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Boston to rejoin active legal battle against West Roxbury pipeline
By adamg on Thu, 02/04/2016 - 8:06am
The Globe reports Boston will go to court to appeal a recent federal ruling dismissing arguments by the city, several elected officials and West Roxbury residents that the West Roxbury pipeline should be stopped.
Less than a month ago, an aide to the mayor was telling West Roxbury residents the pipeline was a done deal and that the city was confining its efforts to begging Algonquin Gas Transmission to hold a meeting to show depictions of its planned gas transfer station at Grove and Centre streets, where gas from the high-pressure pipeline would be fed into National Grid's system.
In September, a federal judge rejected city efforts to force Algonquin and its contractor, Spectra Energy, to at least delay the project over the issue of city permits for digging trenches along Washington and Grove Streets. Spectra has since installed parts of the pipeline under the streets and cleared the site of the proposed transfer station of trees.
The city appeal will be of a Jan. 28 ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that rejected a request by city officials and US Rep. Stephen Walsh, state Rep. Ed Coppinger and state Sen. Michael Rush, several West Roxbury residents, West Roxbury Saves Energy and the Conservation Law Foundation to reconsider its 2015 approval of the pipeline.
The commission rejected their arguments that it had failed to consider that a high-pressure pipeline and transfer station could pose a public-safety risk in a densely populated area, that there wouldn't be a need for the pipeline if local utilities would fix all the leaks in their existing pipes, and that digging a trench for the pipe under Gonzalez Park in Dedham without legislative approval violates the state constitution.
In its rejection, the commission said its staff did too look at safety concerns and found the pipe and station would be safe, that the fact that Algonquin has already signed up both natural-gas producers to pump gas into the pipe and utilities willing to buy it proves there's a need and that even if the utilities fixed all their leaks, that still wouldn't equal the extra capacity the new pipeline will mean.
As for needing the approval of the state legislature, the commission snorted that federal pipeline law was written specifically to preempt local and state jurisdictions.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Request by elected officials for a new hearing | 299.55 KB |
| FERC ruling on that request | 251.76 KB |
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Comments
Mr Mayor
Better late than never.....
timely, actually
Due to legal technicalities; the City was in a holding pattern on further legal action. The City had already gone to court to try to prevent the line from running down Washington Street to Grove, right along the quarry - which is an active blasting site. The court ruled in favor of Spectra Energy at that time.
not very
The City bailed early on and said it was a done deal. Now the Mayor found out that people were actually upset about this and now he has a a chance to save face.
Marty loves wasting tens of
Marty loves wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits. He must be wagering the unused snow removal budget from this year.
open space
Since they have cleared out the area, it is amazing to see just how big that plot of land is. On Google Maps, it is called "Centre Marsh Park." You wonder what might have been if the city had done something with this space before the pipeline came storming in. As a nearby resident, I am not too scared about the safety of having the transfer station nearby (though we have discussed whether we are in the blast range or not...). I am more annoyed that we had this "park" but it was basically overgrown woods. I would have loved an alternative to Draper Park, maybe even a dog area, but I know that can be a sensitive subject around here!
blast zone
if you are close enough to have your house shake when the quarry blasts then you are in the zone. Along with 2 elementary schools and a nursing facility.
we are :(
we are :(
My whole house rattles every
My whole house rattles every time a train goes by on its way to Boston/Providence. No biggie.
It was owned by the quarry
Even though that land was listed as "Centre Marsh Park" on maps, it was owned by W. Roxbury Crushed Stone. They sold it to Spectra a couple of years ago.
It is a marsh of sorts - in the spring there is usually a small pond there that dries up in the summer, depending on how much rain we have. Migrating ducks used to stop by in the spring on their way to wherever they go.
As a neighbor, I am concerned about the safety of the M & R Station. That very high pressure pipeline comes right in there, and even though I assume Spectra is taking basic safety precautions, the quarry blasts do shake the ground.
And there are almost constantly leaking low-pressure gas pipes there now. At least with those you can smell the gas and know that there is a leak. That won't be the case with the high-pressure pipeline.
from Stop the West Roxbury
from Stop the West Roxbury Pipeline:
On Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a long-awaited decision about Spectra's West Roxbury Lateral pipeline. FERC ruled in favor of the pipeline, as expected. But the good news is that the decision clears the way for Boston officials to finally appeal Spectra's pipeline permit. It was impossible to file an appeal while FERC was still considering the pipeline. Now that FERC has issued its decision, city officials are free to file an appeal and keep fighting the pipeline in the courts!