Protest Plunge: Blumenthal Leads Swim to Protest Gas Platform Proposed for the Sound
By Brian Lockhart, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
Jan. 8–BRANFORD — State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and about 30 others dove into Long Island Sound yesterday to protest a proposed floating natural gas platform between New York and Connecticut.
“We will not let Broadwater happen in the state of Connecticut,” Blumenthal said as he stripped to his bathing suit and joined the goose-pimpled souls standing at Branford Point. “The Sound belongs to us, in January or July. We’re not going to let it be degraded and desecrated by utility, corporate, international owners.”
Broadwater Energy is a consortium of Shell Oil and TransCanada Corp. that wants to build a floating terminal the size of four football fields in New York waters, 11 miles off the coast of Connecticut.
Blumenthal reiterated his pledge to fight the project in court if New York approves it. He was joined by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-New Haven, and independent Democrat U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of New Haven, both of whom remained clothed and dry.
Lieberman issued the countdown for the swimmers to hit the water with the theme from “Chariots of Fire” playing in the background.
Not mentioned was an energy bill Lieberman supported in 2005 that Blumenthal and others say makes it harder for New York and Connecticut to fight Broadwater. Blumenthal has said the law emasculated states’ power over energy projects.
Keith Crane, a Branford Democrat and blogger, was angered by Lieberman’s appearance at the event.
“This is where my kids go swimming,” Crane said. “That bill made it impossible for anyone to stop” Broadwater.
Yesterday’s “Brrrrroadwater Polar Plunge” was organized by Save the Sound to draw attention to this month’s public hearings on a draft report on Broadwater, issued in November by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The first hearing is tomorrow in New London, with a second Jan. 16 in Branford. Hearings also will be held Wednesday in Smithtown, N.Y., and Thursday in Shoreham, N.Y.
The regulatory commission concluded the terminal would have only minor effects on the environment and public safety as long as several conditions for construction are followed. It also said the project would be key to meeting the region’s natural gas needs.
But in September, the U.S. Coast Guard issued its own analysis, which said the Broadwater project would pose safety and security risks that would require more firefighters, escort boats and other measures to prevent accidents or terrorist attacks.
Blumenthal echoed the sentiments of those on the beach yesterday when he called Broadwater “an accident waiting to happen” and “an environmental atrocity.”
Former New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, just sworn in as that state’s governor, has not commented on Broadwater.
Leah Schmalz, Save the Sound’s director of legislative and legal affairs, said afterward she does not expect Spitzer to take a position until after New York regulatory agencies act.
Lieberman said Congress could consider legislation to block Broadwater.
“I lived my whole life along Long Island Sound. It is one of the great gifts God has given the state,” said Lieberman, a Stamford native. “There’s a lot of opportunities for natural gas to come into the Northeast. This is about the worst place to put it.”
Ned Lamont, the Democrat who ran against Lieberman last fall, tied Lieberman’s support of President Bush’s energy bill to Broadwater.
Signed in August 2005, the bill gives the regulatory commission “exclusive authority to approve or deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion or operation of an liquefied natural gas terminal.”
The legislation was opposed by all other Northeastern Democrats and some Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, who said it would make it more difficult for Connecticut to block energy projects in the Sound.
Blumenthal at the time said the bill was “a blank check to the energy industry.”
Lieberman’s campaign dismissed Lamont’s assertions, saying the law allows states to veto projects such as Broadwater by denying permits associated with the Clean Water, Coastal Zone Management and Clean Air acts.
Although Blumenthal did not involve himself in the political debate, in October he stood by his criticism of the energy bill. He told The Advocate it puts states at a disadvantage if state permits are denied and appealed by energy companies by sending matters straight to federal court.
Schmalz said “there are so many things wrong with” the Bush energy bill, but she is grateful for Lieberman’s opposition to Broadwater.
“He really has been exceptionally helpful on this issue,” Schmalz said. “It took him a year to come out in opposition, but he did.”
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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