PROVIDENCE, RI – The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that Weaver’s Cove Energy’s navigation and safety plan is “unsuitable,” effectively blocking the proposed Liquified Natural Gas terminal proposed for Weaver’s Cove in Fall River.
In a letter to the company, Captain Roy A. Nash, Commanding Officer of the United States Coast Guard wrote: “My ultimate recommendation is that the waterway from near Sandy Point, Prudence Island, Rhode Island at approximate position 41° 36′ 21″N, 071° 18′ 13″W to the proposed facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, is unsuitable from a navigation safety perspective for the type, size, and frequency of LNG marine traffic associated with your proposal.”
U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who have been working to block the siting of LNG marine terminals in urban communities that would require LNG tankers to pass by eleven Rhode Island towns and cities and more than 25 miles of densely populated coastline, applauded the Coast Guard’s decision.
“The Coast Guard made the right decision. From a public safety and environmental standpoint, the Weaver’s Cove LNG project posed too many risks and would have placed a tremendous burden on local law enforcement and taxpayers,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. “Reversing this ill-conceived proposal was a shared effort and I am pleased to have worked with my congressional colleagues, Attorney General Lynch, and Representative Gallison and others to achieve this outcome.”
“I’m heartened that the Coast Guard has confirmed the concerns it cited in May about the serious risks associated with LNG tanker traffic in Narragansett Bay,” Whitehouse said. “The Coast Guard’s decision is good news in our efforts to stop this project and protect the environmental health of the Bay and the safety of thousands of Rhode Islanders.”
###
