Friday, January 11, 2008
LNG: N.Y. terminal plan poses minimal environmental risk -- FERC
11 January 2008
Environment & Energy News (E&E news)
Katherine Ling
A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound poses minimal environmental and safety risks, federal regulators said in a final environmental impact statement released today.
The Broadwater Energy project would be built 9 nautical miles offshore and provide 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to New York City, Long Island and Connecticut. The floating terminal would be anchored to the seafloor and serviced by about 118 LNG carriers a year.
The Federal Environmental Regulatory Commission's report recommends 86 mitigation projects -- such as repairing disturbed seabeds -- that the company should undertake to reduce environmental impacts.
The project is aimed at boosting supplies of natural gas in the New York metropolitan area whose consumption has increased by 100 billion cubic feet over the past 10 years and is expected to grow even more as air quality standards are expected to become increasingly stringent and preclude the use of other energy sources, FERC said in a statement.
Environmentalists and some politicians oppose the project, calling it a target for terrorists and questioning its potential impact on aquatic life, commercial and recreational fishing. The plan calls for establishing a 2-mile zone around the terminal in which boaters would not be allowed.
FERC said the terminal's remote location makes attacks unlikely and also allows boaters to easily avoid it.
"The proposed project would result in fewer environmental impacts than any alternatives considered, and many alternatives could not meet the proposed purpose and need of the project," the FERC statement said.
FERC's report will be used by the Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies as they decide whether the project can proceed. The five-member FERC commission must also vote to authorize the project.
The New York Environmental Conservation Department told Broadwater last month the project had a "significant adverse impact" and gave it a "notice of incomplete application." Other state agencies are expected to decide on the project soon.
Connecticut Sens. Joe Lieberman (I) and Christopher Dodd (D) wrote a letter to FERC last May opposing the project. Lieberman added his disappointment with FERC's decision in a statement today. "I still do not believe a strong case has been made that this terminal could be made safe, environmentally sound, and nondisruptive without costly measures," he said.
Broadwater is hoping to open the terminal by late 2010.
