NEW: Vote on Controversial LNG Tank Farm Resolution April 6

NEW: Vote on Controversial LNG Tank Farm Resolution April 6

The state Senate is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, April 6, on a resolution opposing the highly controversial proposed Weaver’s Cove Energy offshore berth for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The LNG tank farm plan in Mt. Hope Bay has drawn strong opposition from cities, towns, civic groups and environmental organizations in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as on Aquidneck Island and Jamestown.  Major concerns are citizen safety in the event of an explosion, disrupted boat traffic on Narragansett Bay along the route tankers would take from the Atlantic Ocean to the proposed site near Fall River, and the legally required closing of the Newport Bridge when the tankers are passing underneath it.

Introduced by Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton), the resolution, 2011-S 0456, is a result of the work of the Rhode Island Senate Task Force on LNG that was established in January, 2010. Its charge was to research the proposed Weaver’s Cove Energy Offshore Berth in Mount Hope Bay and its potential impact on the state’s safety, economy and environment.

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The resolution was one of the recommended actions included in a summary report published by the Task Force. Co-sponsors of the resolution are Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, New Shoreham, South Kingstown), Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown) and Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton).

As a result of the overwhelming amount of information received by the task force in opposition to the project and concerns about the project’s impact on the environment and public safety, the resolution calls on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the necessary approvals for the project.

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