Enbridge Halting Startup For Weymouth Natural Gas Plant.

Weymouth MA

01 October, 2020

1:03 PM

Description

WEYMOUTH, MA — The energy company Enbridge announced its delaying the start of service for the natural gas compressor at the bank of the Fore River. The halt to Enbridge's plans came following two emergency shutdowns at the plant in the last three weeks. "Following the activation of the Emergency Shutdown (ESD) System at the Weymouth Compressor Station on September 30, 2020, we have decided to temporarily pause the commencement of operations of the station to ensure we can complete a thorough review and be certain the facility is fully ready for service before proceeding," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "Safety will always be our top priority." Crews working at the Weymouth plant on Wednesday triggered an emergency shutdown. The shutdown brought new calls from U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston), for Enbridge to close the facility. Enbridge spokesperson Max Bergeron said the automatic emergency shutdown system went vented an unspecified amount of natural gas into the air. This is the second such incident to occur in the last three weeks. The last emergency shutdown happen on Sept. 11 when 265,000 cubic feet of natural gas was released at the facility. Lynch has long been an opponent of the compressor station's construction and said he's "extremely concerned for the public's safety" following the two emergency shutdowns in less than a month. "While additional details on this latest safety incident are still under investigation, these accidents endangered the lives of local residents and are indicative of a much larger threat that the Weymouth Compressor Station poses to Weymouth, Quincy, Abington and Braintree residents, as well as surrounding communities, by operating in such a densely residential area," Lynch said in a statement. Bergeron said the company is still investigating what triggered the automatic shutdown, but so far, Enbridge has "found no issues which would affect the safety of the station." "We have notified state and local officials, and are proceeding with safety as our priority,"Bergeron said in a statement. "We will safely place the Weymouth Compressor Station in service following the successful completion of testing and calibrating activities, once we are confident the facility is fit for service." Lynch said he's planned a walk-through of the site later this week and asked an official from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration to come with him. Related: Warren, Markey Want Fore River Natural Gas Plant To Be HaltedFore River Compressor Station Approved, Braintree Officials Upset