What: Press Conference
From: Springfield Climate Justice Coalition
Date and time: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 1pm
Rain date: Thursday, June 2, 2022
Location: Steps of Springfield City Hall, 36 Court Street, Springfield
Media Contact: Naia Tenerowicz (303-906-3848)
Email: rovingrabbit@protonmail.com
Eversource initiates permitting process for proposed gas expansion project in Springfield/Longmeadow; Springfield Climate Justice Coalition to hold press conference stating opposition
At 1pm on Tuesday, May 31st, The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition will hold a press conference on the steps of Springfield City Hall to highlight our opposition to the proposed Eversource expansion pipeline. The rain date for this event is 1pm on Thursday, June 2.
The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition is deeply concerned that Eversource Gas is moving forward with a pipeline project that flies in the face of the clean, sustainable future our state aims to build, despite clear opposition from Springfield and Longmeadow communities and the severity of the climate crisis we are already experiencing.
On May 16, Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts submitted an Environmental Notification Form to the Secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs. This step initiates a review of the “Western Massachusetts Gas Reliability Project”.
On May 26, Eversource filed the project with the Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board and the Department of Public Utilities.In the coming days, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) will post the filing on their website. The link to search for the filing can be found here: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/DPU/Fileroom/dockets/bynumber/
The proposed gas pipeline would start in Longmeadow, travel under public roads in Longmeadow, through Forest Park and environmental justice communities in Springfield and would end in downtown Springfield at the Bliss Street Regulator Station. This review is required by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (“MEPA,” M.G.L. c. 30, ss. 61-62L).
Given Massachusetts’ newly adopted environmental justice laws, we expect a full environmental impact report. In the face of the climate crisis we are counting on our state agencies to undertake a thorough, accessible, and transparent regulatory process that will protect our already overburdened neighborhoods from the cumulative impacts of yet another polluting project. Springfield residents remember the gas pipeline explosion of 2012; We will not stand aside and let our community become a sacrifice zone yet again.
Speakers will include Springfield City Council member Zaida Govan, a representative from Senator Ed Markey’s office, and a spoken word performance by poet Sonji Johnson-Anderson representing Crossing the Waters. Speakers from a number of community organizations in Springfield will share their unique perspectives in opposition to this project.