BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston City Councilors Michelle Wu and Lydia Edwards are calling on the Boston Conservation Commission to deny Eversource a permit to build a substation in East Boston.
Flanked by members of the community on Wednesday, Wu and Edwards said Eversource is proposing to build a new substation "in the heart of an environmental justice community."
"What is a real poke in the eye [is that] they laughed at us when we asked about specific safety measure that they would have," Edwards said.
On its website, Eversource says it will be installing the new substation in the East Eagle neighborhood of East Boston, along with two new underground transmission lines to connect the new substation to existing substations in Everett and Chelsea.
Eversource told WBZ Newsradio the proposed substation is needed to reliably service the growing population of East Boston, and it said its proposal meets or exceeds all environmental and safety standards.
Local resident John Walkey said he thinks it's "idiotic" to put a substation in a flood zone.
"Unfortunately climate change now moves at a quicker pace than even our permitting process," he said. "Yesterday this square here was flooded."
The state has issued Eversource a permit, but it’s not a done deal. Councilor Wu said the BCC has the power to deny any permit. The BCC is holding a public hearing on the gas company's application Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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(Photo: Suzanne Sausville/Twitter)