On Nov. 27 after Algonquin, a subsidiary of Enbridge, received approval to build the 7,700-hp compressor station from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund (R) wrote an urgent letter to Garcia-Serrano, regional director of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) requesting further review of Enbridge’s release abatement measure (RAM).

The RAM plan would allow Algonquin to construct the proposed Weymouth Compressor Station on a hazardous waste site, where the natural gas company “reported the presence of arsenic in surface soil at a level considered an ‘Imminent Hazard’” under Massachusetts regulations, Hedlund wrote. Four protestors concerned about the risks of the station were arrested outside the construction site Dec. 5.

A department spokesman says “MassDEP is reviewing the letter and will respond to Mayor Hedlund,” but as of Dec. 5, had no timeframe for the response. 

In April, MassDEP completed a comprehensive audit of Algonquin at the Weymouth site and determined that previous cleanup actions did not fully comply with the requirements of the Massachusetts hazardous waste cleanup regulations, he says.

The Weymouth compressor station is necessary for the Atlantic bridge pipeline customers north of Weymouth, including gas utilities in Maine and Canada, an Enbridge spokesman says.