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PRODID:-//Extinction Rebellion Boston//Action//
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SUMMARY:[Solidarity] Toxic Tour: Environmental Justice or Enbridge?
DTSTART:20230301T160000Z
DTEND:20230301T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260502T140555Z
UID:1452@https://xrboston.org
CREATED:20260502T140555Z
DESCRIPTION:Event details: https://xrboston.org/action/environmental-justi
 ce-or-enbridge/\n\n**Join FRRACS on a tour of Enbridge-enabling agencies\,
  as we urge them to shut down the compressor station.**\n\n**Date and Time
 :** Wednesday\, March 1\, 2023 from 11am-1pm | Snow date: March 8\, 2023\n
 \n**Meeting spot:** South Station\, 700 Atlantic Ave.\, Boston at 11am\n\n
 Though we haven't had many in-person events\, we want you to know that our
  campaign has not slowed. We continue to monitor the compressor site and E
 nbridge's activities\, and we are still pursuing our many legal battles.\n
 One of those legal battles is our appeal of the Ch. 91 Waterways License g
 ranted to Enbridge by MA DEP (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Pr
 otection). To obtain a waterways license\, a facility needs to be water-de
 pendent and ancillary to surrounding facilities. The compressor station is
  not water-dependent. Enbridge tried to argue that it is ancillary to the 
 existing Hubline even though the Hubline does not require the compressor s
 tation to function. Once the license was approved\, we appealed the decisi
 on\, arguing that the compressor station is not ancillary.\n\nLast year\, 
 the Superior Court rejected the permit because the compressor was not anci
 llary. The presiding officer for DEP at the time\, Jane Rothschild\, agree
 d that DEP erred in its original decision that it was ancillary. Since the
 n\, we've been waiting for the commissioner of the DEP\, Martin Suuberg\, 
 to rule on Rothchild's finding. Instead\, he left his position without a r
 esponse and kicked it back to the new presiding officer\, who recently dis
 regarded the Superior Court and Rothschild's ruling by stating that the co
 mpressor is ancillary. Long story short\, the DEP has ignored state regula
 tions and has sided with Enbridge.\n\nThere are many agencies and people w
 ho have allowed this dangerous facility to be built\, including the DEP\, 
 and they all need to be held accountable for the destruction they have ena
 bled. We invite you to join us on Wednesday\, March 1\, 2023 for our secon
 d Toxic Tour\, as we visit some of these agencies. We will present each st
 op on the tour with an "Enbridge-Enabler" award to remind them of the harm
  they've caused and show them that we are not giving up.\n\n**Tour stops:*
 *\n\n**1. Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities** - In November of 
 2019\, National Grid filed their 14-year contract with the DPU. These are 
 documents that cover their projections of demand and energy supply. At tha
 t time\, the utilities stated that they did not require the Weymouth Compr
 essor Station in order to supply Massachusetts consumers with methane gas.
  Eversource followed suit stating the same. The Attorney General–the rat
 epayer advocate–filed a brief on this docket with the DPU stating that d
 ue to this\, the DPU could not allow the utilities to charge the ratepayer
 s for the Weymouth Compressor Station. The DPU ignored the Attorney Genera
 l and\, therefore\, the ratepayers– including the consumers in the Fore 
 River Basin–are paying for the compressor station–the very station tha
 t threatens their health and their lives every single day. The price tag t
 o the ratepayers? $182+ million. \n\n**2. ML Strategies and Mintz Levin\, 
 PC** - ML Strategies is the consulting and lobbying arm of Mintz Levin\, P
 C. ML Strategies has lobbied former Gov. Baker and the legislature for the
  benefit of the gas industry.  Mintz Levin\, PC is the law firm that has r
 epresented Enbridge before the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolutions (
 MA DEP) and in court. These organizations work to support polluting and cl
 imate destroying fossil fuel companies in the Commonwealth and beyond.\n\n
 **3. Gradient** - Gradient is an environmental and risk sciences consultin
 g firm. In 2019\, Mintz Levin hired a consultant from Gradient\, Peter Val
 berg\, to serve as a witness for Enbridge during our air quality appeal he
 aring. Mr. Valberg argued that the risks within the Fore River Basin\, bas
 ed on ambient air concentrations "should not be viewed as providing eviden
 ce of unacceptable existing air quality." Mr. Valberg also revealed that h
 is employer was being paid $400/hr by Enbridge for his testimony. Valberg 
 and other consultants from Gradient\, are known for their work as "white c
 oats for hire"\, often defending industry by downplaying the health effect
 s of their products. For example\, Valberg served as an expert witness for
  Philip Morris in a case related to cigarettes. More recently\, a consulta
 nt from Gradient\, Dr. Julie Goodman\, has attempted to downplay the healt
 h effects of gas stoves.\n\n**4. Massachusetts Department of Environmental
  Protection (DEP)** - They have\, at each and every step in the 8+ year pr
 ocess of Enbridge’s attempt to build\, construct\, and operate a toxic c
 ompressor in Weymouth\, protected the interests of Enbridge over the Envir
 onment\, over the communities in the Fore River Basin\, and over the peopl
 e of Massachusetts.\n\n**5. Governor Healey **- Gov. Healey ran on a platf
 orm of environmental justice (EJ) but we've yet to see any sign of such co
 mmitments. She has allowed construction of Eversource's substation in East
  Boston to begin despite lacking the necessary permits. She did not defend
  Weymouth during her tenure as Attorney General when the DEP failed to fol
 low state regulations. And she has not visited the site or spoken out agai
 nst the project since taking office.
LAST-MODIFIED:20230220T021947Z
LOCATION:South Station\, 700 Atlantic Avenue\, Boston MA
ORGANIZER;CN="Extinction Rebellion Boston":MAILTO:outreach@xrboston.org
URL:https://xrboston.org/action/environmental-justice-or-enbridge/
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