Proposal to Transport Ethanol through Medford Defeated

State Senator Patricia Jehlen and state Representatives Sean Garballey and Carl Sciortino are pleased to announce that a dangerous proposal to transport large quantities of the highly-volatile substance ethanol through Medford has been defeated. The plan, which would have endangered thousands of Medford residents and cost the city tens of thousands of dollars in special firefighting materials and training, united neighbors, activists and legislators in opposition.

The State legislature passed a final budget this week that includes a provision which would effectively block the plan by Global Petroleum Corp (“Global”) to ship ethanol via railroad tracks, which run through a number of densely-populated urban communities, to their facility in Revere. The budget is now headed to Governor Deval Patrick’s desk for his consideration.

The provision was originally offered as an amendment to the Senate budget in response to the plan. Since the passage of the budget, Global has withdrawn their proposal, citing legislative consideration and community input.

“Congratulations to all of the residents and community leaders who so strongly advocated in opposition to the plan to transport ethanol through our communities,” said Senator Jehlen. “And thank you to Global for recognizing the concerns of the community and responsibly retracting their proposal; this is a victory for the safety of all residents and neighborhoods.”

To proceed with their proposal Global would have needed to obtain a Chapter 91 Waterway License from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental protection (DEP). The budget provision would prohibit DEP from issuing such a license to Global or any company proposing to store and blend more than 5,000 gallons of ethanol within one mile of census blocks that have greater than 4,000 people per square mile.

“This is a victory for public safety and for putting communities over corporate interests,” said Representative Carl Sciortino, who represents parts of Somerville and Medford.

“Since this proposal first came into the public eye, community leaders, residents and elected officials have been united in opposition,” said Representative Garballey. “I am pleased that we have reached an outcome that puts residents’ safety first.”

Residents united in strong opposition to the proposition of up to 100-car trains carrying ethanol running through their communities. An accident with a train carrying ethanol in densely populated urban areas could potentially be catastrophic – the substance is highly flammable and an ethanol fire can only be extinguished using expensive alcohol-resistant foam. Several likely routes for the trains would have included rail corridors through Medford and surrounding cities.

– Information from State Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville, Medford)