WEYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday it won’t revoke authorization for the natural gas compressor station in Weymouth, even though several members said regulators shouldn’t have approved the project to begin with.

After reexamining operations and safety at the station following accidental releases of natural gas, Commission Chair Richard Glick said regulators “should never have approved” the compressor located in a “heavily populated area with … a higher-than-normal level of cancer and asthma due to heavy industrial activity,” The Patriot Ledger reported.

But Glick said the review and findings don’t justify revoking approval for the station, initially granted in January 2017.

The compressor station is part of Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge project, which expands the company’s natural gas pipelines from New Jersey into Canada. Opponents argue that the station presents health and safety risks.

Enbridge spokesperon Max Bergeron in a statement said the company is “pleased” with the decision, and that the issues were already “extensively reviewed as part of a multiyear public process.”

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who opposed the station, said in a statement he was “deeply disappointed” with FERC’s ruling.

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