Members of the Green Wave, the Long Branch High School band, compete in the USBands Preview to Nationals at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge on Nov. 2. Citing a significant amount of missing information and delays caused by the recent government shutdown, federal officials will “stop the clock” on the processing of Liberty Natural Gas (LNG)’s Port Ambrose application for 90 days.
In a letter sent to LNG on Oct. 21, U.S. Coast Guard representatives said they have found more than 250 “data gaps” in the company’s application to build a deepwater natural gas port off the coast of New Jersey and New York.
While many were relatively minor, area environmental advocates say some of those data gaps relate to potentially negative impacts along New Jersey’s coast.
“Under the law, Liberty was supposed to do a thorough assessment of how this project fits with New Jersey’s coastal zone management program, but they didn’t do so,” said Sean Dixon, coastal policy attorney for the nonprofit Clean Ocean Action.
“Liberty has yet to do that. They have yet to analyze any impact on New Jersey whatsoever. That is a clear statutory failure.” Port Ambrose, if approved by the Coast Guard and the federal Maritime Administration (MARAD), would be built by LNG approximately 17 miles south of Jones Beach, N.Y., and 24 miles east of Long Branch,
Large tankers would deliver natural gas to the port about 45 times a year, primarily in the winter and summer. The gas would be pumped through 19 miles of subsea pipe to an existing mainline about 13 miles east of Sandy Hook.
LNG officials have said Port Ambrose would import natural gas from foreign nations such as Trinidad and Tobago for use in “downstate, New York City and Long Island areas.” CEO Roger Whelan said the port will have “minimal impacts to the environment and significant benefits to the region,” creating 600 jobs during its construction and bringing more than $90 million into the local economy.
“Timeline suspensions are a normal part of the application review process and happen with almost all deepwater port applications,” Whelan said on Nov. 1.
“We will continue to work with the Coast Guard and other government agencies on the processing of the application.” Port Ambrose is the latest attempt by LNG to build a natural gas port off New Jersey’s coast.
LNG first proposed building a deepwater port in 2010, which would have included four submerged buoys 16 miles off the coast of Asbury Park and miles of subsea and on-shore pipeline. Under federal law, however, any state within 15 miles of a proposed deepwater port has the ability to veto it. Gov. Chris Christie exercised that right in February 2011.
The company then submitted a reworked application for a port located 30 miles off the coast of Monmouth Beach, spurring an outcry from dozens of organizations and a reaffirmation of Christie’s prior veto.
LNG ultimately withdrew the second application in April 2012, saying additional data and analysis were needed. LNG applied to MARAD once again last September, this time proposing a port with only two buoys and located 15 miles away from New Jersey’s coast, according to the Coast Guard.
However, federal officials determined that the distance requirement referred to nautical miles, not statute miles — and once again, New Jersey had veto-power over the application.
Christie has yet to weigh in on the latest application.
Coast Guard officials said the mileage determination, along with the impacts of superstorm Sandy and delays caused by a 16-day federal shutdown, all contributed to their decision to “stop the clock” on the application, meaning the deadline for a final decision will essentially be pushed back 90 days.
However, another factor is the large amount of information that LNG must now submit in order to satisfy the concerns of federal reviewers, environmental advocates and agencies like the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In their letter, Coast Guard officials asked LNG for further data and additional studies on a wide range of issues, including how the port would operate and how it could impact water, air, marine life and more.
Federal officials are also requiring LNG to respond to some of the approximately 10,000 official comments that were submitted by the public throughout the summer.
Some of those comments include concerns over underwater dredging, emissions, chemically treated seawater, and how events like large storms or ruptured pipelines could impact the port and surrounding coastlines.
LNG will also be required to detail how the port could impact an offshore wind farm slated to be built nearby and analyze a number of alternatives to the project as it is currently proposed.
The Coast Guard, MARAD and a contractor are at work on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the port, which will be open to public comment before the application is finally approved or denied.
Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo each have the ability to veto the entire project without the consent of each other.