Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives For The Nation Act Of 2007--Continued

Floor Speech

CREATING LONG-TERM ENERGY ALTERNATIVES FOR THE NATION ACT OF 2007--Continued -- (Senate - June 19, 2007)

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I thank Senators BINGAMAN and THUNE for their courtesy. I am here today to express my support for an amendment sponsored by my colleague, Senator Cardin, regarding State approval for liquefied natural gas terminals. I am a cosponsor of this important bipartisan amendment with Senators MIKULSKI, SNOWE, DODD, KERRY, KENNEDY, BOXER, LIEBERMAN, and my senior Senator, JACK REED of Rhode Island.

Our country is grappling with a serious and difficult question: how to meet our growing energy needs without depleting our natural resources, threatening our environment or endangering our people.

I strongly support the work of Senators BOXER and BINGAMAN, with many of our colleagues, to take a significant step forward in our use of alternative and renewable fuels. But as we develop these new and emerging fuel sources, we must take great care to balance our need for energy with other imperatives.

Liquefied natural gas is rapidly assuming a larger share of the overall natural gas market. Over 40 new LNG terminals are now proposed for construction, many of which are planned near heavily populated areas or environmentally sensitive coastal areas. Unfortunately, in their haste to expand this market, the LNG industry and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have dismissed the risks this poses to public safety and the environment. I am particularly concerned about a proposed LNG terminal in Fall River, MA, a town of nearly 100,000 people, barely over the State line from Rhode Island.

This is Rhode Island's treasured Narragansett Bay. The Bay is used, particularly on beautiful summer days such as today, for commercial and recreational boating and fishing. Tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders live along its shores, and our Bay is in many ways the economic heart, as well as the environmental and recreational heart, of our ocean State.

Now, to reach the LNG facility proposed for Fall River, LNG tankers would have to navigate 21 nautical miles through Narragansett Bay, passing directly by the homes and businesses of 64,000 Rhode Island residents. Along the way, tankers would pass under four heavily trafficked bridges and execute what the Coast Guard itself recently described as extremely challenging navigational maneuvers, as many as 130 times per year.

Moreover, the tanker requires a security zone around it as it proceeds through the Bay. Here is the tanker. This is the size of the security zone it requires, completely occupying the east passage going up through Narragansett Bay between Newport and Jamestown. It would displace all recreational boaters and other cargo boats and disrupt bridge traffic as it transits.

The residents of my State of Rhode Island have spoken loudly and in large numbers against the LNG terminal proposed for Fall River. I have heard their deep concern about the environmental and security risks posed by LNG tankers passing so close to their homes and communities. Yet their voices have not been heard adequately in the current process for permitting LNG terminals.

This amendment would help correct this flaw and give all States and communities the seat at the table they deserve, by requiring the concurrence of affected States for permits to build liquefied natural gas terminals.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used 3 minutes.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment.

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