By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Those opposing the construction of an Eversource substation on Condor Street gathered together last Wednesday, June 7, for a community picnic protesting the substation, emphasizing that they will not let it be fully built without a fight.
In a fight that has spanned many years, protests ramped up in January, coinciding with the beginning of construction. Notably, there were multiple arrests after a demonstration on Tuesday, January 17, in which activists attempted to block the entrance to the construction site.
One of the main reasons that there is opposition to this electrical substation is due to safety concerns from potential flooding of the site, a site that is across the street from a playground.
“We know in all the future forecasts in the decades to come we can expect flooding in that area, and in fact, Condor Street gets flooded now when we have severe storms,” said John Walkey, GreenRoots’ Director of Waterfront and Climate Justice Initiatives.
“So, in 2018, Condor Street was closed like two or three times, so we know that this area’s not a good area for electrical infrastructure.”
Since construction began in January, fighting back against the substation has been frustrating, according to Devin MacGoy, GreenRoots’ Energy Democracy Community Organizer.
“To be frank, it’s been frustrating over the past few months because we’ve been fighting this substation, like I said, for a very long time, and we’ve pursued every avenue available,” said MacGoy.
He mentioned a couple of legal avenues and emphasized the need for action from Governor Maura Healey.
“Since January, we’ve been trying to put some additional pressure on Governor Healey to do something about this, like she said she would. She did say when she was Attorney General that this was an environmental injustice and that it should not be happening,” said MacGoy.
“She has the ability to do something about this, and that is our message here today, is that she needs to be doing something to fight the substation more than she currently is.”
Walkey echoed the sentiment about needing action from Healey, referencing the actions the late Mayor Thomas Menino took, which included a land swap with Eversource that essentially pushed the substation to its current location.
“We would like to see the Governor flex some political muscle in the same way that was done in the past to move them over here, to move them out of here,” said Walkey.
Currently, the project has been appealed in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and Walkey indicated that a ruling could be coming up before the end of the year. However, he maintained that the fight against this project will continue in the meantime.
“It potentially could go forward. It won’t go forward without a fight, and we’re going to be pushing back on the project as much as we can. There has been, and will be, civil disobedience; there will probably be more arrests,” said Walkey.
“We’re going to make it very uncomfortable for both Eversource and the Administration because this is really not acceptable; this should not be allowed to happen.”