Gas Company Fines Raise Concerns For Proposed Weymouth Compressor Station

A Texas gas company looking to build a natural gas compressor station in North Weymouth has been promoting its commitment to meet all federal safety mandates for months.

However, a subsidiary company of Spectra Energy has been fined twice by federal regulators in the past six years for failing to meet safety standards and other requirements at its facilities, including a gas-detecting alarm system that was improperly calibrated for more than a year at a Connecticut compressor station, records obtained by the Patriot Ledger show.

Spectra claims the violations were quickly fixed, but opponents of the proposal, including public officials and resident groups in Weymouth, Quincy and Braintree, say the fines bolster their case that the compressor station in a densely populated area near the Fore River would pose a safety and health hazard to residents, businesses and commuters.

“This is an area where you can’t have any error,” Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said in a statement. “A mistake there could have incredible implications to Weymouth and Quincy. It does have an impact on their (Spectra’s) credibility. Why wasn’t this brought forth before?”

Spectra wants federal approval to build a 7,700 horsepower compressor station near the Weymouth end of the Fore River Bridge as part of a plan to expand its Algonquin pipeline, which runs from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

Spectra subsidiary Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, paid $154,700 in fines in 2010 and 2011, according to records.

Records show that in 2010, Algonquin paid $69,000 in fines for five violations of procedure around purging gas from the line that ended up cutting off service for dozens of customers in Tiverton, R.I.

In addition to the fines, federal inspectors sent Algonquin four warning letters between 2007 and 2015 for issues the regulators deemed less serious, including not putting proper warning tape on the outside of an underground gas pipe.

“PHMSA’s inspections are an opportunity for demonstrating compliance and also continuous improvement of our written standard operating procedures,” Spectra spokeswoman Marylee Hanley said in an email. “This is a reflection of Algonquin’s continuous safe operation of its facilities since the early ’50s. When issues are identified, we work hard to quickly, safely, and properly remedy the situation as well as learn from them in order to continuously improve.”

The pipeline expansion has received support from some union workers, who believe the project will create jobs. However, local officials and community groups say they’ll continue to fight it.

Weymouth Mayor-elect Robert Hedlund says he plans to hire a new, full-time town counsel with experience that could help push back against the pipeline plan after he’s sworn in as mayor next month.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to make a decision on the entire pipeline expansion project, including the Weymouth portion, in early 2017. Spectra has already announced plans for a second project that could double the horsepower of the compressor station.