McGovern Wants Residents to Have a Say in LPG Sites
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
The filing of the bill is a response to plans by the Grafton-Upton Railroad to build a 320,000 LPG storage and transloading facility in Grafton, and the decision of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to pre-empt state and local environmental protection laws.
“Communities ought to have a say in whether or not a hazardous LPG facility is sited in their backyard,” McGovern said. “No other federal, state, or local agency, besides the STB has jurisdiction over a project that could potentially threaten the health and safety of hundreds of people, including hundreds of children.”
The bill is similar to a provision included in a bipartisan 2008 passenger rail bill that addressed health and safety concerns at railroad-owned and operated solid waste transfer facilities.
McGovern preceded filing the bill with an amicus curiae (friend of court) brief in March of this year in support of Grafton that he committed to at the January 2015 community meeting.
In April, the United States District Court for the First Circuit accepted the amicus curiae brief refuting the STB¹s interpretation of federal law and congressional intent.
The accepted brief supports Grafton and its Board of Selectmen¹s appeal of the STB¹s January decision in favor of the Grafton and Upton Railroad. Grafton appealed the STB decision to the First Circuit last October.
Grafton hopes to halt construction of the largest propane facility in the Commonwealth because of its proximity to homes, an elementary school, library and little league field.
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