Above Photo: Firefighters entered the West Roxbury Lateral gas pipeline trench Saturday where protesters glued and chained themselves. Courtesy photo/Simon Metcalf
ROSLINDALE
Several people were arrested after locking and gluing themselves together at 9:50 a.m. on Saturday to block two construction sites of Spectra Energy’s West Roxbury Lateral gas pipeline, according to Alyssa Lee of Resist the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline.
Lee said six people were arrested, however, Boston Police said four were arrested in the area of 2365 Centre St., West Roxbury. Police said that three were charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace and a fourth person was charged with trespassing, disturbing the peace and hindering a police officer.
Bound at the waist and ankles using chains and superglue, Lee said the group aimed to stop the project from endangering the community and disrupting the climate.
The West Roxbury Lateral runs under Grove and Centre streets, and the Metering and Regulating Station is right across the street from West Roxbury Crushed Stone, a quarry where there is active blasting.
Protester Trevor Culhane, of Cambridge, said, “This pipeline would irresponsibly lock us into decades of climate pollution and community disruption. We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground and transition to a just and renewable economy without fracked-gas.”
This was the latest in a series of ongoing protests and arrests at the site. Last week more than 100 people participated in the 43-mile “People Over Pipelines” march that started in Medway and ended by occupying the grand staircase of the Massachusetts State House on Monday, July 18.
Two weeks ago, 23 people, including Vice President Al Gore’s daughter Karenna Gore, were arrested for blocking construction of the pipeline. According to Lee, 144 others have been arrested in West Roxbury, and over 200 people regionally, in civil disobedience actions to stop this Spectra Energy project.
Bobby Wengronowitz, who will become a father in just a few weeks, took action “because cool heads and discussion have gotten us nowhere. I feel a responsibility to do whatever it takes to assure a livable future in this beautiful world for my child and for all those who have done nothing to contribute to the climate crisis.”
The city of Boston is currently in a lawsuit with Spectra to stop the gas pipeline, but the legal decision is not expected to happen before the projected completion date.