Response to the RI Congressional Delegation’s FERC letter

Posted on 24 August 2010 Tags: lng shipping

In an August 12, 2010 letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation requests that FERC Commissioners visit Rhode Island and tour the site of our proposed facility. Weaver’s Cove agrees with the Delegation and supports just such a tour. Once Delegation members see and hear the facts, they will learn that our project can and will be implemented safely, and once operational will apply downward pressure on regional energy prices which are currently among the highest in the nation.

Unfortunately, the letter also inaccurately states that Rhode Island’s role in the FERC approval process has been “severely limited.” In a response letter (see below), Weaver’s Cove Chairman Gordon Shearer notes that the concerns of Rhode Island officials, regulators, and citizens have been extensively addressed during the federal review process, and invites FERC Commissioners and the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation for a site visit to ensure an accurate and comprehensive depiction of all aspects of our previously approved land based storage facility and proposed offshore tanker berthing facilities.

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August 23, 2010

The Honorable Jon Wellinghoff
Chairman
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20426

Re: Weaver’s Cove Energy, LLC
Offshore Berth Project, Docket No. CPO4-36-005

Dear Chairman Wellinghoff:

I am writing you on behalf of Weaver’s Cove Energy, LLC (“Weaver’s Cove”), the sponsor of the project in the referenced docket. Through an article that appeared in the August 18, 2010 edition of the Providence Journal, Weaver’s Cove became aware of an August 12, 2010 letter sent to you by members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation regarding FERC’s National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) review of our project under the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”). It is disappointing that the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation has politicized FERC’s NEPA review by attempting to draw a link between the unrelated Deepwater oil spill tragedy and the review of Weaver’s Cove’s Offshore Berth LNG Project. Such politicization also is inappropriate under the statutes that govern FERC’s review of LNG projects. Nonetheless, Weaver’s Cove is encouraged that the Delegation has reached out to FERC to learn more about FERC’s NEPA review process.

According to the Rhode Island Delegation, “Rhode Island organizations and citizens groups, as well as hundreds of constituents, have voiced their concerns and reservations about the safety and security of such a development.” Weaver’s Cove is not only aware of these concerns, but we have worked diligently to understand and address these concerns within the disciplined confines of FERC’s NGA and NEPA review processes. As a review of the record before the Commission will reveal, thousands of pages of information regarding the project have been filed with FERC and FERC staff is currently reviewing this information. We also note that the U.S. Coast Guard has played a key role in the safety and security review of the project under its own statutory authority.

FERC’s ongoing NGA and NEPA review of our project continues to provide a neutral fact based forum for collecting, reviewing and addressing each and every concern raised by interested parties, including the constituencies cited by the Delegation, and exposes the allegations, any underlying factual evidence and all conclusions reached based on that evidence to public scrutiny. The Delegation suggests that “Rhode Island’s formal role in approving this project has been severely limited,” but the facts in the public record belie this point of view. We are aware of no instance where the facts and concerns raised by Rhode Island regulators, political officials, or the general public were ignored or not weighed against the preponderance of evidence in the public record before FERC or the U.S. Coast Guard.

Weaver’s Cove has long supported and encouraged open dialogue concerning our project. We welcome a tour of the project transit route, as proposed to you by the Rhode Island Delegation. We would be pleased to facilitate the tour so that the site visit is comprehensive and reflects an accurate depiction of the LNG tanker transit route, the proposed location of the offshore berth,and the areas that will be used to interconnect the offshore berth facilities with the land based facilities previously approved by FERC.

Weaver’s Cove suggests that the Coast Guard be advised of the request for a visit and be invited to participate in the tour as the LNG tanker transit route is within the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard has assessed the safety and security implications of the LNG tanker transit and the Coast Guard already has found Weaver’s Cove’s proposed LNG tanker transit route to be acceptable.

We look forward to hearing from you or your staff concerning our offer to facilitate and participate in the site tour and discussions with the Delegation.

Sincerely,

Gordon Shearer
Chairman

cc:
Secretary Bose, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Senator Jack Reed
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Congressman Patrick Kennedy
Congressman Jim Langevin
US Coast Guard Captain Verne Gifford
Rhode Island State Representative Ray Gallison