No environmental harm from El Paso LNG project - FERC
Date: 07-Feb-03
Country: USA
The project near Savannah would increase daily shipping capacity to 806 million cubic feet, boost storage to 1 million barrels of LNG, and double the number of LNG tankers visiting the port each year.
FERC's preliminary environmental approval came on the same day that El Paso surprised Wall Street by announcing it would sell its LNG business as part of a plan to shed another $2.9 billion in assets. Like many energy companies, El Paso has been hard hit by a decline in trading volume and credit problems.
El Paso's LNG operation in Elba Island, Georgia is seen by analysts as having good prospects for long-term growth due to a projected jump in U.S. demand for natural gas over the coming decade.
Environmental groups have accused FERC of trying to speed up the project by requiring only an "environmental assessment" instead of a full-blown environmental impact statement analyzing the LNG project's impacts on water, air, land and wildlife.
Green groups have demanded a more thorough environmental impact statement for the LNG project in Georgia because of the potential for an explosive accident or sabotage involving an LNG tanker or facilities.
"The staff concludes that approval of the projected project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment," FERC said in a statement announcing the completion of its environmental assessment.
Industry, environmental groups and others have until March 7 to submit their views about the FERC environmental assessment of the project.
FERC commissioners can accept, reject or modify its staff's findings.
Critics say dredging of the LNG tanker dock could damage the underground aquifer, which provides drinking water to the city Savannah. The estimated 118 LNG tankers - roughly twice the current number - that would transit the Savannah River if the terminal was expanded also would emit more air pollution, including fine particulate matter that has been linked to asthma and emphysema, they claim.
Supporters of the project say El Paso's planned changes would increase the terminal's safety and security, especially as tankers are docked.
LNG is natural gas cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit, which changes the gas into a liquid and compresses it for transportation aboard special tankers. LNG is converted back into dry gas for fueling electricity generating plants.
The Elba Island project is pending before FERC in docket CP02-379.
