March 29, 2024

Important CARCS News & Upcoming March Event

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A year ago, it looked like the Canadian energy giant Enbridge Inc was sitting in the catbird seat. ‘Massachusetts Coalition for Sustainable Energy’, a front group for Access Northeast Partners (Eversource, N Grid and Spectra Energy) was dominating the headlines in a pro- gas media blitz, seeding fears, predicting rolling brownouts and skyrocketing prices if we don’t increase gas reserves. Meanwhile at the statehouse, posing as “sustainability advocates”, they continue to pressure lawmakers to ‘undo’ the 2016 Supreme Court ruling that prevents them from forcing us to pay for their new gas pipeline projects.

Then came the Merrimack Valley disaster, followed closely by the over pressurization near miss in Woburn, and the currant gas crisis in Newport RI. What a difference a year can make, and what a shame that it takes a whole lot of suffering to change the pro- gas narrative. It would not be overstating the facts to suggest, that both Woburn and Newport narrowly escaped the kind of devastation that has rocked Lawrence. By contrast, today’s headlines betray an industry whose bad policies and bad practices have put all of us at risk. Chronic understaffing, inadequate oversight, poorly trained workers, aged infrastructure, neglected and leaky pipelines, the list goes on. ‘Safety first’ may be the industry motto, but that is becoming increasingly difficult to stomach. Columbia Gas, National Grid, the Governor and his Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), may be (deservedly) on the hot seat for now, but Enbridge and their cohorts aren’t likely to give up. Massachusetts IS the highway, and ratepayer funding IS key to getting their fracked gas reserves from PA to Canadian terminals for export. We need only look at Governor Bakers recent approval of the Weymouth air quality permit for a compressor station there, to demonstrate the reach and persistence of these companies

For pro-gas lobbyists the PR setbacks are significant, but unless citizens continue to stay the course, pipeline and utility companies will be back to ‘business as usual’ in no time. So, in 2019 with your help, CARCS will press on and continue efforts to protect our community and subvert another pipeline project. Clearly, we cannot afford the health risks and added dangers that will come with more gas capacity, volume and pressure. Our aged unprotected, corrosion and leak prone gas pipelines, and cast-iron gas mains have reached their natural lifespan. Agencies that were put place to protect us (MA DPU and DEP) clearly are not, and the Governors handful of “safety protocols” (he rolled out after the Merrimack disaster) are woefully insufficient to protect the public from future peril.

Pipeline leaks in our neighborhoods are ubiquitous- some left leaking for decades, while they threaten our health, safety and our environment. Yet we continue to reward these companies for their negligence, and invite them to expand service in our towns? It is long past time to finally hold gas and utility companies accountable, and insist they fix the leaks NOW. Since October of last year, our Selectmen took commonsense measures and placed a moratorium on all new gas installations in Rehoboth to protect public safety. This is an important example of how our municipalities can take control and protect the public when our state agencies are clearly falling us. We cannot trust in the current system, and we simply cannot afford to wait for the next calamity to occur. Please join CARCS on Tuesday, March 19th at the Blanding Library at 7:15 PM (snow date 3/26) to continue this discussion. This timely and informative event will include a presentation on our 2018 Baseline air and water testing results, our testing plans for 2019, and an in-depth analysis of gas leaks with experts from the field. So please mark your calendars and join us along with your state and local representatives on March 19th. This is an important event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

CARCS is a 501c3 and your tax donations are deductible. You can donate by going to our website: www.norehobothcompressorstation.com or by email Gina at: beana19@comcast.net


Tracy Manzella
CARCS

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