Paterson Turns Down Broadwater

“Broadwater would scar the Long Island Sound,” claimed Governor Paterson as he declared his opposition to the Broadwater Liquefied Natural Gas project proposed for Long Island Sound at a press conference on Thursday, April 10th at Sunken Meadow State Park in Northport.
“One of my goals as Governor is to protect Long Island Sound, by preserving it as a valuable estuary, an economic engine for the region and a key component to making Long Island’s quality of life one o the best in the country,” proclaimed Gov. Paterson. “Broadwater does not pass that test. Shame on us if we can’t develop a responsible energy policy without sacrificing one of our greatest natural and economic resources.”
The Broadwater project would deliver natural gas to fuel electric generating plants and heat homes. The barge would be located in the Long Island Sound, nine miles off the coast of Riverhead, New York and 10.2 miles from the nearest onshore point in Connecticut. The project would include eight Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage tanks, a regasification plant and a 21.7-mile long pipeline extending from the LNG terminal to a sub sea interconnection with the Iroquois Gas Transmission System, which will bring the gas onshore.
Governor Paterson’s decision came after the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) rejected Broadwater’s proposal to construct a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) for imported LNG, in Long Island Sound. The NYSDOS determined that the proposal is not consistent with six out of thirteen Long Island Sound Coastal Management Program (LISCMP) policies.
During his speech, Gov. Paterson cited several concerns with the proposal. First he mentioned that it would be the first time in the history of Long Island Sound that a section of open water this size was handed over to a private company to the exclusion of the public. He believes that privatizing open water would be fundamentally wrong and serves as a dangerous precedent for industrializing a body of water that people have spent years and millions of dollars trying to clean up.
State Senator Carl L. Marcellino, chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee agreed with Gov. Paterson and commented, “Broadwater will not solve Long Island’s energy needs. In fact, Broadwater is a potential environmental disaster, which could erase all the strides we have made cleaning up the Sound.”
Long Islanders pay the third highest energy costs in the nation and their demand for natural gas is growing faster than anywhere else in New York. Broadwater Energy Vice President John Hritcko believed, “the Broadwater project, as proposed, was the best option for New York State to meet its growing demand for clean, affordable, reliable natural gas – and did so with no near shore or onshore impacts. Further, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have determined that with the mitigation measures proposed by Broadwater and those they have recommended Broadwater can operate safely and securely in Long Island Sound and will have less environmental impacts than any other alternatives.”
Gov. Paterson noted that the project would not guarantee low-cost gas to Long Island, however, it would disrupt commercial and recreational fishing in the Sound, which for many Long Islanders is a way of life and potentially could put families out of business. He also acknowledged that the project does not need to be built in the Sound.
While the NYDOS rejected the proposal to build Broadwater in Long Island Sound, it suggested two alternative sites where Broadwater could construct FSRUs. These FSRUs and their associated facilities, including pipelines, would be consistent with the New York Coastal Management Program. The sites are on the Atlantic Ocean side of Long Island, outside of New York State boundaries. The first site approved by the Department would be south of Long Beach, New York 13 miles offshore in about 80 feet of water, west of Cholera Bank. A submerged offshore pipeline would connect this FSRU to the existing offshore Transco-Long Beach pipeline. The second site would be 22 miles south of Fire Island Inlet in approximately 130 feet of water and would connect that FSRU to the Iroquois Gas Transmission System through offshore and on shore pipelines.
Acknowledging the need for a revised energy policy, Gov. Paterson said, “We must accept the challenge of developing comprehensive alternatives to meet the growing demand for energy on Long Island and throughout the State. One of my other goals as Governor is to address high-energy costs. By both reducing the amount of energy demand, and aggressively pursuing new responsible supply, we can get our State on a path toward lower energy costs, economic revitalization, and a cleaner, healthier environment.”
Robin Kriesberg, executive director of Friends of the Bay, expressed, “We are thrilled with the decision of the State. Their reasons for the decision, that it was the wrong project in the wrong place, as outlined by the department of state really summarized the situation. They rejected it for the right reasons. The NYSDOS took the time to do the analysis and found that this proposal was inconsistent with the state’s LISCMP on six out of the thirteen criteria. We are looking forward to working with Governor Paterson on energy conservation and alternative energy moving forward.”
Broadwater Energy and its supporters were upset by Gov. Paterson’s declaration. “We are disappointed and concerned with the NYSDOS’ decision,” commented Hritcko. “We specifically designed this project to be consistent with the State’s coastal management policies and offered a number of additional commitments that would further enhance the State’s coastal resources.”
Jerry Kremmer, advisory board chairman of the New York Affordable Reliable Energy Alliance was also let down. He uttered, “Governor Paterson’s opposition to the BLNG facility is unfortunate. Ultimately, we hope Broadwater will be approved because this would benefit both businesses and consumers by supplying much needed power to help address the shortages in Long Island and the downstate region.”
Broadwater Energy will review the State’s finding and determine its next move. It has the option to appeal of the decision to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. However, an appeal could also go to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
-Faith Rackoff reprinted from 4/18/08 Oyster Bay Guardian