Can Gov. Baker Actually Block A Controversial Gas Compressor?
Governor Charlie Baker says protesters of a controversial Weymouth gas compressor should redirect their attention, refraining from taking a stand on the proposed 7,700-horsepower station at the foot of the Fore River Bridge.
“In the end, these decisions get made by the federal government,” Baker told a caller on his weekly Ask The Governor segment on Boston Public Radio Thursday. “The state has a minor role to play, but in the end, if the federal government believes that certain energy capacity decisions with respect to transmission are in the national interest, it’s their call.”
On January 25, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the construction of the $450 million project that would transport natural gas from Pennsylvania into Maine and Canada. Opponents of the project include Senators Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, US Representative Stephen Lynch and several activist groups.
On Groundhog day, lead coordinator Alice Arena said the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station (FRRACS) collected over 11,000 signatures and delivered over 1500 postcards to Baker’s office to protest “any pipeline tax designed to force the public to pay for these private enterprises.” Baker told a BPR caller he did not receive the postcards. “You really ought to make sure you communicate those postcards to your federal representatives,” he said. “I’ve talked with some of the folks at the federal level about this, but that’s really where these decisions get made, they don’t get made at the state level.”
Read more: http://news.wgbh.org/2017/02/16/boston-public-radio-podcast/can-gov-baker-actually-block-controversial-gas-compressor