Week of Action to Stop the Weymouth Compressor

Action Guide

Governor Baker is calling the Weymouth Compressor Station essential, putting lives at risk. This project is not, and has never been essential. Take action with us!

This week of action has come to an end, but all of the actions are still necessary in order to continue to pressure these decision makers. If you haven’t completed all of the actions yet, please feel free to scroll down and start taking part!

If you’ve completed the action and want to continue to support this fight, you can:

1. Join FRRACS’ monthly public meeting. There is one on 5/12 7pm EST. Register here.
2. Sign up for FRRACS’ email list here.
3. This fight extends beyond Weymouth to across the state and even world. Also in the Boston area is the East Boston Eversource Substation. Eversource wants to construct this project in a high flood risk area in the typically lower-income, immigrant neighborhood of East Boston. This community already deals with way more than their fair share of environmental pollution and now also deals with rapid gentrification. Learn more about how to stop this project by joining the email list of the community group GreenRoots here.

Here’s our strategy:

Due to the risks of COVID-19, local organizers from FRRACS are discouraging any in-person action at the compressor station construction site aside from car rallies. We are turning to social media to take action.

Every day this week we will target a key decision maker in stopping construction. A central part of this strategy will be directly asking our friends to participate as well. If 10 people each invite 2 more friends to join and those friends then each invite 2 more friends, that’s 70 people taking action – and that’s just the beginning!

This week of action was inspired by the Building Up People Not Prisons multi-week campaign. Visit their guide here to help decarcerate and defund prisons and invest in black and brown communities instead.

Day 1 - Email MA Governor Baker and Weymouth Mayor Hedlund

TAKE ACTION:

Email Governor Baker at constituent.services@state.ma.us and Weymouth Mayor Hedlund at RHedlund@weymouth.ma.us asking them to use their executive powers to stop the construction of the Weymouth Compressor Station. Baker has stated that his hands are tied with stopping this project, and yet he has direct say in the decisions of what business is essential.  Mayor Hedlund has been offered $10 million for the town by Enbridge for as yet unspecified actions by the Town. We believe the Town will have to drop their lawsuits. We need to demand that Hedlund refuse to accept the money.

Template letters to Baker and Hedlund here (source: FRRACS)

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

I’m taking action every day this week to stop the Weymouth Compressor Station. Governor Baker is calling the Weymouth Compressor Station essential, putting lives at risk. This project is not, and has never been essential. Take action with me at bit.ly/NotEssential #NoWeymouthCompressor

[link to download photo]

ASK YOUR FRIENDS:

Think of 2 friends you think are very likely to be supportive. DM, text, call, or email them.

Hey have you heard about the gas compressor station being built in Weymouth? It’s being built to export gas outside of the US and poses a huge risk to the community living around it. I’m doing a week of action to try to stop it. You can learn more about the compressor and the ways we can stop it at bit.ly/NotEssential. Will you join me in taking action this week?

Day 2 - Share Memes to Spread the Word

TAKE ACTION:

Post (download image) or repost (follow link) one of these memes to your social media and share that you’re doing a week of action to stop the Weymouth Compressor Station and that others can join you at bit.ly/NotEssential

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Follow @ElfOnSite on Twitter for frequent updates on the status of construction of the Compressor Station. We appreciate their dedication and want to boost their following!

ASK YOUR FRIENDS:

Tag friends in your posts asking them to share and get involved!

Day 3 - Sign and Share Petition to Governor Baker

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to Baker here.

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

I’m calling on @MassGovernor to prioritize the lives of people living near the Weymouth Compressor Station site over the profits of the fossil fuel executives. Sign the petition bit.ly/WeymouthPetition and join the week of action at bit.ly/NotEssential #NoWeymouthCompressor

ASK YOUR FRIENDS:

Tag friends in your post asking them to share and get involved!

Day 4 - Write to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

TAKE ACTION:

Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to revoke the permit for the Weymouth Compressor Station due to risks to the health of environmental justice communities, the lack of need for this gas, and the public health risks of building during COVID-19.

Here’s how:

• Go to https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
• Enter your information. Click authorize.
• Receive an email and click link to comment
• Enter docket # CP16-9-000
• Click "Search"
• Click blue cross in "Select" column
• Write your comment in a separate document, then copy & paste it into the comment box (in case the website crashes). Here is a template comment.
• When you’re done, click "Send Comment"
• Once submitted, please email your comment to FRRACS at nocompressor@gmail.com on your email.

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

I just wrote to FERC demanding that they revoke permits for the Weymouth Compressor Station. This project serves no purpose to the local community or the planet. Join me in taking action: bit.ly/NotEssential. #NoWeymouthCompressor

ASK YOUR FRIENDS:

Check in with 2 friends you’ve invited to join you or who have been liking your posts. Say something like “Hey, how is the week of action going for you?” If they are having troubles keeping up, be understanding and ask if there’s anything you can do to help them out with accountability.

Day 5 - Write to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

TAKE ACTION:

Email Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health sweatt.loren@dol.gov AND Correspondence.F049@dol.gov asking them to investigate health and safety at the construction site. Please CC FRRACS at nocompressor@gmail.com on your email. Here is a template email.

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

We protect lives during this pandemic by putting workers ahead of profits. #NoWeymouthCompressor to protect the workers and protect the Fore River Basin community! Join me in calling on decision makers to stop this project at bit.ly/NotEssential

ASK YOUR FRIENDS:

Forward your email to 2 friends and ask them to send one too. Also share the link to guide so they can participate in whole week at bit.ly/NotEssential

Day 6 - Write to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

TAKE ACTION:

Email Dr. John Dreyzehner, Dir. of Emergency Preparedness and Response pwn3@cdc.gov and Dr. Redfield olx1@cdc.gov asking them to contact the local board of health to urge them to close construction at the Weymouth Compressor Station. Please CC FRRACS at nocompressor@gmail.com on your email. Here is a template email.

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

The Fore River Basin includes 2 environmental justice communities. With so much dirty industry in the Basin, the residents are at higher risk of COVID-19. We must stop the construction of even more polluting industry! Join me at bit.ly/NotEssential. #NoWeymouthCompressor

ASK TO FRIENDS: (cannot emphasize enough how important this step is! We can exponentially grow our impact if we reach out to our networks!)

Forward your email to 2 friends and ask them to send one too. Also share link to guide so they can participate in whole week at bit.ly/NotEssential

Day 7 - Report back to Gov. Baker and Mayor Hedlund on the week

WATCH:

This video compiled of all the work YOU did to make this week of action such a success!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-76aGuAcw

TAKE ACTION:

Email the link to the celebratory compilation to Gov. Baker at constituent.services@state.ma.us and Mayor Hedlund at RHedlund@weymouth.ma.us. Please CC FRRACS at nocompressor@gmail.com on your email. Here is a template email.

POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

I took 5 minutes out of my day every day this week to take action against the Weymouth Compressor. We pressured @MassGovernor, @MayorBobHedlund, @FERC, @OSHA, & @CDCgov. Watch this video that celebrates our efforts and shares how to continue the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-76aGuAcw

ASK TO FRIENDS:

Text the video to your friends and thank them for joining you :) Ask if they would like you to continue to keep them informed about action they can take against Enbridge.

🎉🎉 WAY TO GO! YOU COMPLETED THE WEEK OF ACTION!! 🎉🎉

More About the Weymouth Compressor Station:

Following the leadership of the local community group Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station (FRRACS), we demand that construction on the Weymouth Compressor Station be permanently halted. Paid for by the gas company Enbridge, this compressor station will connect pipelines bringing fracked gas from Pennsylvania to Canada for export outside of the United States. This project has never been essential for Massachusetts residents, and definitely is not essential to build now during a pandemic.

The Weymouth Compressor Station is being constructed in the Fore River Basin, home to thousands of people. It already has industrial facilities, including a sludge pelletizing plant, a gas power plant, an oil and gas depot, and a biofuel refinery. This area includes two environmental justice communities (areas of lower income or larger populations of minority groups where industrial projects are more likely to be built): Quincy Point and Germantown. The surrounding community has been fighting this project for years, yet the state of Massachusetts has chosen to ignore them and the science and give Enbridge permits for construction. Construction began in late 2019. Find out more about the Weymouth Compressor Station and the community fight against it. 

Then came COVID-19. These community members are at higher risk of catching the virus because of existing environmental pollution that affects their health. The construction workers on the site are putting the community at further risk, and are at risk themselves. The workers do not have an option, but their employer should be held to the same expectations as all other employers right now to prioritize the health of their employees and the public.

Governor Baker put out vague restrictions on what construction is deemed essential during the lockdown, including the Weymouth Compressor. Lives are being threatened by this choice and it cannot go on any longer.