Local officials and environmentalists held a press conference Sept. 7 to voice their opposition to a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility within miles of the coast.
CHRIS KELLY staff Sean Stratton, of Sea Bright, carves a wave during the fourth annual Sea Bright Skim Bash, a skimboarding competition held at the borough’s municipal beach Sept. 9. At the press conference held on the Sea Bright beach, Mayor Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams and representatives from various conservation, environmental, fishing and surfing organizations voiced their opposition to the proposed 62.5- acre, man-made island that would be located in the Atlantic Ocean 19 miles off Sandy Hook.
An application submitted by Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC, a New York City-based investment group, to build and operate Safe Harbor Energy, a deepwater liquefied natural gas port in the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, was published in the Federal Register Aug. 27.
Safe Harbor Energy will have the capacity to deliver two billion cubic feet of natural gas each day to 65 million consumers, ending the area’s dependence on natural gas shipped up to 1,200 miles from Gulf Coast terminals,” according to the Web site.
Rendering of the proposed Safe Harbor Energy facility. “This proposed facility is supposed to be six times the size of Giant Stadium,” said Kalaka-Adams at the press conference.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action (COA), noted that the proposed facility would threaten the progress made over the last 20 years to improve and protect the ocean and its natural resources.
“This organization has no experience in actually building or constructing islands in the ocean,” she said.
Zipf said COA is very concerned about the proposal, especially since New Jersey is not currently recognized as an adjacent coastal state.
“Since the Deep Water Port Act is the lead law under which this proposal is being considered, the state of New Jersey needs to be recognized as an adjacent coastal state under this law,” said Zipf. “Having this status means that our governor has the power to utilize New Jersey’s laws,” said COA Water Policy Attorney David Byers.
“This project also couldn’t be granted a license if it was going to violate anything in New Jersey’s Coastal Zone Management plan (CZMP),” he added.
Zipf explained that the CZMP comprises the rules and regulations of the state to improve and protect its coastal resources.
“If New Jersey isn’t recognized as an adjacent state under the DWPA, the we will have to use our back-up plan of applying the Costal Zone Management Act (CZMA) to the proposed project. In doing this, we will use our CZMP, which is in compliance with that act,” she said.
According to Atlantic Sea Island Group Chairman Howard Bovers, the proposed facility was designed to help alleviate global warming and ensure adequate supplies of natural gas.
“This facility is a dire economic need. It has been predicted that we will be short an estimated 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day by the year 2015,” he said Monday.
“Where does New Jersey want to get its natural gas? Right now, it’s coming from the Gulf Coast where it’s leaking methane into the air because the pipes are anywhere from 40-50 years old,” said Bovers.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a letter Sept. 6 to Admiral Thad W. Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton, requesting adjacent state status under the Deep Water Port Act (DWPA). A response will be made within 45 days of the letter.
Byers noted that the act was passed in 1974 and its original intent was for oil operations such as oil rigs and floating structures, not LNG facilities.
“In 2002 there was a revision to the DWPA called The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which allowed for LNG to be considered,” he said.
According to Zipf, the issue is a states’ rights issue.
“Not being an adjacent state is interfering with our ability to challenge the environmental consequences and risks of this proposed facility. They selected a very obscure law which has very limited oversight on environmental concerns.”
According to Corzine’s letter, adjacent coastal state status is defined as being located within 15 miles of the proposed island.
“New Jersey falls within 19 miles of the actual island, but the DWPA defines the deepwater port as all inclusive, which includes alternative pipeline alignment that is part of the proposed facility, which puts New Jersey approximately nine miles from the facility,” said Byers.
According to Byers, the DWPA requires a public hearing within 240 days of the application filing.
“Within the 240 days there will also be a complete process into the National Environmental Policy Act, public scoping meetings where citizens can make their comments, and then later there will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),” said Byers.
He also noted that there is 90-day period following the 240 days in which the Coast Guard and Maritime Administration will make a decision.
“The 90 days are split up into two phases, but ultimately the Maritime Administration issues the record of decision because they are responsible for issuing, revoking and reinstating deepwater port licenses,” he said.
According to Byers, within the first 45 days, the governors of each adjacent state and the relevant federal agencies such as the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fishing & Wildlife Service will meet and discuss the proposal.
“The last 45 days are when everything will be reviewed and a final decision will be made,” said Byers.
Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society based on Sandy Hook, said that the society plans to write to the Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard asking them to support Corzine’s action.
“Industry has now decided to start going after our ocean. We value our water here and every time you build one of those islands, it takes away from the environment,” he said at the press conference.
“It’s part of a broader insult, which is this view by industry that the ocean is empty space and that it doesn’t provide