Put Gas in the Past: MA Climate Coalition Delivers Petition Signatures to Legislators

BOSTON, MA. – Today, Mass Power Forward — a coalition of over 200 environmental leaders, community organizations, clean energy businesses, and more — delivered thousands of petition signatures to members of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (TUE) Committee. The signed petition to Governor Maura Healey expresses support for its legislative counterpart, S.2135/H.3237, An Act Establishing a Moratorium on New Gas System Expansion.

The Put Gas in the Past bill would ensure that no new large gas infrastructure expansion projects (over 100 pounds per square inch of pressure) are approved until 2026 at the earliest. So called “natural gas” is made of methane that threatens our climate, health, and safety. In December, the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued a transformative decision for the Massachusetts energy system, further proving the need to reconsider all future gas projects.

Mass Power Forward is calling on TUE to favorably report the Put Gas in the Past bill by moving it out of committee in an omnibus package before February 7, also known as “Joint Rule 10,” the deadline by which all bills are to be reported out of committee. 

Following the petition delivery, coalition members and allies issued the following statements:

"In order to stave off the worst of the climate crisis, we must rapidly make a just transition," said Jess Nahigian, State Political Director at Sierra Club Massachusetts. "Although we’ve taken the first steps, we are not on track to meet our goals. These thousands of signatures represent residents all over the Commonwealth who are concerned about our continued expansion of fossil fuel use. This bill, which would only apply to the largest infrastructure, will allow us to immediately align large new investments with our state decarbonization goals while protecting ratepayers from unnecessary charges and environmental justice communities from new burdens."

“Environmental justice communities like Springfield are paying the price for continued expansion of gas infrastructure,” said State Senator Adam Gomez (D-Springfield). “Instead of building new pipelines through one of the ‘asthma capitals’ of the United States, we should be focusing on how to justly transition our energy and economy over to renewable energy”, said Gomez. “Investing into more gas pipelines works against the Commonwealth’s net zero carbon goals, nor does such expansion guarantee that ratepayers will see a drop in their gas bills.”

“People underestimate how dangerous fossil gas is," said State Representative Adrianne Ramos (D-North Andover). "In 2018, a reckless error led to large explosions in three communities by over-pressurized gas, including in my district. The explosions caused 80 fires, drove 50,000 people from their homes, injured 25 people, and resulted in one death.  At least 131 structures were damaged. After the explosions, my children were scared and didn’t sleep well for a long time. Our community has yet to recover fully. We need to put a moratorium on new gas expansion and to hold utilities accountable.”

“As we speak, Eversource is asking ratepayers to be responsible for up to $65 million for a new pipeline going through some of the most fragile neighborhoods in the Commonwealth," said Representative Bud Williams (D-Springfield). "We’ve already seen the dangers these pipelines pose to our health and safety in Springfield. They are demanding people of color and the most economically disadvantaged communities to bear these risks and we all pay for it. We need a new definitive plan. Decision-makers must act immediately to ensure that these unsafe, wasteful projects are no longer welcome so we can get to work on solutions that will benefit everyone.”