Connecticut Governor Rell Supports Federal Legislation to Strip FERC of Siting Authority for LNG Projects

April 9, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she strongly supports federal legislation co-sponsored by Connecticut U.S. Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman that would strip the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of its authority to site liquefied natural gas terminals and return that power to the states.

LNG burner: Photo by John Bullas (CC)

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Governor Rell has been leading a lengthy battle against FERC over its headlong rush to approve the Broadwater project, a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) platform that would be permanently moored in the middle of the Long Island Sound, turning that environmentally sensitive area into an industrial zone.

FERC in January issued a final environmental impact statement for Broadwater, saying the aircraft carrier-sized facility – which is expected to cycle through about 29 million gallons of seawater a day for cooling, killing hundreds of millions of eggs and larvae, and raise water temperatures along its underwater pipeline by as much as 20 degrees – would have “limited adverse environmental impacts.”

Governor Rell critized that conclusion as “ludicrous.” Nevertheless, FERC relied upon that finding in voting March 20 to give Broadwater final federal approval.

“FERC refused to even give Connecticut a seat at the table when it came to making a decision about siting the Broadwater project, as if putting the project entirely in New York waters meant the Long Island Sound no longer washed up on Connecticut shores,” Governor Rell said. “It is that sort of fractured logic that has prompted this legislation. No state – and no environmental treasure – is safe from energy industry whim unless FERC is somehow reined in and the powers that rightfully belong to the states are returned to them through passage of this bill.

“Put simply, FERC needs an overhaul,” the Governor said.

The legislation, introduced Tuesday, was also sponsored by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Source: Connecticut Governor