MIDDETOWN TOWNSHIP — One of three companies proposing to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of New Jersey has withdrawn its application. Although Atlantic Sea Island Group has reserved the right to renew its application for a manmade island 19 miles off Sandy Hook, environmentalists say the proposal is "dead in the water" because Gov. Chris Christie...
MIDDETOWN TOWNSHIP — One of three companies proposing to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of New Jersey has withdrawn its application.
Although Atlantic Sea Island Group has reserved the right to renew its application for a manmade island 19 miles off Sandy Hook, environmentalists say the proposal is "dead in the water" because Gov. Chris Christie opposes offshore LNG terminals and because Atlantic Sea would have to start three years of work all over again.
An Atlantic Sea Island Group representative today confirmed the withdrawal of the application, but said it did so because of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, not because of Christie’s pledge in April to oppose all offshore liquefied natural gas projects.
"We are suspending the project until the political situation (in the Gulf) is cleared up," the company said in a statement. "Everybody’s concerned about what’s going on."
Atlantic Sea Island Group, creators of the so-called Safe Harbor Energy project, sent letters to the U.S. Coast Guard on June 23 and 29 expressing its intent to suspend the project. The June 29 letter, to Coast Guard Commandant Mark Prescott, cited the retirement of the company’s founder and CEO Howard Bovers along with ‘‘existing market conditions; the current ‘climate’ regarding offshore development in the aftermath of the recent Gulf incident; and the prevailing uncertainty with respect to both the U.S. and global economy.’’
Prescott sent a return letter on Friday acknowledging the withdrawal.
Two other applications of liquefied natural gas projects are pending. They are Excalibur’s Liberty Natural Gas off Asbury Park and ExxonMobil’s Blue Ocean Energy off Sea Girt.
"Despite the continuing bad news about the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, we are delighted to hear that Atlantic Sea Island Group has pulled the plug on their man-made LNG island, Captain Jim Lovgren, member of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative Board of Directors. "One down, two more to go. Hopefully the other fossil fools will also admit to being on the wrong side of energy progress and invest in clean energy alternatives.
Several environmental organizations oppose the terminals because, they say, companies should be looking to renewable resources such as wind for power. They contend environmental disasters can occur despite safeguards energy companies claim are built into the system.
Liquefied natural gas is natural gas that has been super-cooled to a liquid state to make it easier to transport over great distances. Though highly combustible, it is viewed as a cleaner way to produce energy by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to other fossil fuels, such as coal.
Meg Gardner, citizen outreach coordinator for Sandy Hook-based Clean Ocean Action, said environmental groups consider the project dead because Atlantic Sea Island Group would have to start from scratch if it decided to submit a new application. She said the New York-based company has already conducted public hearings on its proposal and completed an environmental impact statement, the results of which she said will not be disclosed because of the project’s suspension.
Previous coverage:
• Company drops plan to build natural gas terminal off N.J., N.Y. coasts
• N.J. Gov. Chris Christie opposes offshore natural gas terminals
• Hess revives plans to build liquefied gas terminal in Logan Township
• BP suspends plans for $700M gas terminal at Delaware River