The U.S. Coast Guard Wednesday rejected the latest appeal of Weaver’s Cove Energy that seeks to site a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Fall River, MA.

Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan, commander of the First Coast Guard District, upheld the October 2007 decision of Coast Guard Captain Roy Nash, the captain of the port at the time, which concluded that the channel from Prudence Island, RI, to the proposed terminal was unsafe due to navigational hazards associated with the large tankers that would transport LNG to the Weaver’s Cove facility.

“After thorough review of the detailed appeal by Weaver’s Cove Energy, I support Captain Nash’s decision that the waterway is unsafe in the vicinity of the Brightman Street bridges for the transit of LNG tankers because of the same navigational hazards previously addressed,” Sullivan said.

Nash rejected Weaver’s Cove request to reconsider his October 2007 decision in December. The company then filed an appeal with Sullivan in January. Weaver’s Cove now has the option to appeal Sullivan’s decision to Rear Admiral Brian Salerno, the Coast Guard assistant commandant for marine safety, security and stewardship in Washington, DC.

The Weaver’s Cove project, which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved in mid-2005, has been the target of intense opposition by local, state and federal officials. If built, it would provide 800 MMcf/d of peak sendout capacity, 400 MMcf/d of baseload supply and 200,000 metric tons of LNG storage. In June the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection suspended review of the project (see Daily GPI, June 6, 2007).

In August Rhode Island authorities denied Weaver’s Cove permission to dredge approximately 230,000 cubic yards of the navigation channel in Mount Hope Bay (see Daily GPI, Aug. 14, 2007).

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