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LNG firm eyes no-tank design on tribal land — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
[Read James Fay's comments below on the system described in this article.]
Once tankers are in port, it will take between three and six days to vaporize and offload their cargo, Smith said. How frequently tankers arrive depends on the individual contracts Quoddy Bay would secure, he said, but the time gap between ships could be as short as a few hours.
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Don Smith's "answer" to safety concerns about tanks containing large amounts of LNG at Split Rock is to locate ships carrying around 3.5 million gallons of LNG at the site for what he indicates would be up to seven days per week. How is that "better"?
Smith writes off the safety benefits of an off-shore location by stating that such technology is unproven, and that he'd prefer a sheltered site. However, the "sheltered site" selected by an alcohol-induced Don Smith (according to Smith, himself, as reported in Mainebiz) requires a terminal near the Sipayik residences, Beatrice Rafferty School, a elderly residence facility, and a health care facility; and in a channel with turbulence similar to the 3 – 4 knot "sargassum" currents in the Gulf of Mexico that have been contributing to interruption and vibration-caused infrastructure fatigue to several off-shore gas and oil drilling, construction, and terminal operations there. (Reference: Oil Online.)]
Comment on this system by James Fay:
The ship in question includes on board regasification equipment, a duplicate of what is used ashore in standard LNG terminals. A vessel of this type delivers high pressure natural gas to a submerged marine transmission pipeline at a far offshore terminal. Two terminals of this type are in the planning stage for Boston. One of these terminals in the Gulf of Mexico is already in operation. These are usually more than ten miles offshore, and are no danger to onshore populations.
The Quoddy Bay proposal is for LNG to be pumped ashore as liquid from a conventional LNG tanker, but at a lower rate, to be converted to gas immediately and pumped into a transmission pipeline. No onshore storage tank would be used. Compared to a conventional system, there is less land side risk of onshore spills since the large volume tank(s) are not used. On the other hand, the water side risks are increased since the marine tanker stays in port for three to five days longer. There is probably little difference in risk between these systems.
If Quoddy Bay used only regasification type LNG tankers at its near shore terminal, it would still not be as safe as a far offshore terminal.
J. Fay
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Audit finds lax oversight of safety procedures at LNG facilities — Dateline Alabama
An audit released Thursday found lax state oversight of LNG facilities, including a failure by regulators to require plant owners to meet key safety requirements, such as submitting fire prevention and evacuation plans. Also, mixed levels of cooperation occurred between LNG owners and local fire and police officials; 18 of 20 LNG plants in Massachusetts had not been inspected on a timely basis by the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy. (Jun 23)
Lawmakers table LNG discussion — Gloucester County Times, NJ.com (free registration required)
A letter signed by six state governors stated that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 "unacceptably pre-empts state and local jurisdiction over the siting of Liquefied Natural Gas and other energy facilities." (Jun 23)
A Comparison of Senate-House Energy Bills — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA (free registration required)
Both bills establish a clear FERC authority over siting new LNG facilities. (Jun 23)
Federal regulators to decide on LNG proposals next week — Boston.com
Massachusetts lawmakers are already talking about a legal fight if FERC allows construction of a facility in Fall River. (Jun 23)
Senate gives FERC, not states, power over gas terminals — The Hill, Washington, DC
Senators from coastal states, both Democrat and Republican, mounted the strongest opposition to the LNG provision in the Senate bill, a similar version of which is also included in the energy bill passed earlier by the House. (Jun 22)
Tribe feels weight of new gambles — Press Herald, Portland, ME
"If you talk to elders, they don't support an LNG because of who we are, our history. The land, the water - we know that's how we survived," said Reggie Stanley, a janitor at the tribal offices. (Jun 19)
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[Baldacci Abets Civil Rights Abuses]: Open Tribal Meetings [Op-ed] — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
Gov. John Baldacci has provided his "consent of silence" to violations of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, while at the same time recognizing illegally obtained results acquired by those violations.
LNG developer plans to set up advisory panel — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
"We understand that there are genuine concerns about the [proposed] LNG import facility on Split Rock," said Don Smith, Quoddy Bay's president.
Calvert Gas Plan Is Test Case — Washington Post, Washington, DC
Tyson Slocum, research director for Public Citizen's energy program, said eliminating open access and transparency rules [as requested by Dominion Cove Point] would make it more likely that energy companies would secretly inflate gas prices and gouge consumers. "This is Enron all over again," he said. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "likes to put all of their trust in energy companies and thinks that they always do the right thing. They don't always do the right thing."
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Groups blast planned panel on LNG plant — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
Allowing the state's key agencies to make public comments on what has been proposed for the Washington County site would violate a nearly year-old agreement made by the governor's office to the opposition groups, the spokeswoman for Save Passamaquoddy Bay said Monday. They also have filed complaints with WLBZ-TV, Channel 2, in Bangor.
Mass., R.I. lawmakers file anti-LNG legislation — Providence Journal, Providence, RI
Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol, has submitted legislation in the Rhode Island General Assembly that calls for maintaining a zone of 5,000 feet around an LNG storage tank and a zone of 1.5 miles around a tanker ship traveling through Rhode Island waters. Under the bill, the zones must be free of homes, schools, hospitals, businesses or housing developments for the elderly. The bill is nearly identical to one being proposed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Texas firms join [Gloucester] race for [offshore] LNG project — Boston.com
Fears about the projects' impacts on bountiful fishing and lobstering grounds have generated strong opposition in Gloucester. ''We are going to do everything coastal communities can do to make sure these LNG proposals off our shores do not happen," Gloucester Mayor John P. Bell said in February.
Codey administration looks to put $100M toward LNG terminal — NJ.com
The Codey administration is looking to have the state kick in up to $100 million to build a controversial liquified natural gas terminal in Logan Township.
Gas leak closes stores in Gorham — Press Herald, Portland, ME
A ruptured gas pipeline caused the evacuation of several businesses around Main Street on Monday morning. No one was injured in the accident, which closed a section of the street for almost an hour.
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: There were 425 natural gas pipeline "incidents" in the US during the two-year period of 2002 – 2003, according to the US Department of Transportation — an average of 212 per year (nearly two every three days). An additional 180 incidents occurred with liquid pipelines during that same period. The total of both types of pipeline incidents (605, average 302 per year) — nearly one incident per day! Source: http://primis.rspa.dot.gov/pipelineInfo/stat_causes.htm]
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Gillet pushes crime issue — Herald News, Fall River, MA
Mayoral candidate Henry Gillet is accusing Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. of focusing too much on the fight against an LNG terminal in the city; however, Gillet also opposes the LNG terminal.
Legislature gets hostile over LNG deal — Telegraph-Journal, New Brunswick
Neither side of the House can agree on whether Saint John should be able to offer a controversial tax concession to Irving Oil Ltd. to build a $750-million liquefied natural gas terminal in East Saint John. (Jun 11)
Lambert makes anti-LNG case to national press — Herald News, Fall River, MA
"This case will set a precedent for national energy policy," Lambert said. "If (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) can shove down the throats of a city like Fall River a project that its citizens vehemently oppose for good and sufficient reason, it can and will happen elsewhere in America." Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Mass., said homes are just 1,200 feet from the site of the proposed facility on North Main Street, and that 9,000 people live within a one-mile radius of it. McGovern also took exception to FERC’s handling of the situation. "Never, and I mean never, have I ever dealt with a more arrogant and out-of-touch agency," he said. (Jun 10)
State [OR, but not ME] seeks public feedback on rules for LNG plants — Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon
The Oregon Department of Energy will hold a public workshop to discuss new Energy Facility Siting Council rules for liquefied natural gas import terminals, four of which have been proposed along the lower Columbia River. From recent meetings, officials with the department decided to address three topics in its rulemaking: the standards for carbon dioxide emissions, the need for LNG import terminals considering projected supplies and needs, and a possible new rule to address what impact the security requirements associated with an LNG import terminal will have on a community. (Jun 10)
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Oregon is actually planning regarding LNG-related community impact, environmental impact, and need issues, rather than taking Maine Governor Baldacci's apparent "hands off" — but in truth, covertly pro-LNG — activity.
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Senate, House Energy Bills Could Stall or Kill Future LNG Projects, Analyst Says — NGI's Daily Gas Price Index [Paid subscription required]
"Vague, open-ended, unclear" provisions in the Senate and House omnibus energy bills dealing with the states' role in permitting LNG terminals could stall or kill, rather than encourage, construction of US LNG facilities, according to an energy analyst with Stanford Washington Research Group. (Jun 10)
LNG smart: Will Mustang’s new technology settle everything? — Rodnreel.com
Researchers and developers at Mustang Engineering have unveiled a re-gasification process that uses ambient air instead of millions of gallons seawater to warm the minus-256-degree liquefied natural gas (LNG), transforming it back into natural gas. Even closed loop systems are not without problems -- the EPA has voiced serious concerns over toxic air emissions, and periodic water discharges that are necessary. (Jun 10)
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: So, contrary to statements by Quoddy Bay LLC, according the the US Environmental Protection Agency, LNG import terminals do pollute air and water.]
Lambert says LNG proposal changes rules — Providence Journal, Providence, RI
The Fall River mayor says approval of the plan would reverse long-standing policy to site facilities away from residential areas. (Jun 10)
Sabine Pass LNG inches forward — Sun Herald, South Mississippi
More than 100 acres of wetlands would be lost to build the terminal and more would be altered by roads and other facilities, the energy commission staff said. Other wetlands would be restored, the staff said. Fisheries experts said the project could affect habitat for red drum, Spanish mackerel and shrimp, but added that dredging for ship berths might create new habitat. (Jun 4)
Judge orders port to hand over audio tape — Daily News, Galveston, TX
State District Court Judge John Ellisor’s order is a partial victory for an island resident who filed a lawsuit asserting that the Port of Galveston and city officials violated various open meetings laws when negotiating last year to lease Pelican Island land to BP for development of the terminal. (Jun 3)
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Senators push for more state authority over LNG permits — San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California
Senators from coastal states will try to block development of liquefied natural gas terminals, like one proposed for Long Beach, Calif., by increasing state authority over the permitting process, lawmakers said Thursday.
Board supports limits on LNG — Providence Journal, Providence, RI
The Board of Selectmen last night unanimously endorsed a House bill that would ban the operation of a liquefied natural gas facility and an LNG tanker without a sizable safety zone, free of homes, schools, hospitals, businesses, developments or elderly housing complexes.
If approved, the legislation would seem to kill the LNG tanker facility planned for Weaver's Cove in Fall River. But passage on Beacon Hill is not assured, and it is uncertain whether federal laws and regulations would be able to supersede such legislation.
Law introduced to enable LNG tax break — CBC News, New Brunswick
NDP Leader Elizabeth Weir is threatening to filibuster the legislation using procedural rules of the house. (Jun 8)
Long Beach approves reopening talks over natural gas terminal — San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California
In approving continuing negotiations, the council ordered a "risk and hazard assessment" to be conducted. In addition, an environmental impact report on the project is expected to be completed this fall. (Jun 8)
Opponents of LNG plant outnumbered at meeting — Courier Post Online, South New Jersey
LNG Community Focus, a group of Gloucester and Salem county residents, gathered at Oldmans Middle School just a few miles south of the terminal's proposed location in Logan to talk about why the terminal could pose dangers. (Jun 8)
Energy Giants Sued For Third World Violence I: Indonesian conflict one of many turning up in U.S. courts — Newsdesk.org
The suit alleges that, over the last 11 years, the company provided salaries and equipment to military forces responsible for human rights abuses in Aceh (pronounced "Ah-chay"), including sexual assault, kidnapping, murder and genocide. (2002 May 13)
Energy Giants Sued For Third World Violence VI: The Bigger Picture — Newsdesk.org
The filings reflect the complicated business of oil drilling and profit-making in countries where corrupt governments, brutal military forces, and ethnic and economic tensions are often caught in an ongoing cycle of violence. Inevitably, it is poor, rural communities -- like the plaintiffs in these cases -- who say they suffer the most injury from military crackdowns and environmental destruction. (2002 May 13)
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Perry voters OK tribe's aviation plant project — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
It took voters about 20 minutes at a special town meeting Tuesday to approve a plan by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a $20 million aviation and aerospace maintenance and manufacturing plant on tribal land. The vote was 72-18.
The vote was in marked contrast to another project Perry voters turned down in March. Although the tribe offered them $1 million a year for the life of the project, Perry voters rejected a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the same land.
Terrorism expert joins Fall River LNG fight — Boston Herald, Boston, MA
Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorist chief under President Bush and President Bill Clinton, will appear at a Washington, D.C., press conference tomorrow, along with Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert, to express opposition to a proposed LNG docking facility in the city.
Shellshock on the island [Sakhalin] terrified by oil giant's pipeline — The Independent, UK
What will it mean for the people and environment on Sakhalin? "We had a beautiful area here. But everything has changed," says Alexander Tikhonov, chairman of the dacha community of Stroitel. It is a sentiment echoed by his neighbour Alla Gafner. "We used to bring our grandchildren here. They used to be able to ride around on their bicycles. Now there is no beach, the air is dirty and we have no quiet or calm," she said.
Irving Oil, Repsol sign agreements for $750M LNG project in New Brunswick — Canada.com
Encouraged by a 25-year freeze on property taxes, Irving Oil Ltd. and Madrid-based Repsol YPF have signed definitive agreements to develop a $750-million liquefied natural gas terminal in Saint John. (Jun 7)
Assessing A New Security Threat: Liquefied Natural Gas Facility — Science Daily
The optimistic outlooks for the construction of an LNG facility in Providence, they [counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke and a team of researchers] warn, are "based on the notion that because a terrorist attack against an LNG asset in the United States has never happened, it can never happen." (Jun 7)
Boston Must Prepare for Worst if LNG Tankers Are Targeted — Dorchester Reporter, Dorchester, MA
Terrorists have already successfully targeted tankers. During the Iran/Iraq war, Iranian radicals, sailing small craft, used anti-tank missiles to damage merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf. While no LNG tankers were hit, tankers of similar design were assaulted. The Lloyd's Register/Fairplay database on shipping accidents records that, on July 3, 1988, Iranian terrorists attacked a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, the Berge Strand. Anti-tank grenades punctured the dual-hulled ship and compromised several of the tanker's LPG storage tanks. While the Berge Strand wasn't carrying fuel at the time, successful penetration of the fuel storage tanks may validate the larger terror threat. (2004 Apr 29)
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Canada Provides Funding to Intervenors in Massive Keltic LNG Project — NGI's Daily Gas Price Index [Paid Subscription Required]
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said it has made available C$40,000 in funding to assist groups and individuals who would like to take part in the federal environmental assessment of the proposed C$4 billion Keltic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal and Marginal Wharf in Goldboro, NS.
U.S. needs 8 of 54 proposed LNG terminals-official — Reuters
The United States will probably see six to eight terminals in total," said Joe Desmond, chairman of the California Energy Commission.
Perry residents to vote on $20M aviation facility — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
The Memorandum of Understanding between the tribe and town officials states that the tribe will try to hire and train workers from the local area. It calls for the facility to be built on 12 acres of annexed land that can only be used for the aviation facility.
Long Beach at Crossroads Over Plans for LNG Plant — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
Slow to react, Long Beach now joins many other towns, from rural Maine to Oregon, where fierce community opposition has ignited as more than 40 terminals have been proposed along the nation's coasts.
LNG debate [Opinion] — Press Telegram, Long Beach, California
We are not aware of any port operation that imports any substance with such concentrated energy potential and lack of amenability to fire suppression in such quantities. (June 5)
Mayor bracing for LNG lawsuit — Herald News, Fall River, MA
As part of the mayor’s trip to Washington, D.C., next week, the city will begin laying the foundation for a potential lawsuit against the federal agency responsible for the siting of liquefied natural gas facilities. (Jun 4)
Starved whale cub boosts ecologist fears in Russia's Far East — Yahoo! News
"The massive death of whales, which we can observe at this moment, allows us to suppose a repeat of 2000, when starved whales were first noticed," the WWF's Far East division said Friday in a statement. "A year before then, in 1999, the Sakhalin Energy company set up its first oil extraction platform close to the whales' feeding grounds, and the whales were forced to leave their only feeding ground without having replenished their fat reserves necessary for long migration and the birth and growth of cubs," the statement read. (Jun 3)
The anti-LNG lobby in the north — LatinPetroleum.com
Perhaps, the most important lesson is the need for greater vigilance regarding the standards of environmental protection and safety adhered to by the proliferation of energy sector projects. It is the responsibility of the authorised Government agencies to ensure that the companies comply with all regulations. (Apr 20)
Citizens of Three Nations Fight Quoddy Bay, LLC Terminal in Downeast, Maine — MoneyPlans.net
Members of the Passamaquoddy tribe who oppose the terminal on both practical and religious grounds, point out that the referendum was rushed, the voters ill informed and the voting time selected excluded many possible voters. (2004)
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Indians want swift action on LNG proposal — WLBZ-TV, Bangor, ME
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