Gov. Cuomo has vetoed the project. Public hearings on the plan were held last week in NY and Eatontown, and the governors had until late December to veto the proposal.
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But Cuomo said he was anxious another storm like Superstorm Sandy could put the project at risk.
“We’re surprised and disappointed”, Whelan told Newsday while in London working on another liquefied natural gas port project. Port Ambrose would have had two buoys to connect with ships, and the facility could have received about 45 vessels a year from the Caribbean.
Governor Cuomo says he won’t allow a natural gas transfer station to be built off of the coast of Long Island. “We will thoroughly review his official letter once we receive it”, he said.
Liquid natural gas is a natural gas is that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport and is primarily used for transporting natural gas to markets, where it is regasified and distributed as pipeline natural gas. “Obviously, without the support of the governor, there’s no path forward in NY”.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, agreed.
“This is a victory for the shipping and fishing industries, small businesses, the environment, national security and so much more, most notably democracy”. This year, groups protested in front of a Broadway show the governor was attending, and another protest was planned for Thursday night at a Cuomo fundraiser. “Regional growth in demand for natural gas is projected to outpace growth in supply infrastructure, even allowing for the expected development growth of the Marcellus Shale”. “This veto is not only important to help reduce greenhouse gases but also to promote clean energy”.
“We know that NY is on the top of the list of terrorist targets”, said Cuomo.
As this map indicates, the proposed Port Ambrose LNG terminal would have conflicted with an offshore wind power project proposed in 2011 and now moving through the siting process.
Such projects are being proposed all along the USA coastlines as gas flows out of shale formations. His office declined comment Thursday afternoon on Cuomo’s veto, instead referring to Christie’s past comments on liquefied natural gas. That project would have been twice the size of the current proposal, and was to be situated 16 miles off Asbury Park. “That would disrupt that plan”, the governor said, citing climate change and other dangers as his motivation for vetoing the LNG terminal.
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Given those concerns, the company had said the new proposal was created to be located completely offshore, avoid any impact to shoreline wetlands, and avoid sensitive fishery areas and near-shore areas that could affect tourism.
