Long Island Sound LNG Project - Broadwater

On April 10, 2008, Governor Paterson announced that the New York State Department of State had rejected the application for construction of a floating liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in the middle of Long Island Sound. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/nyregion/11broadwater.html?_r=1&oref=s.... The project, called Broadwater, was proposed by TransCanada Corporation and Shell, and would result in creation of a floating facility, approximately 10 miles south of New Haven, to receive imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments from ocean-going carriers that would enter the Sound through the Race and offload their cargo at the facility. On March 20, 2008, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved construction and operation of the project, subject to certain conditions. The New York State Department of State, however, determined that the project was not consistent with New York State's coastal zone policies, under the Coastal Zone Management Act. On April 28, 2008, the sponsors of Broadwater announced that they had initiated the first step in preparation for an appeal to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The appeal process will take as long as a year, according to published reports.

On March 31, 2008, the New York Times, in an editorial, opposed the project. See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/opinion/31mon3.html. Various environmental groups similarly expressed their opposition. Information concerning the bases for their opposition can be found at Save the Sound, www.savethesound.org, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, www.citizenscampaign.org, the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, www.cfenv.org, and the North Fork Environmental Council, www.nfec1.org. The web site of the Broadwater project is www.broadwaterenergy.com.