WEYMOUTH, Mass.: Federal regulators have given final approval for operation of a natural gas compressor station in Massachusetts that opponents have said is an environmental hazard.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday gave the company behind the Weymouth facility, Enbridge, permission to put the station into service, according to WGBH.
We are pleased to move forward with placing this important facility in service ahead of the upcoming winter heating season,” a spokesperson for Enbridge wrote in an email.
The approval came less than two weeks after an accident during testing triggered an emergency shutdown that required workers to vent gas into the surrounding area.
That prompted politicians, including U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, to call for a suspension of operations pending a review of the incident.
Alice Arena of Fore River Residents Against Compressor Station said she was disappointed but not surprised by FERC’s approval, and promised to keep fighting the station.
The station is part of Enbridges Atlantic Bridge Project, a system that will connect two existing pipelines and allow fracked natural gas to flow through New England and into Canada for export.
Enbridge has said it plans to begin delivering gas to its utility customers in Maine and Canada by Oct. 1.
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