Boston (May 21, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after the Weymouth Compressor Station was shut down for the fourth time in less than a year on Thursday.

 

“Whether an act of God or a failure of man, the Weymouth Compressor Station’s fourth shutdown in a matter of months is a sign that it should not be operating now or ever. It’s dangerous, unnecessary, and a clear and present threat to public safety. No one in the surrounding community should have any confidence that this facility can operate in close quarters with schools and homes,” said Senator Markey. “I have contacted the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to ask for their response to this latest shutdown, and I will urge that they shut down the station while they address the cause of these repeated station failures.”

This February, Senators Markey and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Stephen Lynch (MA-08) wrote to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) urging the expeditious approval of the rehearing request for the in-service certificate issued for the Weymouth compressor station. In April, Senator Markey wrote to FERC in response to its request for a paper briefing on the rehearing request, urging FERC to rehear and rescind the in-service authorization for the station.

 

Following the second emergency shutdown of the station in October 2020 due to two unplanned gas releases, Canadian energy company Enbridge announced it would pause activities at the Weymouth site. In December 2020, against the urging of Senator Markey, PHMSA authorized Enbridge to restart operations. After the third unplanned gas release in April, just days after Senator Markey visited the station, he again urged FERC to approve the rehearing request and called on PHSMA to immediately investigate the release and pause operation of the gas station.