New Hope for Opponents of LNG Facility
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 – Opponents of the proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Fall River were given hope this week when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission indefinitely extended the deadline for considering appeals to the project’s approval.
In a statement Thursday, Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, along with Reps. Barney Frank and James McGovern, approved of the deadline extension and encouraged the commission to reverse its earlier ruling.
“This misguided project should never be built,” Sen. Kennedy said. “[The commission] now has a chance to correct its mistake and finally put to rest the idea of siting an LNG facility in Fall River.”
The City of Fall River, the Navy and other opponents filed appeals to the project authorization early last month. The commission initially had until Thursday to issue a final decision, and failure to act by that date would have been considered an automatic rejection of the appeal.
On Sept. 12, however, the commission issued a procedural order to extend that deadline, allowing continued consideration of the appeals.
“We just don’t know how significant this is going to be,” said Steven Adamske, a spokesman for Frank.
Opponents of the facility should not yet consider this a victory, said Tamara Young-Allen, spokeswoman for the commission.
“All it means is that the commission needs more time,” Young said.
The facility, proposed by Weaver’s Cove Energy, was authorized by the commission on July 15. Since the original authorization, however, the Navy has raised national security objections, and local resistance has grown, Adamske said.
In addition, recent legislation sponsored by Frank and McGovern protects the Brightman Street Bridge from removal, effectively preventing LNG tankers from reaching the facility’s proposed location.
“I hope that the FERC will use this extension to look at the new national security and
economic data as a basis to reverse the approval of this ill-advised project,” Frank said in the statement.
Critics of the project note the possibility of spills, fires and explosions at the facility. They also say that such a facility would be a tempting target for terrorists.
According to Weaver’s Cove Energy, however, an LNG facility in Fall River would have few safety or security risks while providing valuable jobs and tax revenues to the community.
Company spokesman Jim Grasso said he is confident that the authorization will stand. “We need the gas and these facilities need to be sited somewhere,” he said.
