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Battle Brewing Over Planned Gas Terminal

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 7--A storm is building on the Delaware River over Philadelphia Gas Works' plan to develop a terminal for handling tankers of liquefied natural gas.

At issue are competing visions of what the waterfront should look like.

From the Benjamin Franklin Bridge up through Bucks County, the riverfront is rapidly changing. Developers are planning houses, luxury towers, stores and marinas. Other groups are trying to open up the waterfront with bike trails, walkways and roads.

Into this mix comes PGW's plan to bring in tankers the size of a football field that will haul hazardous liquefied natural gas (LNG). PGW has operated liquefied-natural-gas tanks in the area for more than 30 years, but it gets its current supply of the fuel by converting natural gas from land-based pipelines.

"I don't see any reason why we would embrace this," said State Rep. John Taylor (R., Phila.), who represents Port Richmond. "There are other things going on on the river, and this flies in the face of that."

Today, State Sen. Michael Stack (D., Phila.) and State Rep. Michael McGeehan (D., Phila.), will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. on the PGW project at the Bridesburg Recreation Center, 4625 Richmond St.

City-owned PGW has said little about the project, explaining that it will be more forthcoming once it concludes talks with the unidentified project developer. That could happen soon, said PGW spokesman Doug Oliver.

PGW will not comment on which energy company wants to develop and operate the terminal, but according to port-community sources, the utility is negotiating with Hess LNG. A spokeswoman for Hess LNG, Marcia MacClary, said the New York-based company would have no comment.

Hess is promoting another liquefied-natural-gas project, in Fall River, Mass., which has come under intense local resistance.

The company could face a similar reception in Port Richmond.

"It just boggles my mind that they would consider something like this," said Councilwoman Joan L. Krajewski, who represents Port Richmond and Bridesburg.

"It'll put a damper on builders' coming in," Krajewski said. "They feel an LNG terminal is not a selling point for them."

The debate over liquefied natural gas comes at a critical point for the city's river wards. Long scarred with acres of industrial wasteland, Bridesburg and Port Richmond are seeing a revival in new-home construction - from small projects of a dozen rowhouses to mega-developments such as the 700-unit riverfront community at the 67-acre Philadelphia Coke site.

Natural gas converts to a liquid at minus 260 degrees. It's not explosive, but if the liquefied form leaked from a tanker - either by accident or from sabotage - it would vaporize and could ignite into a massive fire. Liquefied-natural-gas tankers require extra security when entering U.S. ports because of homeland-security concerns that tankers could become terrorist targets.

"It's a cause for a lot of concern," said Doug Fenichel, a spokesman for K. Hovnanian Homes, which is developing the Philadelphia Coke site in a joint venture with Westrum Development Corp. The development, a mile from the proposed liquefied-natural-gas terminal, would also have 70,000 square feet of retail space, plus recreational features.

"If you are trying to revive or redevelop parts of the city," he said, "you need to be careful about what else is going in there... . Those are things that need to be looked at very, very carefully."

The liquefied-natural-gas terminal would be incorporated into the existing Tioga Marine Terminal in Port Richmond. Today, the terminal handles such cargo as fresh fruit, cocoa beans, paper and steel.

Under the PGW plan, three tankers a month would dock at the Tioga terminal. The fuel would be transported by pipeline to the utility's two existing 25 million-gallon holding tanks across the street.

Oliver, at PGW, said the liquefied-natural-gas project fits in with Mayor Street's "New River City" initiative to develop the waterfront.

"We see ourselves peacefully coexisting with all the other development that the mayor and developers have planned," Oliver said.

He added that the area around the Tioga terminal is already an industrial zone. Next door is a company that ships chemicals, Kinder Morgan Inc. Upstream is the Philadelphia Water Co., which loads sludge onto barges. "Developers and potential developers know this and continue to move forward with development plans," Oliver said.

Keith Charlton is a local builder putting up 42 homes on Juniata Street in Bridesburg - less than a mile from the proposed terminal.

He said he had not made up his mind one way or another about the safety and security risks of liquefied natural gas. But the project is already having an impact.

"This LNG plan is becoming like a thorn in our side," Charlton said. "Everyone is concerned about the impact something like this will have."

PGW said it will engage in public discussion about the safety and security of liquefied natural gas after it announces the developer.

Bob Rosenthal, a vice president for Westrum Development, of Fort Washington, the building partner at the Philadelphia Coke site, said his company would take its cues from the neighborhood on supporting or opposing the project.

"We will go with what the neighbors feel is best."

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Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

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