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April 3, 2008

Lynch attacks latest LNG plan for Mount Hope Bay

PROVIDENCE -- A plan by Weaver's Cove Energy to use the middle of Mount Hope Bay as the site for a liquefied natural gas offloading facility would be an assault on the bay, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said.

"From an environmental standpoint, this proposal is even more invasive of Mount Hope Bay than the plans that have been previously rejected," said Lynch. "At a time when so many have worked so hard to restore the marine environment of Mount Hope Bay, this proposal declares war on it."

The company had planned to bring supertankers through the bay and up the Taunton River in Massachusetts, unloading them in Fall River. But the Coast Guard said the ships could not safely navigate through the Brightman Street Bridge and its replacement bridge, now under construction.

The new proposal would eliminate the need to pass under any Massachusetts spans, but still require the tankers to go under the Pell and Mount Hope Bay bridges, shutting them down during the passages.

"The bridge closures and tanker traffic would still disrupt our Ocean State's quality of life," Lynch said. "The bay would still be monopolized by LNG tankers and be seriously compromised as a destination for Rhode Islanders and tourists alike."

The company says it changed its plans in response to reaction from the public.

"That's ludicrous and insulting," said Lynch. "They haven't been listening, because they've been deafened by the sound of the money they hope will line their pockets."

"On many occasions I've said that offshore LNG sitings are preferable. But erecting a berth in Mount Hope Bay, just two miles south of the Braga Bridge, and building a four mile-long pipeline into Weaver's Cove is hardly 'offshore,' even though that's the terminology being used by Weaver's Cove Energy," he said. "This proposal borders on stunning in its audaciousness, greed, and stupidity."

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:08 AM | Permalink

Comments

I completely agree with Mr. Patrick Lynch. Five generations of my family have either used the bay as a source of living or a source of pleasure. This proposal is absolutely perposturous. This is simply a case of a few trying to make a lot of money at the expense of the regular population. We need to protect the bay, not destroy it.

rob | April 3, 2008 7:21 AM link

Thanks AG! This proposal is crazy! Too many have have worked too hard and sacrifcied to bring the bay back to where it is today. One slip up from these guys and it would all go down the tubes.

Recreational Fisherman | April 3, 2008 8:24 AM link

What would make Hess think that they own the bay, and have the right to construct something in the middle of it? I don't have a right to build a garage in the middle of the street, and they don't have a right to build a structure in the middle of the bay.

it's my bay too | April 3, 2008 1:57 PM link

April 3, 2008

Lynch attacks latest LNG plan for Mount Hope Bay

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