State Senator Edward Meyer
February 8, 2008
Meyer Contacts New York Governor Spitzer Regarding Proposed Broadwater Terminal
New Senate Chair of Environment Committee reaches out to protect the Sound
State Sen. Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), the newly appointed Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee, has written New York Governor Eliot Spitzer urging him to oppose the Broadwater liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for Long Island Sound or, at least, to consider an alternative Broadwater site south of Long Island and out in the Atlantic Ocean .
Sen. Meyer wrote Gov. Spitzer on January 22, the day that the former Senate chairman of the Environment Committee, Bill Finch, retired from the state Senate. Sen. Meyer made his letter (attached) public this week after he referenced it during Monday's official announcement naming him as the new Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee.
"While I recognize that there are benefit differences between New York and Connecticut from this proposed terminal, I want to continue to urge you to oppose Broadwater, at least in its present location which would be such a profound violation of the great natural resource of Long Island Sound and its many communities as well as present enormous safety concerns," Sen. Meyer wrote in part. "I know that your office is considering an alternative location, namely, the south side of Long Island. Obviously, the alternative is much more attractive than a Long Island Sound location, and I believe would be acceptable to Connecticut."
Sen. Meyer, who is a friend of Gov. Spitzer's, first broached the subject of Broadwater with Gov. Spitzer at his January 1, 2007 inaugural celebration, at which Sen. Meyer was an invited guest.
"New York State will use the majority of the liquefied natural gas from this floating terminal, so I understand the very difficult position that Gov. Spitzer is in. He must weigh his support for the environment with his duty to providing energy resources the people of the State of New York," Sen. Meyer said today. "Regardless of his decision, I couldn't let the opportunity pass for someone from Connecticut's Environment Committee to reach out to him." Just yesterday (February 7), the New York Department of State announced in a brief press release that it has extended its "consistency review" of the Broadwater project by 60 days in order to "allow for further discussion of what is a very complex proposal." The State Department had been expected to rule next week on whether or not the Broadwater project met New York State environment goals for coastal areas.
The State Department gave Broadwater opponents some hope last summer when it sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) criticizing Broadwater's rejection of an open ocean site on the Atlantic side of Long Island Sound. Broadwater has maintained the Long Island Sound site as its preferred location, arguing that wave and tide cycles in open ocean water create a hazard.
On Broadwater's own Web site, company officials say their mooring system is able to withstand hurricane-force winds because, "This type of mooring system is used in some of the most severe-weather areas of marine operations and has an exemplary safety record. The Broadwater project has designed the integrity of the yoke mooring system for weather conditions for the most severe weather conditions that can credibly occur in the area, including hurricanes."
In December, ExxonMobil announced a substantially similar floating LNG terminal project called "Blue Ocean Energy" that it proposes to anchor dozens of miles off the New York and New Jersey coasts. Like Broadwater, Blue Ocean Energy will receive LNG from double-hulled LNG ships and store the LNG in insulated tanks inside the terminal's double hull. The stored LNG will then be warmed to turn it back into natural gas and delivered to New Jersey and New York markets through a new undersea pipeline. LNG ships will moor at the floating terminal about twice a week to unload their cargo.
But unlike Broadwater, ExxonMobil's Blue Ocean Energy project will be anchored far out in the Atlantic Ocean, about 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey and 30 miles off the coast of New York. Their floating LNG terminal will be far from shore and away from shipping lanes, ports and recreational areas--and will not be visible from the shoreline.
"I would encourage TransCanada and Shell to think along the same lines as ExxonMobil and move their Broadwater terminal south of Long Island, out in the Atlantic Ocean," Sen. Meyer said. "There's no reason why corporate profits and consumer energy needs have to come at the expense of our environment and public safety. That's one of the messages I will be repeating in a variety of ways as the new Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee."
Download Senator Meyer’s letter to Governor Spitzer.
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