Connecticut Governor Rell: FERC Decision ‘A Travesty’

‘We Will Fight This Reckless Decision Every Step Of The Way’

January 11, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today utterly rejected the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact study of the proposed Broadwater liquefied natural gas facility, saying FERC’s conclusion that the project would have little effect on the Long Island Sound is ludicrous. “We will challenge this absurd and indefensible agency decision in court,” Governor Rell said.

“The Broadwater project would be a travesty – the complete desecration of Connecticut’s environmental crown jewel and a total setback to the decades we have spent improving water quality and habitat in the Sound,” Governor Rell said. “FERC has ignored the rights and needs of Connecticut residents time and again and with today’s decision is once more trying to run roughshod over the people of our state.

“An enormous and potentially flammable industrial facility floating in the middle of Long Island Sound would be as shockingly out of place as a steel plant in a state park,” the Governor said.

FERC announced today that it had completed an environmental impact study (EIS) and that its staff believed the project was likely to have “limited adverse environmental impacts.”

“I cannot see how any reasonable person or government agency can come to that conclusion,” Governor Rell said. “We are talking about building and operating a massive, possibly hazardous industrial facility in the middle of an important estuary with sensitive natural resources. We are taking about a platform as large as an ocean liner, requiring an unprecedented and untested 950-acre safety and security zone, as well as moving security zones around incoming tankers. Let’s not kid ourselves: All of this will change Long Island Sound forever.”

Under federal environmental laws, the FERC must wait at least 30 days after releasing an EIS before issuing any permits for a facility.

“Connecticut will fight this reckless decision every step of the way,” Governor Rell said. “Today I am directing the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to go over this EIS with a fine-toothed comb, identifying every flaw and faulty conclusion. I know the Attorney General’s office will be happy to support us in this endeavor.”

Connecticut will also coordinate efforts with New York, which is responsible for several permits ncessary for the Broadwater project to proceed.

The Broadwater project will require a coastal consistency determination – in keeping with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act – from the New York Department of State as well as a number of permits from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

“We were heartened by the DEC’s December 21 letter to Broadwater, which was severely critical of plans for the project,” Governor Rell said. “The letter said the permit applications were incomplete and said current plans for the project would have several significant adverse environmental impacts. We believe this letter is a strong signal of where New York is headed on critical Broadwater decisions that lie ahead.”

On November 17, 2006, FERC issued its draft EIS. At that time, Governor Rell joined the DEP, other public agencies, numerous environmental groups and private citizens to raise a number of questions concerning the potential environmental and use impacts of the proposed project.

Although FERC attempted to address some of those issues in its final EIS, the project will still have significant impact on aquatic life, benthic habitat and recreational and commercial use of the Sound.

Governor Rell said FERC has only given cursory attention to alternatives to Broadwater.

“Recent proposals for offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals south of Long Island show that the energy industry itself believes there are better ideas, yet FERC persists in its myopic, case-by-case analysis of energy projects,” the Governor said. “The EIS simply assumes that the goal is to create an LNG terminal in Long Island Sound, rather than to meet regional energy needs in the most environmentally sensitive fashion.

“There simply has to be a better way. I call upon FERC and the rest of the federal government to work with the states on a comprehensive approach to national and regional energy planning.”

Governor Rell has successfully battled previous efforts by FERC to impose higher electric rates on customers in portions of the state – a strategy known as Locational Installed Capacity, or LICAP – and clashed with the agency over its refusal to include Conecticut in Broadwater siting discussions, despite the fact that half of the Sound is Connecticut territory.

Source: Connecticut Governor

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