Despite neighborhood environmental concerns, the Supreme Judicial Court greenlights substation in East Boston

Good grief.

Mass Live is reporting that the proposed electrical substation in East Boston has been officially cleared to proceed after the Supreme Court overruled environmental advocates’ objections.

Eversource plans to construct the substation on the shore of Chelsea Creek, on a site with polluted soil and contaminants. Construction began in January 2023, even though litigation had been ongoing. This project has been controversial and heavily criticized since it was initially proposed. In November 2022, the non-binding ballot question ended with 84% of voters voting they did not want the substation.

According to the article, the Conservation Law Foundation and GreenRoots, Inc. had sued to overturn the state Energy Facilities Siting Board’s approval of the project, stating that the board had not sufficiently evaluated potential harm to the neighborhood.

The Supreme Court found that the board’s approval was based on “substantial evidence” that the project was in the public interest.

“Electricity is vital to nearly every aspect of modern life. It preserves food, heats and cools homes, enables transportation, healthcare, communication and work and supplies artificial light upon which we all depend,” Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian wrote in the unanimous decision.

The estimate for this project is $103 million.

You can read all the details here.