COA call to action against liquefied natural gas island

Clean Ocean Action (COA) continued its fight last week to block a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility from being built within miles of the coast of Sea Bright.

JAMIE ROMM Signs displayed at the press conference carry slogans used by opponents of the LNG proposal. On Jan. 16, representatives from several conservation, environmental, fishing and surfing organizations gathered at the public library in Sea Bright to rally opposition to a plan to build a massive industrial complex in the ocean, dubbed "Insanity Island" by the groups, for the importation of liquefied natural gas.

Led by COA, a broad coalition of ocean advocates, the groups are rallying residents, businesses, organizations and elected officials to attend two public meetings regarding the New York-based Atlantic Sea Island Group (ASIG) project.

The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Administration will hold two public meetings — Jan. 27 in Eatontown and Jan. 29 in Long Beach, N.Y. — to begin scoping for an environmental impact statement as part of the official review of the proposal.

Sea Bright Councilwoman Dina Long said that while she recognizes the need to support renewable energy projects, the implications of this project should be considered.

"You are talking about the first-ever man-made island in open ocean just 19 miles out," Long said. "I hear it's the equivalent of eight Giants Stadiums covering 116 acres of sea floor in prime fishing territory. Besides destroying marine habitats, altering migration patterns and endangering protected species, what about the risk to New Jersey residents?"

She said that the facility brings with it the potential for collisions, accidents and spills.

"Imagine the amount of vapor from a collision, accident or spill or even, God forbid, an act of terrorism," Long said. "This project poses a risk to the health and safety of our coastal environment and its inhabitants. We in Sea Bright urge Gov. Corzine to veto this project like his colleague Gov. Paterson chose to do in New York."

Councilman C. Read Murphy said that due to winds coming toward the shore, the gas clouds will be coming ashore.

"For those who are familiar with natural gas that is liquefied, it doesn't come out as a liquid but rather a massive cloud of gas. Having it offshore there, there is nothing to break the gas cloud up as it travels across the water," Murphy said.

Clean Ocean Action ExecutiveDirector Cindy Zipf said that the project could be harmful to coastal residents.

"Sea Bright is at risk [from this project] but so is the entire Jersey shore as well as the Long Island shoreline," Zipf said. "This project, one that we have dubbed 'Insanity Island,' and its importation of LNG is an abomination to the ocean, and an insult to the people of the United States. It's an abomination to our oceans because it's a gigantic manmade island that at its sea floor is 140 acres."

Some of the threats Zipf cited are the amount of fill that the island will require (14 million tons or 10 times the volume of the Empire State Building) and the destruction of marine habitat and marine life.

Regarding LNG, Zipf said that the foreign fossil fuel is "un-American" because it is from volatile sources like Russia, the Middle East and Africa. Further, American sources of natural gas are cheaper and plentiful enough to meet domestic needs for 120 years.

ASIG, a New York-based investment group, submitted an application to the Coast Guard and Maritime Administration in 2007 to build and operate Safe Harbor Energy, a 62.5 acre man-made island to store LNG in the Atlantic Ocean 19 miles off the coast of Sea Bright.

Clean Ocean Action officials have dubbed the Safe Harbor Energy proposal "Insanity Island," which inspired the "Stop the Insanity" slogan on posters at Friday's press conference.

On Feb. 15, 2008, ASIG filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a preliminary injunction to stay a decision by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), giving New Jersey review power of the LNG proposal.

The decision by U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton to uphold his designation of New Jersey as an adjacent coastal state (ACS) under the Deep Water Port Act (DWPA) of 1974 was considered a victory for environmental activists.

Atlantic Sea Island Group filed the suit, arguing that MARAD did not have the authority to make the designation. .

In December, the U.S. District Court upheldMARAD's designation of New Jersey as an adjacent coastal state.

The court ruled based on the facts presented in the record, specifically that the proposed port's location would interfere with the Port of New Jersey and prime recreational and commercial fishing areas protected under the state's federally approved coastal environment, according to a Clean Ocean Action press release.

Also cited was the impact to water quality in New Jersey's waters from construction or spills due to predominant current, wave and wind directions, according to the release.

The ruling sets the stage for veto action by both Gov. Jon S. Corzine and the governor of New York. The LNG facility would be located 13 miles off the coast of New York, which already received adjacent coastal state status. Under the Deepwater Port Act, governors of adjacent coastal states have the authority to veto proposed deepwater port projects, such as the "Safe Harbor Energy" proposal by ASIG.

The Jan. 27 public meeting will be held at the Sheraton of Eatontown, 6 Industrial Way East, Eatontown; open house 4:30-6 p.m., public meeting 6-8 p.m. The Jan. 29 meeting will be held at the public library, 111 West Park Ave., Long Beach, N.Y.; open house 4:30-6 p.m., public meeting 6-8 p.m. Written comments can be sent to the two federal agencies for consideration by Feb. 9.

Nearly 40 New Jersey and New York organizations and six Monmouth County municipalities, including Sea Bright, have signed resolutions opposing LNG projects off the coast.

The groups opposed to the LNG proposal are urging citizens to inform others about this perceived threat to the ocean and region, attend the meetings and send comments to the federal agencies opposing "Insanity Island." More information about LNG and the proposed LNG projects is posted at www.cleanoceanaction.org.