Weymouth residents fight proposed compressor station near Fore River bridge

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Residents in Weymouth continue to fight against a proposed natural gas compressor station near the Fore River bridge.

They say the location is just too populated and will be a danger to families. Folks have been appealing the permit process for years now.

Residents gathered tonight to express their concerns about health and safety.

Residents say nearly 1,000 people live just feet from the proposed site and they feel their health and safety would be a risk if the compressor is built.

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"Because when there is an accident, there is going to be massive catastrophe, human injury, environmental, economic. It’s just going to be horrible," said Alice Arena, president of Fore River Residents Against Compressor Station.

Residents from Weymouth, Quincy, and Braintree are fighting to persuade federal officials that the Fore River bridge is not a safe spot to build a natural gas compressor station.

Congressman Stephen Lynch held a listening session where residents were able to speak directly to members of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, hoping to make their final plea.

"Try to convince their co-regulators that this is not the right location, they had nine possible sites to begin with and they chose the worst possible site," Lynch said.

Lynch said about 1,000 families live near the proposed site. He said that area would be considered a "high consequence area" by the federal agency, and that's a term that has residents concerned.

"There’s a short-term possibility of a major disaster like we saw in Merrimack Valley, then there’s also a gradual deterioration of air quality," Lynch said.

Weymouth residents surrounding the proposed site said it's not just the fear of toxic air quality, but the fear of the unknown.

"When something happens and I’m giving you the when something happens, (the city of) Weymouth, the people, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, they’re going to be left holding the bag," Arena said.

The state has put permit approval on hold for the site after an air quality test by the Department of Environmental Protection came back inaccurate.

The city of Weymouth has filed almost a dozen appeals to stop permit approvals by the state.

Cox Media Group