portion of the Algonquin system that runs through Weymouth has been in operation for nearly twenty years. About half of Massachusetts homes are heated with natural gas, and about 60 % of electricity generation in Massachusetts comes from natural gas power plants. We're proud to help meet the energy needs of millions of people every day.
The Enbridge team supporting this facility live and work in the area, [Who might that team be? We have guesses: Max B who lives in Quincy, "Slim Shady" whose name we don't know but he's around the site a lot, Mayor Hedlund, Soliticor Callanan, Gov Baker, & his environmental agency heads... for a start] and it's important to us to be good neighbors [GTFO with this BS]. Enbridge exists to fuel quality of life, and we take pride in responsibly delivering the energy we all rely on to keep our economy going. We're sending you this update to provide more information about the facility and hope you'll find this informative.
Compressor stations along the Algonquin system - in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey ensure that natural gas can reach the gas utilities serving the South Shore, helping heat homes, cook meals, and power businesses. Additionally, these compressor stations help serve power plants - including the one in North Weymouth - which helps keep the lights on for homes and businesses. [Braintree's BELD is put in a very difficult place by the amount of gas pressure the compressor takes away from them to push gas up North. Source in comments]
Background on compressor stations
Natural gas is vitally important in meeting Massachusetts's energy needs. We rely on compressor stations all along the pipeline system to get the natural gas we need.
Pipelines are proven to be the safest and most reliable way to transport natural gas, and compressor stations play an integral role in allowing the gas to move through the pipeline system. There are hundreds of compressor stations that are safely operated across the United States ["Safe?" LOL]. They are typically located every 50 to 70 miles or so along a pipeline system, and give the gas a needed "boost," which helps it get from one point to the next, and allows it to reach gas utilities, power plants, and industrial customers. These stations are strictly regulated and monitored 24/7 by highly trained personnel. [LMAO, yeah in TEXAS, remotely.]
About Weymouth Compressor Station
The Weymouth Compressor Station was built as part of the Atlantic Bridge project and started flowing gas for customers as of January 2021. The facility serves three natural gas utilities in Maine who signed contracts as part of the Atlantic Bridge project, as well an industrial customer and a gas utility in Atlantic Canada. Closer to home in the North Shore, the project serves a power plant in Salem, MA, which benefits from additional access to natural gas made available by the Weymouth Compressor Station. [all power gen plants are on the gas grid whether or not they use the resources. The compressor was NOT needed to serve these plants]
In Maine, where around two -thirds of homes heat with more carbon-intensive fuels than natural gas, greater access to natural gas can help replace more carbon-intensive and more expensive sources of energy, helping consumers realize environmental benefits and cost savings, and helping address climate change. [FACT CHECK: link in comments "In 2019, 80% of Maine's electricity net generation came from renewable energy resources, and hydroelectric power provided the largest share at 31%."]
Over the last several months, we've performed maintenance work at the Weymouth Compressor Station to optimize the facility's performance. [Is that what the industry calls 7 system failures?] In our experience, new facilities typically require additional maintenance and testing in the first year of service. [and in OUR experience they fail a LOT, endangering residents constantly] As we continue to safely address the maintenance requirements that are typically seen at new facilities like this, as part of our commitment to being good neighbors, we'll be working to minimize any sound generated by the facility. [great but also, that's not our first pressing danger with this facility] We'll also work to reduce emissions to the greatest extent possible, consistent with our Environmental, Social, and Governance goals. [with neglectful "help" from our Governor and his captured environmental agencies who don't care how much poison you put in our air]
We're constantly seeking to improve our environmental performance, and are working on implementing measures to further reduce emissions with innovative technological solutions.
Safety and air quality
The federal government highly regulates compressor stations which must meet rigorous safety and air quality standards. [as we have seen, no. No, they do not rigorously regulate gas facilities]
Safety
Compressor stations employ a variety of safety systems and practices to support safe operations. All compressor stations are monitored around the clock by highly trained personnel [remotely from TEXAS], and we have a team of capable local technicians who work to keep the facility in good operating condition. [because it keeps breaking down]
We've also been working closely with first responders in Weymouth, Quincy, and Braintree to ensure they are familiar with the facility and the safety features in place.
As part of our commitment to safety, we engage with first responders and local officials in the communities where we operate to address any planning needs. [and payoffs]
Air quality
The emissions from the Weymouth Compressor Station are strictly regulated [LOL, DEP does not care they have shown us that after the 2 system failures in September 2020], and we operate the facility with public health and safety as our priority. The controlled venting of natural gas, which is sometimes required at gas facilities, is a safe [not safe at all, for anyone, ever] and routine procedure which is part of regular pipeline maintenance activities. Compressor stations are designed to safely vent natural gas during maintenance, testing, or if a shutdown is required, at which point the natural gas is vented through stacks specifically designed for that purpose [unless your machinery malfunctions, as it has, and you let out all kinds of gas at ground level where it could ignite]. Once natural gas is vented, it naturally and safely dissipates. Households also vent natural gas when replacing a furnace, stove or gas dryer and these appliances use natural gas as a fuel, similar to the compressor unit at the station. [OMG, NOT the same, at ALL, not at ALL. With that gas from the compressor comes POUNDS of VOCs of which there are no safe levels of human exposure]
At this facility, we publicly report any venting of natural gas over 10,000 standard cubic feet [because DEP makes them, and they don't have to report anything under 10k scf] - an amount that would supply about 15% of gas used by one average Boston- area household annually. You may see these notifications as they are sometimes shared on websites, social media, and in news content [haha, YES you *ssholes!]. At times controlled venting activities are necessary and do not cause harm to people or the environment [a lie so big I can barely contain anger]. Great care is taken to make sure these events are conducted safely, and with appropriate measures to limit the amount of natural gas released. [BS]
Improving site conditions
We are undertaking site assessment activities at the Weymouth Compressor Station and the nearby King 's Cove Park to address historical contamination that existed before we took ownership of the property. The Compressor Station site is cleaner due to removing approximately 17,400 tons of impacted fill material and bringing in around 29,0 00 tons of clean material during construction. [um, no. Enbridge spread toxic arsenic-laden coal ash waste all over our roads with their non-existent "mitigation" handling. Workers dug in toxic coal ash "soil" in deep pits over their heads with no personal protection. I don't have enough time to go into how much BS this is]
Enbridge is committed to conservation efforts and the beautification of the communities where we live and work and we're happy to conduct these site improvements as part of a transparent public process-find out more here: (LINK IN COMMENTS)
Contact us with questions
Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. You can speak with one of our local team members by calling 888-331-6553. [this is a NJ number that no one answers]
Enbridge
Weymouth Compressor Station
54 Bridge Street
Weymouth, MA 02191
