Gas company fines boost concerns about proposed Weymouth compressor station

Gas company fines boost concerns about proposed Weymouth compressor station

From the Patriot Ledger:

WEYMOUTH – The Texas company looking to build a natural gas compressor station in North Weymouth has been touting its commitment to meet all federal safety mandates for months. But a subsidiary company of Spectra Energy was fined twice by federal regulators in the past six years for failing to meet safety standards and other requirements at its facilities, including a gas-detecting alarm system that was improperly calibrated for more than a year at a Connecticut compressor station, records show.

Spectra says the violations were “primarily administrative in nature,” and were quickly fixed. But opponents of the proposal, including public officials and resident groups in Weymouth, Quincy and Braintree, say the fines bolster their case that the compressor station in a densely populated area near the Fore River would pose a safety and health hazard to residents, businesses and commuters.

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Weymouth compressor station drawing fire

Weymouth compressor station drawing fire

From the Patriot Ledger:

WEYMOUTH – They usually look like oversized storage sheds set back behind tall chain-link fences with a series of pipes coming in one side and out the other.

The gas-fired turbines inside operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to build up pressure inside underground natural gas pipelines, some stretching thousands of miles across the country, to keep the gas flowing through the line.

So-called compressor stations are situated along natural gas pipelines crisscrossing the country, though pinpointing the exact number of them is difficult. Now residents in Weymouth and Quincy are lining up in an effort to stop the newest one from being built next to the Fore River in an area crowded with close to 1,000 homes and a cluster of industrial operations.

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Quincy seeks greater say in compressor station permitting process

Quincy seeks greater say in compressor station permitting process

From the Patriot Ledger:

QUINCY – Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch announced Tuesday that the city has formally filed to become an intervening party in the regulatory process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – a five-member appointed board that makes the final ruling on interstate natural gas pipelines.

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