Commentary: LIPA Must Release Broadwater Report

By LIBN Staff

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hosted a series of meetings this week to get the public’s take on Broadwater Energy’s proposed liquefied natural facility, which it wants to place nine miles off the North Shore in the Long Island Sound.

We’re glad the agency is inviting a free flow of opinions. We only wish the Long Island Power Authority would get into the act. Long Island’s electric utility has been noticeably silent on the issue, but it doesn’t have to be.

LIPA commissioned a report on the viability of Broadwater from economic and safety points of view. The report, obtained by Long Island Business News through a Freedom of Information Law request, was completed in May 2006 but never publicly released. It’s a sure bet it was buried to avoid the potential political fallout from an issue that evokes visceral objections by environmentalists and the vast majority of local politicians.

Unfortunately, in its response to our FOIL request, LIPA redacted dozens of pages in the report that provide any type of instructions to LIPA staff, or any final agency policy determinations. LIPA says that’s because the report hasn’t officially been approved.

So what does the report tell us? Not much that hasn’t already been publicly digested, aside from figures stating the plant would provide a one-time, $10 million economic benefit to Suffolk County if completed by 2010; it would also provide $180 million a year from 2011-2020 in savings through the avoidance of air pollution from other potential projects.

And like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling in November that said Broadwater is an environmentally responsible method of delivering much-needed fuel to the region, the report’s statistics put the project in a favorable light compared to other energy choices.

We understand LIPA officials are in a difficult political position given the change in Albany, but it’s impossible for anyone to make a reasoned decision on Broadwater without all the facts – and LIPA’s participation is key.

We urge the agency to release the report’s entire text.

(c) 2007 Long Island Business News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.