{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-warren-urge-phsma-to-rescind-restart-approval-for-the-weymouth-compressor-station-pending-full-safety-analysis", "Senators Markey and Warren Urge PHSMA to Rescind Restart Approval for the Weymouth Compressor Station Pending Full Safety AnalysisRead More", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Edward Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Request\r\ncomes after PHSMA allowed the compressor station to recommence operations\r\nbefore the causes of recent unplanned natural gas releases were definitively\r\nidentified and resolved\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWashington (December 14,\r\n2020)  Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)\r\nwrote to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\r\nopposing its decision to authorize Enbridge, Inc. to restart operations at the\r\nWeymouth compressor station after activities were halted following two recent\r\nemergency shutdowns. On November 25, 2020, PHMSA issued its approval of\r\nEnbridge's Weymouth Station Restart Plan without having reviewed a complete\r\nthird-party investigation of station safety or the findings of a finished Root\r\nCause Failure Analysis. In the letter, the senators also raised concerns over\r\nPHMSA's decision to accede to Enbridge's requests to limit the list of\r\ncorrective actions the company had to take to address hazardous conditions.\r\nDespite the remaining questions regarding the cause of the unplanned shutdowns\r\nand uncertainties about the compressor station's safety, PHMSA allowed the\r\nWeymouth compressor station to recommence operations on December 4, 2020. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPHMSA should ensure that\r\nall necessary corrective actions are identified and taken before the\r\nfacility is permitted to restart, not after the compressor station yet\r\nagain exposes the community to danger, write the Senators in\r\ntheir letter to PHMSA. Before PHMSA makes any future decisions about\r\noperations at the station, we urge you to revoke your approval of the restart\r\nplan, allow for the completion of a Root Cause Failure Analysis, and review the\r\nresults of a thorough investigation into the causes of the two unplanned\r\nemergency shutdowns.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA copy of the letter can\r\nbe foundHERE.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nToday's letter follow a\r\nseries of actions taken by Senators Markey and Warren to urge responsible\r\nentities to shut down the Weymouth compressor station. On November 9, 2020,\r\nSenators Markey and Warren wrote to the Federal\r\nEnergy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in support of a petition requesting a\r\nrehearing and rescission of the In-Service Authorization issued for the natural\r\ngas compressor station in Weymouth, Massachusetts on September 24, 2020. On\r\nSeptember 30, 2020, the Senators wrote to thePHMSA,\r\nurging the Administration to halt activities at the Weymouth compressor station\r\nand investigate the station's safety following an equipment failure and\r\nemergency shutdown earlier that month. The next day, Enbridge agreed topause\r\nstart of operationsat the gas compressor station. In July, Senator\r\nMarkey and Senator Warren sent a letter to theMassachusetts\r\nDepartment of Environmental Protection, urging the Department to require\r\nthat Algonquin Gas Transmission immediately halt ongoing venting of natural gas\r\nat the meter stations located at the Calpine Fore River Energy Center site and\r\nthe Weymouth compressor station. The Senators also wrote to FERCto\r\nrequest that the Commission rescind the notice to proceed on construction of\r\nthe compressor station, due to the lack of complete permits. In April, Senators\r\nWarren and Markeywrote\r\nto Enbridge, Inc. calling for public health and safety protections at the\r\nWeymouth compressor construction site as they continued construction during the\r\ncoronavirus pandemic.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nLast year, Senators\r\nWarren and Markeyintroducedlegislation\r\nthat would block construction of any compressor station built as part of a\r\npipeline project to export natural gas  as the Weymouth station would, with\r\nplans to export natural gas to Canada. The Senators, along with Rep. Stephen F.\r\nLynch (MA-08), also sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge,\r\nInc.expressing\r\nserious concernsabout the company's proposal to construct the\r\ncompressor station in Weymouth.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-warren-urge-phsma-to-rescind-restart-approval-for-the-weymouth-compressor-station-pending-full-safety-analysis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4368360862135887, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}