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It seems an almost magical solution to Long Island’s energy shortage. Six billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas, a teaspoon of which is equal to a gallon of natural gas, just off the North Shore and ready to provide energy to hundreds of thousands of homes. In practice, however, the Broadwater Plan, as it’s called, is drawing stiff opposition from environmental groups, fishing and boating groups, citizens and policymakers across Long Island.
The plan was introduced two years ago by Broadwater Energy of Houston. The proposed liquefied natural gas terminal would be 1,200 feet long, 180 feet wide and 100 feet tall and would be anchored nine miles north of Wading River. The facility would offload the liquefied natural gas from incoming tankers, return it to a gaseous state, and then ship it through a 25-mile pipeline laid on the Sound floor that joins an existing pipeline from Connecticut to Northport.
Among the loudest voices of opposition to the plan is the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, based in Farmingdale. “We feel it is an extremely intrusive structure, and would be damaging to our maritime culture and the ecosystem of the waterway,” says Adrienne Esposito, the group’s executive director. “It’s a nightmare for boaters, it’s a nightmare for fishing, it’s a nightmare for how we use our waterways and it needs to be stopped.”
Organizations like Citizens Campaign aren’t the only ones protesting the Broadwater plan. After the federal government issued its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) the public, governmental agencies, scientists and experts all cried foul because the DEIS found little or no environmental impact. However, independent review by other state and federal agencies, as well as independent organizations and scientists, found the DEIS to be highly deficient and flawed.
Esposito was surprised at the federal government’s reaction to the plan and the DEIS. “I have to admit, I knew the federal government was going to be helpful to Broadwater, but I didn’t realize they were going to be such big cheerleaders for the project,” she says.
Many others shared her concern, both on a grassroots and a state level. Today, two years after the plan was first proposed, New York State—and the federal government—is reviewing the project and the DEIS. The state will issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in May, and the federal government is set to release its findings this summer. Citizen opposition has also been overwhelming. At a public hearing in Wading River more than a thousand people showed up in the dead of January. At the Smithtown hearing nearly 800 people attended, parking more than a mile away and walking to the hearing to protest.
Besides the eyesore and the safety concerns of having six billion cubic feet of highly explosive fuel anchored just off the coast, there are logistical concerns that would wreak havoc with the maritime and pleasure industries on which Long Island relies. The already highly stressed lobster industry would be decimated, and the commercial and recreational fishing industries would be severely inconvenienced, according to fishing, boating and yachting clubs and enthusiasts. One of the main concerns is the public no-access zone required around the structure.
There are also security and anti-terror concerns. Because the Coast Guard is going to require a one-and-a-half-mile security and safety zone around the facility, for the first time ever in the United States the public will be denied access to segments of a public estuary. Besides the social, ecological and commercial impact, the idea of a heavily guarded facility doesn’t sit well with many Long Islanders. Further security measures include round-the-clock, seven-day-a-week armed security and Coast Guard escorts of tankers arriving to refill the terminal. The security zone around the traveling tankers will be one mile in front and back, and 750 yards on each side. All other boats in the vicinity will have to give way for 20 to 40 minutes. Plus, the taxpayers will have to pay the bill for the Coast Guard escorts.
If Broadwater is not the answer to Long Island’s energy shortage, then what are the alternatives?
There are many, including the use of solar energy, wind energy and other safer, less intrusive options. The Long Island Power Authority is offering homeowners a substantial credit for installing photovoltaic solar-electric systems on their houses. A proposed wind farm off the South Shore is under review, as well as a safer, less intrusive natural gas pipeline from Connecticut to New York, which New York has already approved.
The proposed Millennium pipeline from Canada that would go to New York City, and the Neptune cable, an electric cable that was just installed from New Jersey to Long Island, will supply 660 megawatts of power, enough electricity to provide power to 600,000 homes
