bay Governor Charles Baker Massachusetts State House Office of the Governor Room 280 Boston, MA 02133 Dear Governor Baker: The __Board of Health joins other Massachusetts Boards of Health in urging you to. require an independent and comprehensive health impact assessment prior to authorization of any new natural gas infrastructure, including, pipelines, compressor stations, and storage facilities in the Commonwealth. We have adapted the excellent letter to you from the Amherst Board of Health, dated October 12, 2017. Natural gas transmitted in pipelines contains contaminants that can cause human illnesses even at low concentrations. These contaminants include benzene and other volatile organics, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and small particulate matter, as acknowledged by pipeline companies in permit applications’. ideally, pipeline gas and its contaminants would be perfectly contained, and there would be no illness risk to people living near pipelines and compressor stations. In fact, however, releases of pipeline contents are well-documented”. Inadvertent release occurs via equipment failures, “fugitive” gas leaks, and accidents and explosions®. In addition to inadvertent releases, maintaining the transmission infrastructure requires regular, deliberate venting of compressors (blowdowns), which expel significant quantities of gas plus contaminants into the environment around compressor stations’, Preliminary studies have linked gas transmission infrastructure to adverse health effects on people living nearby®®, but better data are needed on actual toxin levels near pipeline ce releases containing toxic chemicals definitely infrastructure and on their health impacts. do occur, it is not prudent to authorize new pipeline construction until pollutant levels have been measured over time and at different distances from existing pipelines, and health registries have been established and the results studied to allow valid assessments of the health of people living near gas infrastructure, Perhaps actual health risks will turn out to be so low as to be deemed acceptable if the pipeline delivers gas needed in the community under conditions the pipelines main where renewable energy sources are currently insufficient. However, purpose is to export gas, as is the case for some pipelines proposed in Massachusetts, it is difficult to imagine a legitimate justification for subjecting local residents even to very low levels of health risk. Existing pipelines, and any new ones that may be built however inadvisably, must be subject to regulation. At the national level, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has a history of favoring the fossil fuel industry rather than the public interest. This is perhaps not surprising Page 1 - Draft letter to Governor Bakergiven the Commission’s funding, which comes entirely from the industries it regulates’. Thus, it is vital for the Commonwealth to take the lead in ensuring that existing as well as new gas infrastructure are safe, since federal regulation may be inadequate. Based on the foregoing considerations, the Board of Health makes these specific recommendations for state acti 1. Do not authorize new natural gas infrastructure projects in Massachusetts until and unless adequate data have been gathered to allow making a valid health impact assessment specific to each project. 2. When the above data have been gathered, require a comprehensive health impact assessment before permitting any gas infrastructure project, following the American Medical Association and Massachusetts Medical Society policies to that effect. 3. Do not allow any new natural gas infrastructure in the state that primarily serves to export natural gas, if it subjects state residents even to small health effects. 4. Review current regulations, both state and federal, for existing and new pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure. Put in place additional state regulations needed to improve safety of the infrastructure and containment of pipeline contents. 5. Consider renewable alternatives to natural gas such as solar and wind reducing our reliance on fossil fuels which add to global warming. We ask that you take timely action on this request. Several pipelines, compressor stations, and storage facilities are being considered in the Commonwealth. Beginning independent comprehensive health impact assessments of the potential human health hazards of these new natural gas infrastructure projects is a high priority. Thank you for considering these requests. Sincerely,