Chairman Wise referred to the proposal to construct and operate a facility in Long Island Sound to receive liquefied natural gas from tankers, gasify it, and add it to the regional pipeline network to distribute natural gas.  He briefly described the component parts of the proposal:  docking port; floating transfer facility; buried pipeline running 25 miles west from the facility to link up with the existing Iroquois natural gas pipeline.  Councilor Freierman had asked that the Council send a representative to a stakeholders meeting on the project to be conducted by the US Coast Guard.  Mr. Wise reported that, while he had hoped to go, he subsequently learned that the focus of this meeting was to be the safety and security issues associated with this project, not the environmental issues, and that the Coast Guard was requiring that participants at the meeting stay the planned two full days of its duration.  He informed the Council that he was thus not able to attend the meeting.  He distributed to the Council written copies of testimony recently given at a state legislative hearing on the Broadwater project.  He noted that the testimony encompassed remarks from supporters and opponent of the project.

Mr. Wise asked Mr. Colvin whether or not a formal permit has been filed with any federal or state agency for this project.  Mr. Colvin stated that he thought not, the environmental impact statement is still being compiled.  He noted that the primary decision-maker in allowing this project to go forward or not will be the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  It is likely that some state permits will be required, although Congress has been looking at energy legislation that may restrict the authority of states to regulate the siting of energy facilities   He informed the Council that the facility proposed for installation in Long Island Sound will use a closed-cycle heat exchanger system to warm the super-chilled LNG and thus it will not require massive amounts of Sound water for this purpose, unlike LNG facilities in more southern climes, that use open-cycle exchange systems.

Ms. Freierman stated that serious safety concerns have been raised about a possible explosion of the LNG and also the navigation safety concerns raised by the increased tanker traffic in eastern Long Island Sound.  She also questioned whether this represents the first step in a progressive industrialization of the waters of Long Island Sound.

Mr. Byron Young noted that there will be a no-entry zone established in a 1,000’-radius around the facility  This may have some impact on commercial fisheries in the area, trawling and/or lobstering.

Mr. McBride suggested that the Council needed much more information before it can discuss and comment on this project knowledgably.

 

Page last modified Thursday, June 30, 2005 by George E. Carroll