City Decries LNG Plan
James Finlaw, Herald New Staff
Reporter - 1/27/2004
More than 130 area residents packed the community room at the Fire Department's Commerce Drive headquarters on Monday night to air their concerns about Weaver's Cove Energy's plans to build a liquefied natural gas import terminal on the city's waterfront in the North End.
Hosted by Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr., the meeting was held so local residents could speak with city officials about Weaver's Cove's plans to construct a $250 million LNG import terminal on 68 acres of land at the former Shell Oil site off North Main Street. Lambert and the members of an LNG task force he put together last year to study Weaver's Cove's proposal fielded a variety of questions from the public and urged them to voice their opposition to the project.
"We simply wanted to let you know what the city has done to oppose the project, and how you can oppose it also," Lambert told the group at the meeting's start. He implored the residents to send their comments on the proposed terminal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, the lead federal and state agencies charged with overseeing and permitting the project. Lambert also asked them to express their displeasure with the proposal by contacting their U.S. congressmen, U.S. senators, state legislators, Gov. Mitt Romney and local officials.
Over the course of the two-hour
meeting, the crowd peppered Lambert and the task force with questions
about Weaver's Cove's plans, and asked what they could do to
try to halt the project. The city presented the residents with
handouts outlining the history of Weaver's Cove's proposal and
the city's main objections to it.
"We,re not against LNG, but that is an absolutely inappropriate
location given the proximity of residences, schools, businesses
... accidents do happen," Lambert told the group.
Citizens speak out
The residents' main concerns
lay with the safety of the project. Fears abounded of a potential
fire caused by the escape of fuel from the proposed terminal's
185-foot-high LNG storage tank. Residents also cited reservations
regarding a similar leak or fire from one of the 940-foot-long
LNG tankers that would supply the tank with gas each week. The
residents, concerns and questions ran a wide gamut, with safety
and the project's impact on property values and the local economy
at the top of the list. They also expressed fear that the company
would take land by eminent domain, but were assured by Lambert
that only the FERC could take land in that fashion.
"My concerns about this, number one, is the safety of the
people and the children," said Lillian Correia, president
of the North End Neighborhood Association. "But I'm also
concerned about the economic impact. Do you think the cruise
ships that are coming to the city are going to come in here with
that? Not only is this a safety issue, it,s also an economic
issue."
Some residents expressed fears of a terrorist attack at the site
that could generate a large fire to threaten residents on both
sides of the Taunton River. Their concerns were based mainly
on a report issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor
Emeritus James A. Fay, in which he stated that people living
within two miles of the proposed site could be injured or killed
by a large LNG fire.
Others worried about the impact potential bridge closures would
have on the local economy and on emergency vehicles transporting
people from outside Fall River to the city's two hospitals.
Everett is home to one of four
LNG import terminals in the country. When LNG shipments are delivered
by tanker to the Everett site via Boston Harbor, the Tobin Bridge
is shut down to traffic as a safety precaution. Those in the
room feared the weekly arrival of tankers in Mount Hope Bay would
prompt regular closures of the Brightman Street and Braga bridges.
"I'm very concerned about the bridge's closing and what
we're going to have for security to get us across the river in
an emergency," said Ginny Hood of Somerset. Hood and her
husband, Roger, live on the Somerset waterfront, almost directly
across from Weaver's Cove's proposed terminal.
"We're right on the waterfront -- we'd be the first ones
to be killed if there was a fire or an explosion. I hope and
pray nothing will happen and we can fight this," she said.
Several Somerset residents attended the meeting. Some criticized
the town's Board of Selectman for not attending the meeting,
and for failing to alert townspeople to the potential dangers
of a local LNG terminal. A group calling itself Somerset LNG
has proposed to build a similar LNG facility near Brayton Point
Station, and Somerset officials seem to have embraced the idea.
"I'm really disappointed that the selectman aren't letting
the people know how bad this is. We're so upset Somerset isn't
doing anything about this," said Somerset resident Lee Tavares.
Michelle Arpa of North Main
Street lives near Weaver's Cove's proposed LNG terminal. She
said company officials have offered to pay her 20 percent more
than the value of her home to buy her property. She said her
neighbors living on the other side of North Main Street, adjacent
to the proposed LNG site, have been offered 120 percent more
than the value of their properties.
"I want my grandchildren to grow up there. I want to add
on to the house. I don't want to sell, I don't want to move,
but I don't want to live next to an LNG tank," she said.
"How can the federal government give these people the OK,
knowing how close it is to a residential area?" Arpa asked.
The FERC has set a Jan. 30 deadline for public comment on Weaver's Cove's application for permission to construct the terminal. The FERC, the state, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, among other federal agencies, will then review the application and the comments for several months before rendering a decision. Lambert said the task force will send the city's concerns, along with those posed by residents, to the agency by the deadline.
Resident Joseph Carvalho plans to make the government aware of his concerns about the project and said all city residents should do the same. "This is the one issue they should all be united on and all take up arms against. This is just a terrible thing for the city at this time," he said.
Preparing for a fight
The superintendent of the Fall River Country Club, Tom Ohlson, said he was concerned about the impact the company's plans could have on the country club and the area's golfers. Besides calling for the creation of the terminal, Weaver's Cove's plans require the installation of two gas pipelines to connect the terminal with the nation's main north to south natural gas delivery system -- the Algonquin pipeline. Ohlson said one of the connecting pipes would pass directly beneath the golf course. "One of the pipelines runs right through the seventh hole of the golf course. Apparently, they have a right of way and an easement through our golf course," he said. "A 17-hole golf course isn't much good for golfers. I'm surprised this company didn't notify the club they'd be digging up our property."
Lambert told the group the
city has compiled a list of comments and concerns that it wants
the government to force Weaver's Cove to address. He acknowledged
that the city is fighting an uphill battle in its attempts to
halt or derail a project that is in line with President Bush's
energy policies, but said the city must make the effort. "I
don't think we can take the attitude that there is nothing we
can do. This group of residents was pretty well informed and
they're going to contact their congressional delegates and contact
the governor," said Lambert.
"We,re going to try to get everyone's attention that we
can, as to how outrageous it is that they could locate this facility
in what is essentially a residential neighborhood," he said.
Lambert invited residents to
become a part of the task force, though he urged that only a
fraction of those in attendance do so. In the end, 17 residents
signed a sheet indicating their interest in joining the group.
"I was very happy with the turnout. It can't be said that
people aren't interested," Lambert said of the meeting.