Another Blow to Fall River LNG

Weaver's Cove Energy, the group attempting to put a liquified natural gas terminal in Fall River, has been dealt another setback. This time, it's the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, which rejected the company's request to dredge Mount Hope Bay. Weaver's Cove needs the bay dredged because it's currently not deep enough for the huge LNG ships that would need to travel the channel. This is apparently even after the company agreed to use the smaller ships necessary to travel under the Brightman Street Bridge -- necessary after the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation prohibited federal funds from being used in the bridge's destruction. From the Providence Journal:

Along with denying the application because it was incomplete, the DEM said it also found the scope of the project "had substantially changed" and that Weaver's Cove "had failed to provide adequate information to enable the department to determine the exact nature of its project or how the project is viable" following a May 9 U.S. Coast Guard letter "effectively denying the project."

While the company has gotten approval from the Federal Government for the project, state and local officials have consistently opposed the project and the Coast Guard has also expressed skepticism. So far, however, Weaver's Cove has pushed forward despite all the opposition. I can't help but wonder, however, if the company had started the siting process for a different location years ago, when it was apparent that Rhode Island and Massachusetts officials would try to kill this project by any means necessary, that they would be ready to build at a different site. At what point does it become not worth it anymore for Weaver's Cove to keep fighting? LNG opponents will certainly be trying to delay the project until that time.

Tuesday Night Links

I didn't have a lot of time this morning, and I didn't have a lot of time this evening. So, you loyal readers get another link dump.

• Check out Lynne's summary of Monday's fifth district candidate's debate sponsored by the Mass AFL/CIO. Marie Sweeney also has her impressions of the forum on Dick Howe's blog.
• Last week the Wall Street Journal profiled the Health Care Connector Board. Why is it that the out-of-town papers do this sort of thing and the local media don't?
• House Majority leader paid his ex-business partner almost $200k to manage two uncontested (or nearly uncontested) elections. Nice work if you can get it...
• The Revere Journal has Carlo Basil running for Anthony Petruccelli's statehouse seat after Petruccelli inevitably wins the uncontested election in former Senate President Robert Travaglini's district. I don't know anything about Basil, but he's the only potential candidate I've seen discussed at all for the East Boston House district.
• Senator Barack Obama knows what's really important.
• Only in the world of the Boston Herald is Legislators Who Live Furthest Away Collect Most Travel Compensation a news story.
• In another setback for Hess LNG and Weaver's Cove Energy, the state Department of Environmental Protection has halted the review of the proposed Fall River LNG plant, pending a positive determination by the Coast Guard later in the summer. Given what the Coast Guard said last month, the LNG proposal may finally be defeated.

Fall River LNG Still Snagged

About 13 months ago, I noted in this blog that the plan to build an LNG terminal in Fall River was not quite dead, despite the Coast Guard's concerns over the use of narrow LNG ships to pass under the Brightman Street Bridge spanning the Taunton River. As of last week, surprisingly little has changed. The Coast Guard issued a highly critical assessment of the plan again last week. Captain Roy A. Nash of the Port of Southeastern New England was quoted in South Coast Today:

In blunt language, Capt. Nash states that it is doubtful the maneuvers could be done safely every time, and that the passageway up the river could be made safe for such hazardous cargo.

"[...] The sum of measures, mitigations and precautions described in the Weaver's Cove proposal do not appear to sufficiently reduce risks to a point where the waterway could be declared suitable for the proposed cargo transit," Capt. Nash wrote in a letter to Weaver's Cove CEO Gordon Shearer.

Additionally, he wrote, Weaver's Cove made no inroads in addressing Coast Guard criticisms expressed more than a year ago. "The concerns I expressed in my letter to Weaver's Cove of March 13, 2006, remain."

The assessment is not final, and Weaver's Cove has a chance to answer the Coast Guard's concerns. Still, I have to imagine that if they haven't been able to supply convincing answers in the past year, it seems unlikely that they would be able to allay the Coast Guard's fears over safety.

The Herald News has more, including much reaction from the state's Congressional delegation -- all of whom are opposed to putting the LNG terminal in Fall River.

Outer Brewster LNG Not Quite Dead

I had missed this story last week, but apparently the proposal to put a liquefied natural gas terminal on Outer Brewster Island in the Boston Harbor is not quite dead after all. Back in March, the bill that would allow the LNG terminal to be built on what is currently parkland was sent to a study committee, which the Herald compares to a "legislative graveyard. At that time, however, Bruce Berman, communications director for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay who opposed the plan presciently told the Globe:

"Sometimes bad bills just don't go away. Like boomerangs, they come back, and we're going to stay vigilant."

The bill would require two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate to pass and its opponents in the legislature claim that it will be defeated.

As an aside, Regan Communications, the public relations firm hired by AES Corp -- the company pushing the LNG proposal -- was broken into twice last week. If you'll recall Regan was unmasked in February as the driving force behind the "Coalition for LNG Solutions" an astroturf group that sponsored pro-LNG presentations around the state and even featured its own blog. Their sales pitch went something like this: isn't it better to have a potentially dangerous LNG terminal two miles off shore than to have one in the middle of Fall River or Everett? It's hard to argue with that, but even supporters concede that even if the Outer Brewster plan is given a green light, that won't necessarily stop the plan for Fall River or reduce traffic to Everett.

Triumphant Return of the Friday Roundup

For the past few weeks I've but the blog on the back-burner, and for some reason I stopped my Friday tradition of clearing my desk of the various stories that have collected over the course of the week. Maybe it was bloggers-block, or maybe I just needed some encouragement. Anyway, here are a few of the things that happened this week that I thought I'd point out, in case you missed them:

• SEIU Releases New Radio Ad. I heard this anti-Healey ad on the radio a few days ago. Now, I'm no Healey sympathizer, but it rubbed me the wrong way. If you folks at SEIU are going to steal from Billionaires for Bush, at least make it entertaining.
• Thoughts on Fall River MCAS Flap. Nelson Hockert-Lotz, a business owner in New Bedford, has an interesting take on MCAS as a graduation requirement. The current system, he says, rewards high school dropouts who can always get their GED after dropping out to avoid taking the MCAS tests. In his opinion, a student who "passes his school classes but fails the math portion of the MCAS five times - and still does not drop out of school - that kid deserves to earn a high school diploma."
• Speaking of Fall River... Foes of the proposed Fall River LNG terminal scored a victory this week. The Rhode Island House of Representatives has voted to effectively ban LNG tankers from most sections of Narragansett Bay. The bill passed the House unanimously, 55 to 0, but still needs approval by the Senate. RI Governor Don Carcieri also opposes the Fall River LNG site.
• Galluccio Out. Cambridge City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio has quit the race for Sen. Jarrett Barrios' seat. Galluccio had announced when Barrios was still running for the Middlesex DA job, and it was clear that when Barrios instead opted to run for reelection that Galluccio no longer had much of a chance. What are all those cabs with Galluccio stickers on them going to do now?
• Weld Struggling in NY. The latest Quinnipiac Poll has former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld behind in the New York Republican Gubernatorial primary to John Faso 30 - 21 percent, with 42 percent undecided. Democratic candidate and NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer beats Weld in a hypothetical matchup by nearly fifty points -- 66 to 17. (via Political Wire)
• Where Did I Leave my Keys? Do you have a question? Maybe the NSA can help. They "really listen to our problems." (via BoingBoing)

What else is on your mind?

Fall River LNG Plan Still Alive

As of a few months ago, I had thought that the plan to build an LNG terminal in Fall River had been all but killed by the Coast Guard. At issue was the width of the Brightman Street Bridge, which spans the Taunton River. The Massachusetts Congressional delegation, particularly Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) had inserted language in the transportation bill that forbade the use of federal funds to demolish the bridge, all but ensuring that it would stay up. Weaver's Cove Energy, the group that wants to build the LNG facility, responded by saying it would just use narrower ships, small enough to fit through the bridge's 98 foot wide opening. The Coast Guard balked, however, saying that the proposed 82 foot wide vessels still left too little margin for error when navigating the bridge.

Despite all this, the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee has reaffirmed their approval of the plan to build the facility. The regulators noted that the Coast Guard still has final say over the matter, and they are still reviewing the plan. In addition, project opponents have filed an appeal with the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals to try to stop the project.

Personally, I still can't see why it's such a great idea to build a new LNG facility in the far end of a medium sized city, 26 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. If Weaver's Cove is forced to use the smaller ships, they will end up doubling the traffic along the route, increasing not only the disruption of bridge traffic, but also the chances of an accident or sabotage. It doesn't make any sense to me, but it's consistent with the Bush Administration's energy policy, succinctly summed up by Congressman Barney Frank (D-Newton): "whatever any major energy company asks for, you give them."

Friday Odds and Ends

It's another Friday, so it must be time for me to clear out my backlog and post some of the things that I found interested but haven't posted yet. Feel free to add your own!

• Mike Festa endorses Gerry Leone: On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Festa officially endorsed Gerry Leone for Middlesex County District Attorney. Festa had dropped out of the race for DA himself earlier this year siting a fundraising gap with his opponents. Check out The Alewife for pictures from the press conference.


• Mihos Caught Fudging His Web Bio: Christy Mihos, who once claimed that he was never handed anything, has now changed his website's biography. A sentence claiming that Mihos paid his own way through college by playing music at Greek weddings has been removed and Mihos now says that his parents actually paid his tuition, though he did do some jobs for spending money.


• Googling for Grades: Check out this Google ad campaign by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. They graded every New York State legislator on their 'middle class' voting record and for the next month, whenever you Google their names, you'll see their grade as one of the sponsored links. I tried it with my old state Senator, Majority Leader Joe Bruno, and he got a "D". This is a really creative idea, and I'd be interested to see what the click-through rate is on those ads once the campaign ends.


• Shorter Joan Vennochi: We took down John Kerry, and you're next, Mitt.


• Kennedy Opponent Collects Signatures: Republican Ken Chase, who last ran unsuccessfully against Congressman Ed Markey in 2004, was out collecting signatures by himself at the Waverley Square Shaws in Belmont on Wednesday. If either Chase or former Wakefield Selectman Kevin Scott get enough signatures to get on the ballot against Ted Kennedy, the National Republican Senatorial Committee will be able to spend money in Massachusetts. Of course, that money won't go to trying to unseat Senator Kennedy, but will probably go to pay state party field staff to help drive up turnout for the gubernatorial contest.


• LNG Plan Dies: The plan to put an LNG terminal on Outer Brewster Island has been shelved. The proposal had a lot of hurdles to go through, needing a two-thirds vote in the legislature, since the facility would be on parkland, plus approval by state and federal regulatory agencies. I still think that it's a better place for an LNG terminal than Everett, but since the Everett terminal wouldn't be going away if the plan were enacted, I'm not particularly upset.

There's lots of other stuff going on, so I'm sure that I left out something important. What's on your mind?

Friday Roundup

Last week, I was too busy to do my usual Friday roundup, and to my surprise people actually noticed! Here is my effort to give the people what they want:

• Support Local Bloggers: Voting is open for the 2005 Koufax Awards for excellence in progressive blogging. Our own Blue Mass. Group was nominated for best local blog. If you haven't already, cast your vote for them here by just leaving a comment on that thread.


• Blame Romney?: The National Review asks whether a Healey loss hurts Mitt Romney with his presidential ambitions. Would Republican voters blame Mitt if Democrats take back the corner office? I don't think so. Republicans already think of Massachusetts as a lost cause, despite the fact we've had Republican governors for 16 years now. (via Talking Politics)


• Two Don't Miss Articles: This week's Boston Phoenix has two must-read articles on Kerry Healey. Adam Reilly asks us: should we believe Healey when she says she's a moderate? At present, Massachusetts Republicans are changing their issue stances right and left (mostly right). Witness Governor Romney and former Governor Weld who have both recently moved right as they run for president and NY governor, respectively. David Bernstein wonders why, if Healey is such a great criminologist why she hasn't stopped crime from rising? "Urban crime strategies" was one of her responsibilities as lieutenant governor, yet crime has risen in most of Massachusetts' major cities under her watch. (Via KHooT)


• LNG or Hot Air?: Yesterday's Globe featured an op-ed piece on the proposal to build LNG terminals on Outer Brewster Island. While there are good reasons to oppose the move, let's not pretend that Outer Brewster is a pristine, unspoiled paradise. The island is already home to, among other WW2-era buildings, an abandoned water-desalination plant that makes the island too dangerous for the public.


• Who?: The Boston Globe reported today that Bolton Republican Earle Stroll wants to run for State Auditor against Joseph DeNucci. Is this the first Republican candidate that's announced for a statewide office besides Governor or Lieutenant Governor?


• Anyone Else Get Polled?: Yesterday I got a call from some anonymous 'pollster' asking me who I supported at the convention for governor. They hung up abruptly as soon as I gave my answer which made me wonder which campaign they were working for. Is Gabrieli still trying to find undecideds?

It's been quite a week! What's on your mind?

LNG Shenanigans

I know I have previously expressed support for putting a Liquified Natural Gas terminal on Outer Brewster Island, but things like this almost make me want to reconsider. It appears that the language of the bill that would open up the Island, would also exclude nearly every company other than AES (the company that first brought up the proposal) from participating in the bid process. Okay, so this kind of thing happens probably every day both in the public and private sector, and the sponsors of the bill, Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill) and Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams) claim that they wanted the bid process to be competitive. Still, what makes Outer Brewster attractive is that it is a more remote site than places like Fall River or Gloucester or Providence. To exclude the companies that have proposed sites in those cities means that they have no incentive to reevaluate their plans should the Brewster spot become available.

Why Not Outer Brewster?

One of today's Boston Globe Editorials urges lawmakers to reject a plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on Outer Brewster Island, siting the lack of regional planning which would ensure that such a facility would actually be necessary as well as environmental and aesthetic concerns. Outer Brewster is one of the uninhabited Boston Harbor Islands, one that formerly housed some army facilities in the World Wars, but little else since. The public is not even currently allowed on the island due to the hazards from those disused structures, as well as an abandoned water desalination plant. The argument that maybe we won't need the extra capacity seems silly to me, particularly since we may be able to divert LNG shipments from Everett -- a much more potentially dangerous journey -- to the island facility if we end up with a surplus. Of course worrying about energy surpluses at this point seems kind of far-fetched, but you never know what will happen in the future. While it's true that the island is part of a protected park, and selling off parkland sets a bad precedent, when you take into account some of the other places, like Fall River, where an LNG terminal has been proposed, the out-of-the-way island looks pretty good.

If it's a choice between Fall River and Outer Brewster Island, I'm going to pick Outer Brewster every time. One would put an LNG terminal in the middle of a densely populated city and require tankers to go through a heavily trafficked bay. The other would be two miles away from the nearest home -- unless you count some potentially displaced migratory birds and harbor seals. I do realize, of course, that's a false choice. There are some Canadian facilities on the drawing board, as well as one off the coast of Gloucester. Still, Outer Brewster deserves serious consideration as a site for an LNG terminal that would meet the region's energy needs without compromising the security of residents.

More Opposition to Fall River LNG

In July, I posted about the proposed LNG terminal in Fall River and how it was a bad idea from a homeland security perspective. After all, the terminal would be located in a small, dense city and the tankers would have to travel through the heavily trafficked Narragansett Bay, traveling past many Rhode Island communities. An attack on an LNG tanker would be devastating, potentially causing casualties within a mile radius of the explosion.

As it turns out, fear of terrorism is not the only reason to oppose the terminal. Two studies released yesterday make the case that it would hurt the local economy. The security required for the LNG tankers would end up blocking the busy Newport Harbor, restrict use of the bay during boating season, and force the closing of bridges as the tankers pass under them. From the article:

While public concern has centered largely on the fear of an explosion or attack, the reports examined other potential consequences of LNG shipments on the water.

"This has nothing to do with terrorists or tankers blowing up or anything," said Keith Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce. "This has to do with our vision over the next 10 years for the economy of Aquidneck Island. This just doesn't fit."

And just when you thought everyone had weighed in on the situation, last week it was reported that even the Navy is against the terminal.

Last week, the Navy asked the commission to reverse its decision, warning that LNG tankers en route to Fall River would have to pass through its Narragansett Bay testing area for torpedoes. The tight security required to protect the ships from terrorist attacks would disrupt tests that are critical to national security, the Navy said.

So, for those keeping score, the Navy doesn't want this, no one in Rhode Island wants it, no one in Fall River or the rest of Massachusetts wants it. Near as I can tell, the only people who think the Fall River LNG terminal is a good idea are FERC and the Energy Companies pushing to build the plant. Opposition to the plant isn't just NIMBYism here. It's simply bad policy to put a LNG plant that far inland.

Reducing Our Vulnerability

There's not much left for me to say about this morning's horrible attack in London. The thoughts and prayers of the entire .08 Acre Homestead go out to the victims and their families. It goes without saying that I hope that the perpetrators of this act of terrorism are quickly found and brought to justice before they can destroy any more innocent lives.

Are we vulnerable to a similar attack here? I don't think that anyone realistically thinks that raising the MBTA Security level is going to suddenly make us immune to attacks on the T. The problem that any public transportation system has is that it has to be open to work. Can you imagine going through metal detectors, bag searches and having to take off your shoes every time you take the T? I don't care how expensive gas gets or how bad traffic or parking is, no one would tolerate that for long.

There are other ways, though, we are vulnerable here in Massachusetts that we can prevent. Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved plans for a $250-million LNG facility in Fall River. Fall River Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. had this to say about that development:

"By its decision today, FERC has jeopardized the safety of the citizens of my city by authorizing, for the first time in 30 years, the construction of an LNG terminal in the heart of a densely populated urban area."

Lambert, who vowed to appeal the decision, claimed that FERC has ignored warnings of counter-terrorism experts that the project would present "an invitation to terrorism."

Lambert vowed to kill the project by a thousand paper cuts if necessary, and Attorney General Tom Reilly is also asking FERC to reconsider. Reilly's counterpart, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch, was more forceful in his opposition, saying that the Fall River vote "puts a kill zone in the heart of a densely populated New England city". It makes little sense to me to create more potential targets if we can avoid it by just putting the facility off shore, or in a more sparsely populated area.

While the Fall River facility might be moved or stopped, according to a Report Commissioned by Congressman Ed Markey, there are as many as 27 other chemical facilities where a worst-case incident would effect more than 10,000 people. While moving these facilities is likely not realistic, one simple thing we can do to prevent a catastrophe in Massachusetts is to make sure that they have proper security.