The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking public comments on a petition for rulemaking from the City of Fall River, MA, to establish thermal and vapor dispersion exclusion zones for marine spills of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that would be similar to those for spills of LNG on land.

The issue of an exclusion zone for offshore LNG spills is a heated one for the City of Fall River, the proposed site of the Weaver’s Cove Energy LNG terminal. The $250 million project, which would be located in an industrial areas that was previously a petroleum import terminal, is the target of intense local opposition in the city, just south of Boston.

Comments are due on or before Feb. 1, 2005. They can be filed either at https://dms.dot.gov, or faxed to (202) 493-2251, or mailed to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh St. SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. The comments should include the docket number (USCG-2003-15771).

For further information, contact Commander John Cushing at (202) 267-1043, or e-mail him at JCushing@comdt.usg.mil.

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